'History guy' Dan Snow defends Deptford Royal Dockyard

At the beginning of February, historian and Lenox Project patron Dan Snow issued a bleak warning that redevelopment plans for Convoys Wharf could wipe out the birthplace of the Royal Navy if approved in their current form.

“There are world famous naval dockyards right across Britain. Some of the finest museums in Europe can be visited in Portsmouth, Chatham and elsewhere, yet the place where it all began, where our maritime destiny took shape, is forgotten, and tragically ignored by the very city it did so much to shape. Deptford is where the Tudors decided to build naval ships to protect their ill-gotten kingdom from other invaders like themselves, and then to exploit the explosion in maritime activity that came with the discovery of sea routes to Asia and the Americas. Deptford is ground zero for the Royal Navy.

"The Lenox Project reconnects Londoners and all of us with a vitally important piece of our heritage. London grew rich because it was a port. Ships built at Deptford protected the trade on which London depended, and forged links between the growing city and the rest of the world. Today London is one of the earth’s most dynamic, outward looking, multi-cultural cities. That story starts at Deptford.

"This project is not just about preserving heritage. It is about creating the kind of international profile and draw that is impossible to replicate anywhere else. A block of flats, a nice looking office block is anonymous. They can be built from Shanghai to Seattle. Building a 17th century warship, on the site of one of the world’s greatest dockyards, a short distance from the beating heart of an international city, that is unique. The multiplier effect of interested people, scholars and tourists would be a major boon to the area, the city and the country.

"People travel across the world to see the Vasa in Stockholm, the Victory, Mary Rose and others in Portsmouth, the Intrepid in New York. This would compete with any of them. The Lenox Project illuminates not just the past but the future too.”

Samuel Pepys speaks to the nation

Samuel Pepys, Secretary to the Royal Navy, held a press conference on 21st September 2013 at the Master Shipwright's House at Deptford Royal Dockyard. He implored the developer to consider more fully the history of the dockyard in the light of their plans to build 3500 luxury homes on the site now known as Convoys Wharf and bury all of the surviving heritage assets under concrete.

The event was chaired by star of BBC TV's Horrible Histories Ben Willbond. The former secretary to the navy and celebrated diarist Pepys vented his anger at the total neglect of one of the most important sites in British history and called on the powers-that-be to permit the restoration of the Kings Yard, Deptford, to allow the building of a full-size, sailing, working replica of The Lenox.

Mr Pepys said: "I wept as a parent at the loss of a child when I returned to Deptford to see what had become of one England's greatest assets. I say to our authorities, 'What terrible loss of memory has afflicted you so?'

"This year is the 500th anniversary of the Royal Dockyard commissioned by Henry Vlll that itself heralded the beginning of England's navy and her pre-eminence as a world sea-power.

"I can think of no more fitting restoration than the building of a warship His Majesty King Charles commissioned me to build as the first of a great fleet. To see the Royal Dockyard buried forever under concrete would be to the everlasting shame of the nation!"

Samuel Pepys is played by Deptford actor Jim Conway. Supporting cast as themselves: Ben Willbond (Horrible Histories), Helena Russell (Secretary, The Lenox Project CIC), Julian Kingston (Director, The Lenox Project CIC) as master shipwright John Shish, and Richard Endsor, author of The Restoration Warship, on which the Lenox project is based.

The press conference was held on the first morning of the London Open House weekend, and was also filmed by BBC News who covered the day but did not air Mr Pepys' erudite speech.

"From the ground up...up...up..."; comments on recent press coverage.

The 'new' Farrells masterplan, is not a new masterplan.

The previous Aedas masterplan proposed 3,500 homes, three towers above 32 storeys, 2000+ parking spaces, shops, a hotel, some green space, and a nod to the history of the site.

There is not a single new concept in this masterplan, besides a gesture towards the ideas promoted by Deptford Is.... 

Masterplanning is a process of visualising, imagining and re-imagining. But this new-old plan is the same number of Lego bricks in the same size tin. 




