Residents of a once-bustling borough are being massively impacted by an erratic property market and looming recession, causing families to either leave the area or "sleep out and beg" near luxury flats in the affluent parts of the town. There are two polar opposite areas in Greenwich.
The wealthier area is home to shiny flats near the stunning riverfront not far from the Cutty Sark. The less affluent area is the north and east part of the town where rundown streets have a history of crime.
As reported by MyLondon, despite the mixed standard of living, house prices in the borough are still sharply rising. Homes in Greenwich have been listed for an average price of £666,429 over the past year, according to Rightmove data.
This has forced some families out of the town and also made life harder for many. Drings, a butcher on Royal Hill, has been a feature of Greenwich Park for 60 years.
Michael Jones, who bought the business in 2005, also owns the neighbouring cheese shop, which opened in 1985, as well as Ellis and Jones Fishmongers around the corner. Living at the top of the heath, Mr Jones said that Greenwich Park has changed a lot in the past 60 years.
He said: “I think there was a big impact, probably the 90s, when Canary Wharf started coming up and changing. People were moving into the area who were more city-based.
"I think before that it was a bit more of an artist enclave. Teachers, more journalists, that sort of educated middle class.”
Despite changing, Mr Jones said that Greenwich town centre still has a “community” feel. He said: “The problem is when property prices go through the roof, then it sort of eliminates a certain number of people. But it still has a community feel, which is nice.”
Another long-standing business of Greenwich Park is The Junk Shop on Greenwich South Street, owned by Tobias Benjamin Decrespingy Moy. The owner said: “My family have been here since the 50s.
"I think we’re one of the longest running family businesses [in Greenwich Park]. My grandmother worked with my parents, and then me and my brother, and now me and my stepson.”
Open since 1967, the shop owner said more office workers moving to the area was “inevitable”. Mr Moy feels that the new Elizabeth Line in particular has attracted a lot of people to Woolwich.
“Those areas were seen more as little villages around London, but they've become part of London," he said. "We were Kent back in the 1960s, now we've turned into London and now the Royal Borough of London.”
Regarding transport in the borough, Greenwich Council leader Anthony Okereke said: “Infrastructure is the one key thing to change an area. It's the game changer that Woolwich has been waiting for, and North Greenwich [Tube station] is the game changer that north Greenwich had been waiting for.”
A 2019 report from Greenwich Council showed areas in west Greenwich, such as Greenwich Park, being among the least deprived in the borough. Meanwhile, sections of Woolwich were labelled the most deprived.
Regarding the report, Councillor Denise Hyland said that while some areas have a reputation of being more deprived, hotspots of unemployment can be found across the borough. She also recalls the doubts locals had before Greenwich Peninsula saw its rapid development, when the O2 arena was still called the “white elephant”.
Pete, who did not wish to give his second name, has worked in the same business beside Beresford Square in Woolwich for over 30 years. He said: “It’s good over there [by Plumstead Road] because you've got all the areas built.
"But this side, there’s still a lot of poverty. You go down the high street, and there’s always people sleeping out and begging.”
The Woolwich local said part of the decline in the far side of the town is due to the loss of interest in the market on Beresford Square. He said: “Trouble is, the market used to be packed.
"They used to start putting the stalls out at three or four in the morning. Now, some of them don’t even get there till 10 o’clock.”
Last September, Greenwich Council revealed plans to redesign Beresford Square. The new building will feature terraced seating, an immersive garden and dedicated pavement for the market.
This innovation, alongside the Elizabeth Line and plans for a new leisure centre, is what Cllr Okereke feels will help to develop Woolwich as a hub in its own right. He said: “Each of those parts that you see happening in Woolwich right now, like the Beresford Square investment, is part of the wider picture of making Woolwich a functioning town centre.”
Leanne Thomas, who runs The Bull tavern on Vincent Road, has lived in Woolwich her whole life. She thinks a community feeling is also prevalent in the area.
Ms Thomas said: “The community is like a family. Everyone knows each other, everyone looks out for each other.”
The local said she is worried about the plans for the area, saying that the building for her pub is planned to be knocked down as part of the new leisure centre development. Ms Thomas said: “You can feel the divide from the minute you go over there so I can see why they want to now bring it over this side.
"But it feels like they're pushing us out, the original Woolwich. And obviously with all the new train lines and everything, people are going to want to live here so they can commute into London, but where are we going to go?”
Cllr Hyland said that Greenwich Council is determined to remove the divide between areas that may have stereotypes of wealth or poverty. She said: “We're doing everything we can to try and make ‘Woolwich-by-the-Thames' one town rather than having, ‘The rich live over there and the poor over this side of the main road’ .
"It's really important that that doesn't happen.”
