Plans to demolish 204 London homes have been disputed by developers
Accused of flouting over 20 planning conditions, Comer Homes Group have been ordered to tear down two high-rise tower blocks by Greenwich Council.
The local authority have stated that once Mast Quay Phase II rental development, which is located near the River Thames in Woolwich, has been demolished, the land will be restored to its former condition. The towers are home to over 200 apartments meaning residents could have to find alternative accommodation.
However, developers have made it clear that the flats will not be torn down without a fight. The company has called the council’s decision ‘disproportionate’ and said it would appeal on the basis that Greenwich have mislead the public.
A spokesperson from the Comer Homes Group said: ‘[The organisation] is surprised and extremely disappointed by the decision of the Royal Borough of Greenwich to issue an enforcement notice in respect of our Mast Quay Phase II development.
‘We are particularly surprised to see the accompanying public statements which are inaccurate and misrepresent the position and our actions.
‘We will be appealing against the enforcement notice and look forward to robustly correcting the inaccuracies and addressing the council’s concerns.
‘We have, over many months, sought to engage constructively with the council, and notwithstanding these disproportionate actions, remain willing to do so.’
Against this backdrop, the development organisation have stated they wanted to work with officials to gain retrospective planning permission to avoid ‘wasting significant sums of taxpayers’ money on litigation’.
Greenwich claimed there have been 26 planning breaches within the development including a lack of space being provided to allow for children to play, no step free access for disabled residents to get onto their own balcony’s and a lack of green space.
Following the concerns that Comer Home Group have raised, Greenwich Council leader, Anthony Okereke said: ‘This decision is not one that the Royal Borough of Greenwich has taken lightly, but I believe it is reasonable and proportionate to the scale and seriousness of the situation.
‘Mast Quay Phase II represents two prominent high-rise buildings on Woolwich’s riverside that just are not good enough, and the reason that they are not good enough is because the development that was given planning permission is not the one that we can all see before us today.’
Image: Greenwich Council
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