© BBC London News, 19 October 2013

When Sir Terry Farrell was selected by Hutchison Whampoa to review the failed Aedas masterplan, Sir Terry, in the presence of Hutchison Whampoa’s UK director Edmond Ho, publicly promised the people of Deptford a new masterplan for the site of Henry VIII’s royal dockyard and John Evelyn’s Sayes Court Garden, now Convoy’s Wharf. They would start "from the ground up". What did he mean?

Farrell’s architects recently claimed on BBC London News (above) to have used the character and history of the site to inform their masterplan. But it must be remembered that the quantum of units at 3,500 apartments, the typology of high rise towers of up to 48 storeys rising out of 12 storey blocks with their enclosed private green spaces resting on the top of four storeys of car parking – plus blanket preservation in situ of the historic dockyard structures – were all features of the previous Aedas masterplan (2012) which was unanimously rejected by the local community, English Heritage, Council for British Archaeology, Naval Dockyard Society and Lewisham Planning and a number of London amenity societies.

The Aedas masterplan – the routes and the real green public spaces

Identical to the Aedas master plan, the Farrell’s masterplan again proposes the historic structures such as the GII listed Olympia Building and the Double Dry Dock remain as marooned stand-alone features amongst the Aedas typology of monolithic blocks. So what does this newly promised “from the ground up” Farrell’s masterplan deliver that the rejected Aedas masterplan did not?

The Farrells masterplan – routes and public spaces

Are the extant Tudor routes through the site expressed in the masterplan? Not yet, rather Farrells have opted to import a circulation feature of “one route back” from the river that has never been a feature of this enclosed self-contained site. What the Farrell’s monolithic gesture of “one route back” achieves is a cutting through of the extant Tudor routes, ignoring the historic perpendicular circulation to the river with pedestrian bridges crossing the potential open mouths of the dock, slips, basin and mast ponds – in favour of an imported notion. Rather than the circulation through the site being informed by the site’s own history and character, specific and characteristic to this internationally important historic site, Farrell’s have opted to impose an idea from elsewhere.

The expression of the historic dockyard structures in the Farrell’s masterplan is limited to an indication of a single slipway illustrated as a green space and the dry dock also illustrated as a green space. This decision to landscape these features does not reflect the historic maritime character of the site. Where, in the former dockyard basin for instance, there might be historic tall ships, a marina, a sailing centre, moored restaurant barges or a floating swimming pool, Farrell’s have proposed – exactly as Aedas did – that the basin is rendered as a dull hard landscaped 'town square feature' fronting the proposed Olympia building shopping centre, described by Sir Terry as the "heart" of the site. The question as to how a shopping centre purposefully reflects the history of London's most important maritime and shipbuilding centre remains unanswered.

When Farrell’s publicly claim that the archaeology and historic features have informed their designs to develop a masterplan from the ground up, it appears that in order to achieve three tower blocks of 48, 38 and 38 storeys, surrounded by monumental blocks of 12 storeys, the precise location for the massive extent of piling required to support this masterplan is determined by the ‘archaeology’. What is the effect of this masterplan on the archaeology? According to Museum of London reports, the effect of this masterplan on the archaeology is "severe". Preservation in situ means that the potential harm to the historic dockyard structures will go unmonitored and unnoticed.

Farrells masterplan overlaid on historic dockyard structures and Sayes Court Garden

Sir Terry Farrell talks about the ‘memory’ of the extant historic dockyard structures being ‘reflected’ in the masterplan. Why do we need memory to be reflected when the structures themselves exist and no-one yet knows whether these structures can be revealed because expert assessment has yet to take place? For example, studies need to be carried out to determine whether the yellow stock brick and hardwood slipways can be revealed in the masterplan. As heritage consultants, Alan Baxters Associates have stated the masonry and brick openings in the river wall, such as the masonry Dry Dock entrance, may be sustainable as a revealed structure.

