Plumstead Road in Woolwich
(Picture: Daniel Lynch)Although it sits just five miles downstream from Canary Wharf, Woolwich is an entirely different beast.
Forget shiny skyscrapers and shopping malls. Woolwich is all streets of period terraced houses, shabby shops along Woolwich New Road, and masses of potential.
The shape of things to come can be observed on Woolwich’s riverfront where the historic military site, the Woolwich Arsenal, is being redeveloped into Berkeley Homes’ £1.2bn Royal Arsenal Riverside development.
Planning permission for this monster 5,000-home scheme was granted for the project back in 2006. Since then 3,500 new homes have been completed, and the whole site is dotted with places to eat and drink like Boulangerie Jade, bringing a touch of Parisian café style to south east London, SALT Woolwich, for superior pizzas and beers, and new pubs like Guard House.
There is a regular farmers market at Major Draper Street, a four acre park, and Woolwich Works, a newly-opened arts centre.
Homes are priced from £502,000 for a one-bedroom flat up to £732,500 for a three-bedroom flat.
Further inland things start to look a lot scruffier, but prices drop dramatically.
Jack Power, assistant sales manager at John Payne estate agents, said buyers could pick up a three bedroom Victorian terrace for around £450,000, or a two bedroom purpose built – but not brand new – flat for around £400,000.
In general prices are highest towards Charlton, where there are streets of lovely period houses, and lower towards Plumstead.
Renters should budget around £1,500pcm for a two bedroom flat.
Average house prices since work on Crossrail started
2012: £209,840
2022: £392,860
Growth: 87 per cent
Source: Hamptons
Power said Crossrail had brought in a lot of people from posher parts of London – Clapham, Wandsworth, and Richmond especially – because of its short journey times and comparatively affordable homes.
Prices have certainly been hit by the pandemic – down around four per cent in the past two years – but Power is not too worried.
“I expect demand to increase over the next three to six months as people see Crossrail up and running,” he said. “Woolwich is very much an up and coming area.”
Marina Safronova had never visited Woolwich before she moved to London in January. But she and her boyfriend needed a place to rent, and a family friend had a flat available there so she allowed herself to be persuaded.
“I had lots of concerns,” said Marina, 32, an account director at ING Media.
Crossrail journey times
From Woolwich to Tottenham Court Road: 21 minutes
From Woolwich to Paddington: 26 minutes
From Woolwich to Heathrow: from one hour and two minutes
Timings include ten minutes for interchange at Liverpool Street, eight minutes for interchange at Paddington, in force until 2023.
“It was an absolutely new area to me, there were a lot of rumours about the crime levels, and it seemed so far away from my friends and my job.”
The two bedroom converted warehouse apartment costs Marina and her boyfriend £1,500pcm, and is easily large enough for when they both work from home.
And over the last couple of months she has come to appreciate the charms of “old” Woolwich with its useful shops, friendly atmosphere, and traditional local pubs like the Woolwich Equitable, set in a former bank to the point that she favours it above the more modern riverside area. “It is very nice, and very clean by the river, but I can go to those sorts of places in central London any time,” she said. “Old Woolwich has got a vibe and character.”
The future for Woolwich
Thousands of new homes, and upgraded amenities, are on the cards for Woolwich.
There are still another 1,500 homes planned for the Royal Arsenal Riverside site, due to be completed by 2030.
And a £400m project to convert the Grade II listed 1930s former covered market site at Spray Street is expected to start in 2024. By 2027 it will include some 800 homes plus bars, restaurants, shops, and a new Picturehouse cinema.
In the meantime, this summer, the site will be the venue for Dreamachine, an immersive light and music show (www.woolwich.works/dreamachine).
Late last year Lovell Homes was granted planning permission to replace the 1960s Morris Walk north and south estates with 766 new homes, of which around a third will be affordable. Work on the £290m project began this year.
And on General Gordon Square, right by Woolwich Arsenal Station, Greenwich Council is backing another scheme for more than 500 homes, plus shops, offices, and a new Waterfront Leisure Centre
The future of the town centre itself remains a slightly unknown quantity. In 2018 British Land bought up almost five acres of Woolwich’s town centre for £103m, which naturally sparked talk of a full scale regeneration.
“To date, however, the firm has not unveiled any concrete plans – a spokeswoman would only say “we are exploring potential for future development” - and few landowners are spending big on shopping led schemes post pandemic, so this one will be a case of wait and see.