If Farrell’s public promise has any value, we will see more than the currently proposed preservation in situ of the entire historic environment of the dockyard and Sayes Court Garden.

Convoys Wharf plans: 'everything that is wrong with our property industry'.

An opinion piece in the property industry weekly Estates Gazette has given an excoriating assessment of the new Farrell masterplan for Convoys Wharf. The column was written by Paula Hirst, head of regeneration at Mazars (and incidentally also one of hopefuls competing to be chosen as prospective parliamentary candidate for the Lewisham Deptford seat).

As the introduction to the article explains, Hirst 'offers her thoughts on a scheme which seems to hark back to the 80s...'

Thursday's London Evening Standard heralded "a £1bn vision to transform Deptford", announcing a new scheme on the Thames-fronted Convoys Wharf site by Sir Terry Farrell. 

With a plan to "turn the rundown riverside neighbourhood into a thriving 'Shoreditch of south London'", the scheme proposals are to include 3,500 homes, shops, restaurants and a primary school, alongside three new parks. Oh, and three high-rise towers of up to 48 storeys (yes, you did read that right), with luxury apartments at the top. 

Putting the question of whether London needs two Shoreditches to one side for a moment, reading this article I wondered whether we had somehow been transported back in time to the 1980s where no-one really seemed to know what regeneration meant. It was an era where shiny glossy buildings would somehow "transform" an area through real estate development, although whether for better or worse would be highly dependent on exactly where you sat on the income spectrum. 

Well, Deptford is not the London Docklands, and this is not the 1980s. Deptford has some of the highest density housing in the country. Convoys Wharf backs onto an area with more people living in one place than live in many small towns. There are already quite a lot of residential towers on the skyline. And there has been no access to the river for 13 years for local people. 

Yes, local people would very much like to be able to have some more open space, more parks would be welcome, a view and the ability to sit by the river would be enjoyed by many. That's why the development of Convoys Wharf is important and a long time overdue. 

And there is a local, Londonwide, and national housing shortage, so a few more homes on a site that big would be important. But a high-density scheme that's pretending to be Canary Wharf mark two? Difficult to see what this might bring to local people. 

Farrell is not wrong when he says that there are lots of creative people living in Deptford. It's already a thriving hub of creative industries, in no small part due to the successful regeneration schemes already undertaken. 

But it's hard to see how three new luxury giant tower blocks of gleaming steel and glass will be of much benefit to that industry. It's hard to imagine how 3,500 homes won't create intense additional stress on existing infrastructure. It's hard to envisage how such towers will be of benefit to anyone locally at all, in fact, unless you count creating a massive shadow over their balconies and gardens a benefit. No, didn't think so. 

Deptford, located in South East London in the borough of Lewisham, contains high amounts of social housing, and is within the 10% most deprived areas in the country. Successful regeneration schemes understand the context they are in, seek to integrate within the area, and provide facilities and amenities which open up new opportunities for local people. 

They don't seek to create an island of wealth separated from and adjacent to existing areas, which local people don't feel welcome in, cannot afford, and in all likelihood will have limited access to physically. 

In developing a scheme that faces Canary Wharf rather than its hinterland, Farrell appears to be giving local people a clear sign that this is not for them. But then Farrell is quite used to this. One only needs to look at the controversial Earls Court scheme to see that existing communities are considered pretty marginal if not totally inconsequential, to development plans. 

Where on earth the money is going to come from for a £1bn scheme in this day and age is anyone's guess, but no doubt someone has heard the money bells ringing, knowing there is an almost clear 40-acre site with prime river frontage. 

But let's stop for a minute before anyone decides that somehow giving local people access to the river by sticking huge residential towers on their doorstep is regeneration, or that somehow or other they will benefit or be grateful. This is pure real estate development, and represents everything that is wrong with our property industry. 

What Deptford needs is not more high-density housing in an area of existing high density, putting more pressure on existing infrastructure. What's needed is more open space, free to enjoy access to the river, and new employment opportunities that go way beyond construction. 

Opening up Convoys Wharf once again to local people is a must. But let's do it right. Let's invest in our communities, not take from them. Let's regenerate areas, not just develop them. And above all, let's value the amazing spirit of the people of Deptford by developing a scheme with the community for the community; one that harnesses that spirit and enables it to thrive.

Convoys Wharf revised masterplan in the news

Convoys Wharf was the focus of several articles in local papers and the architectural press this week, after Hutchison Whampoa and Terry Farrell briefed the press on the new masterplan for the site, the planning application for which is due to be submitted shortly.

At the time of writing, the documents had not yet been made available, but we are assuming that the masterplan that will be submitted is the one that has been shown at previous public open days, which we wrote about on this blog. When the documents are available we will publish our own assessment.

Much of the coverage has been largely cut-and-pasting from the press release, which was presumably sent out by Hutchison Whampoa. 

However the architectural magazine Building Design was critical of the new masterplan, with the magazine's executive editor Ellis Woodman using his leader column to back up some of the issues raised by Deptford Is..   

"Since its closure as a site of industry in 2000, Convoys Wharf in Deptford has proved one of London’s most intractable development conundrums. Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners and Aedas have previously drawn up plans for the 16ha Thames-side site and now Terry Farrell’s office has submitted a third proposal. 

Sadly, it remains no less persuasive than its predecessors. 

The fundamental problem is the developers’ determination to create 3,500 new homes on a site 10km from the centre of London that lacks a tube stop. That is a particular problem given how few of this luxury riverside development’s 9,000 residents will be employed close to home. Deptford is, after all, one of the poorest wards in one of the poorest boroughs in London. 

Quite what the development gives back to the community is also hard to fathom. Once an area providing local employment, it is to be replaced by a dormitory village that lacks the transport network to support it. Instead, what’s needed is a development that recognises the obligations it owes the community."

The Evening Standard, whose architecture critic Kieran Long wrote insightfully about the project in 2011, went to the other extreme, focussing on Terry Farrell's quote that his masterplan was capable of turning Deptford into 'the Shoreditch of south London'. Deptford Is.. finds this concept hard to grasp, and questions the basis of such an assertion.

Leaving aside the question of whether local residents want to live in a 'new Shoreditch', the notion that building a high-density residential development in an area of deprivation will turn one place into another is out of touch with reality. Terry Farrell was supposedly brought in to re-imagine the masterplan and connect it with the site's heritage, using a 'ground-up' approach that respected the history of Deptford and used it to inform a revised proposal. Farrell also said that the development would attract a more affluent class of resident to Deptford. That much is clear, since the prices of apartments are likely to be well above the means of most people living here already, but there is little indication of how this will have a positive impact on Deptford.

Sayes Court Garden on Gardener's Question Time

© londonslostgarden.wordpress.com/

Karen Liljenberg, local resident and expert on John Evelyn's Sayes Court Garden, spoke to Matthew Wilson today on BBC Radio 4's Gardener's Question Time about the garden and how it looked in its 17th century heyday – and what might happen in the future. The programme will be repeated on Sunday at 2pm or listen now on i-Player.

See Karen's blog Sayes Court – London's Lost Garden

Deptford is.. reviewing recent progress

After something of a hiatus over the summer, this week members of the Deptford Is.. team got together to discuss progress since their last meeting.

At the Convoys Wharf public exhibition in July, the architects were confident that they would be holding another open day in September to show us the final masterplan that they intend to submit to the council as a planning application. With no contact from them at time of writing, we assume that progress has been rather slower than predicted.

Renderings from the previous scheme - little change was seen on the latest masterplan

The Build the Lenox team shared the exciting news that they have acquired two patrons for their Community Interest Company (CIC) - local MP Dame Joan Ruddock, and historian and broadcaster Dan Snow - lending the campaign additional gravitas and respectability that will no doubt stand it in good stead for the months ahead.

Having stepped up the marketing campaign by producing new postcard flyers to distribute in Deptford and environs, and having been featured in the South London Press and News Shopper newspapers, the campaign is starting to attract attention from a wider audience and the team is recruiting new volunteers and continuing to seek donations towards the costs.

They have also launched a Facebook page for the campaign and invite you to 'like' it if you have a Facebook account!

Meanwhile Sayes Court Garden has constituted itself as a CIC and is forging exciting links with high-profile charities and organisations which have similar interests and aspirations. The project also has a Facebook page and a Twitter feed through which they can keep in touch with supporters.

An invitation to meet Tim Smit, the founder of the Eden Project in Cornwall, has led to a continuing dialogue and consolidation of the aims of the Sayes Court Garden project, and this has been given additional impetus by a new collaboration with the National Trust.

The founder of the National Trust, Octavia Hill, has links to Deptford and Sayes Court Garden, and it was discussions over how the gardens could be preserved in perpetuity for the people of Deptford that prompted the creation of the National Trust.

The Sayes Court Garden project is in the process of developing a series of workshops with local schools as part of its long-term aim to get young children interested in gardening, food growing and using and exploring the urban green spaces that are often overlooked. These workshops will be held in November.

On a more general level, the team is working with leading landscape academics and design professionals, moving towards presenting developed proposals for the Sayes Court Garden site and manor house.

Lenox Project in South London Press

The Lenox Project was featured on the front page of the South London Press today. The project was also covered in more detail this week in a great piece by Laurence Dodds for East London Lines. 

Londonist and local blog Transpontine also featured the project. Nick Rutherford wrote in the SLP:

Enthusiasts in Deptford hope to build a life-size replica of a 17th century warship to attract visitors and regenerate the area.

The Lenox was built in the royal dockyard at Deptford between 1677 and 1678 as centrepiece of Charles II's fleet.

The Build The Lenox group has drawn up plans to create a 52m replica of the ship from around 1,900 oak trees and "a substantial amount" of other trees including ash, which will be "sourced sustainably".

The Lenox Project was featured on the front page of the South London Press, Friday 14th September. The project was also covered this week by Londonist and local blog Transpontine. Nick Rutherford wrote in the SLP:

Enthusiasts in Deptford hope to build a life-size replica of a 17th century warship to attract visitors and regenerate the area.

The Lenox was built in the royal dockyard at Deptford between 1677 and 1678 as centrepiece of Charles II's fleet.

The Build The Lenox group has drawn up plans to create a 52m replica of the ship from around 1,900 oak trees and "a substantial amount" of other trees including ash, which will be "sourced sustainably".

Project director Julian Kingston said: "Around one million tourists visit Greenwich each year but don't realise that Deptford has an equally important maritime history.

"It was the first royal dockyard and some of the greatest ships from the 16th to 19th centuries were built or refitted here.

"It was the Cape Kennedy of its day, at the centre of things.

"Even all the biscuits eaten on ships all over the world were sent out from Deptford."

Mr Kingston, 60, who is a boat builder, came up with the idea two years ago and there are now eight members in the group – including a maritime historian, bridge builder, graphic designer and architect – and around 400 supporters on the mailing list.

If building goes ahead, the Lenox will be the centrepiece of the redevelopment of the 42-acre Convoys Wharf, which is seeking to build 2,500 new homes, a school and cultural spaces along the riverside.

Mr Kingston said the project would bring employment and education opportunities, and that visitors would be able to watch the construction in progress over an estimated eight-year period.

He said: "We are in the early stages now and looking for funding (he estimates costs of about £23m). If this goes ahead, it will bring focus, identity and pride back to Deptford.

What the experts are saying: Council for British Archaeology

The Council for British Archaeology issued the following press release on 13th April; it was picked up by the Newshopper (see previous post). We look forward to seeing its contents reported in other publications.

CBA forms expert panel for Deptford Dockyard

The Council for British Archaeology has convened a panel of independent experts to discuss an alternative future for the former site of England’s first Royal Dockyard at Deptford, founded by Henry VIII in 1513.

Calling on the expertise of the Naval Dockyards Society, the Garden History Society, the Panel for Historic Engineering Works and the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, the CBA are hoping to inform a better, heritage-led scheme that delivers wider public benefit and a more sophisticated approach to this internationally important site – one that served this country for nearly 400 years, harboured the Mary Rose and saw the knighting of Sir Francis Drake on the Golden Hind.

Lewisham Council have sent back the planning application for Convoy’s Wharf, which is for over 3,500 new homes, for revisions, claiming rightly that, it was not sensitive enough to unique heritage assets of the dockyard. As a consequence, the developers, Hutchinson Whampoa, have called in Sir Terry Farrell to look at redrawing the masterplan. Meanwhile, DCMS have asked English Heritage to look again at the heritage status of the site, which along with the adjacent Sayes Court Garden currently has no overall designation.

Working with local group Deptford Is, the CBA and its expert panel are looking to assist the developers and English Heritage in their understanding and enhancement of the dockyard and its remarkable history. There is immense potential here, for a scheme to be delivered that benefits the local community, in our Olympic year and with the 500th anniversary of the founding of the site to follow in 2013, surely our first Royal dockyard deserves both protection and respect.

The dockyard at Deptford was founded by Henry VII IN 1513 to build vessels for the Royal Navy. As the dockyard closest to the Navy Board, Deptford grew to be the most important of all the royal dockyards, at its height it was known as the ‘Cradle of the Navy’ and the docks, slipways and wharves constituted 600 feet of river frontage. Buildings that survive on site include the Master Shipwright’s House of 1708, the first purpose-built dockyard offices of 1720 and Victorian slipway covers of 1846. However, what survive below the ground is more impressive. The Great Dock, slipways, mast ponds and the huge basin, along with Sayes Court Garden, constitute an enormous site – one that has had a pivotal role in England’s history.

Other facts -

 - Elizabeth 1 knights Sir Francis Drake aboard the Golden Hind at Deptford in 1581
 - HMS Bounty re-fitted in 1787
 - The rebuilding of Cook’s Endeavour in 1768
 - Several of the warships that served under Nelson at Trafalgar, designed and built at Deptford

Sayes Court Gardens, which was a key site in the formation of the National Trust, was the creation of Seventeenth century diarist, John Evelyn. Made up of an elaborate parterre, long avenues and a great orchard of three-hundred fruit trees, a lake with an island and a large grove of trees of many different species the garden was tremendously influential at the time. Now, unfortunately, it is now almost completely buried under concrete. The Garden History Society has a study day at the site on the 25th April and has recently stated: “The influence of the garden at Sayes Court on garden design and development in England in the 17th century is well documented and its location beside Deptford Docks was fundamental to John Evelyn's science of experimentation with new plants"

The Council for British Archaeology was established in 1944 and is the national amenity society concerned with protection of the archaeological interest in heritage assets. Heritage assets with archaeological interest are the primary source of evidence about the substance and evolution of places and the people and cultures that made them. Local authorities have a duty to notify the CBA of applications for listed building consent involving partial or total demolition.

Deptford Is.. are "a group of local residents who want to ensure that the redeveloped Convoys Wharf offers the best for Deptford and its future". They have proposed a number of alternative projects for the site; a recent consultation allowed them and other local groups to give their visions of the site. A report on the event can be found here.

Hutchison Whampoa Properties and its architect Aedas has submitted an application for more than 3,000 new homes, with a range of tenures, new public squares and the opening of Deptford's Riverside, details of which can be found here.

Deptford is...in the news again

The News Shopper has reported on the Council for British Archaeology's support for our proposals, and has also stated that English Heritage has been requested to re-examine the status of the site by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

ALTERNATIVES to a controversial £1bn high-rise development at a former royal dockyard will be put forward by archaeology experts.

The Council for British Archaeology has convened a panel of independent experts to discuss Convoys Wharf in Deptford, saying the current plans do not respect its history.

Deptford's dockyard was founded by Henry VIII in 1513 as the first royal dockyard, later harbouring the Mary Rose and the Golden Hind when Sir Francis Drake was knighted.

The panel will work with a group of concerned people in the area who have formed the Deptford Is campaign group.

Hutchinson Whampoa's application for 3,500 new homes at the site is currently undergoing revisions with the help of top British architect Sir Terry Farrell.

And the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has requested English Heritage re-examine the site's status, particularly Sayes Court Garden - created by 17th century diarist John Evelyn.

Deptford is...still being talked about!

Lewisham Deptford MP Joan Ruddock last week spoke out against the proposed masterplan for Convoys Wharf, telling News Shopper that she believed Hutchison Whampoa's plans to build 3,500 residential units were too high a density for the site.

The story was further expanded in The Mercury today to include a quote by Malcolm Woods from English Heritage: "It is our view that the regeneration of Convoys Wharf, as it is now proposed, fails to grasp the unique opportunity to create a distinctive sense of place that takes full advantage of the rich historical legacy of the site and its local area." (See our post on English Heritage's response here.)

Ms Ruddock spoke in support of the proposals put forward by Deptford is... at the launch of our alternative vision in November. She is currently working with Lewisham Council to arrange a public meeting at which community groups such as ours can put their proposals to an independent panel. We will bring you more news of this meeting when the date and format have been finalised.

Deptford is.. still in the news!

A couple of weeks ago the Royal Horticultural Society published a story titled: Evelyn's garden under threat from development.

Yesterday the Evening Standard reported that "40-storey towers ‘will destroy Henry’s historic shipyard'".

The Garden History Society has also published an extensive article here about the threat to Sayes Court Gardens. In the article the GHS states its support for our proposal to recreate the gardens:

"The GHS supports this campaign and is adding its voice to those suggesting that Lewisham Council looks favourably on the idea of conserving the site of Sayes Court as part of an overall development plan when the application is considered by Lewisham’s planning committee in either January or April."

Deptford is... in the news again

Our campaign featured in the East London Lines news website last week, with an article drawing attention to the lack of affordable housing being proposed in the current masterplan for Convoys Wharf.

Deptford is.. member Julian Kingston was interviewed for the article, which you can read in full here.

Battle of Convoys Wharf

A two page article with the title 'Battle of Convoys Wharf' appeared in the Evening Standard on Wednesday 26th October, in the arts section of the newspaper.

The article - which you can read in full here - was written by Kieran Long and addresses some of the issues that Deptford is.. wants to be more extensively considered by the council and developer Hutchison Whampoa.

Long visited the site and interviewed Chris Mazeika of the Master Shipwrights House in an attempt to understand more about the Deptford is campaign. As a result, he has written an in-depth piece which raises some very pertinent questions about the planning process, and identifies with some of the aspects of the Convoys Wharf proposals that we are questioning.

In particular, he questions the difficulty of translating a local understanding of, and passion for, heritage and place, into a practical manifestation of the same:
"The nuanced understanding of the place that the locals advocate here in Deptford is mirrored all over the city by local interest groups, amateur historians, and concerned residents near large regeneration projects. But it has no way of gaining traction in a development process involving this much money, and that is a failure of our planning system and of imagination of the politicians who are the guardians of our city."

It's also reassuring that Long supports our assertion that the bland presentation of the masterplan is harmful and undermines any confidence in the outcome. We believe that with skilled architects engaged in the design process, a much more sympathetic and appropriate solution could be developed.

But in deploying standard urban design tactics the masterplan does find itself ignoring what makes this place special in the first place. I suspect the history of the site will be signalled in branding and signage more than any real, physical or spatial sense. And while it is a very difficult task to capture all these historical and cultural layers of a city in urban design and architecture, good architects should be able to do it.

As for 'vagueness' about our aims, we intend to dispel this impression when we launch our alternative proposals next week (see details here).