Sunday 20 November 2011

What Greenwich is saying

Our neighbouring borough of Greenwich (or should I say the Royal Borough, a title which Deptford would certainly deserve ;-)) has registered the following objection to the planning application for Convoys Wharf:

View from Greenwich Park

"Greenwich Council express concern on the excessive height of the northern part of the proposed development (close to the towers of St Paul’s Cathedral as seen from Greenwich Park) and the detrimental impact it would have on the protected vista from Greenwich Park. The towers of St Paul’s Cathedral are integral to the viewer’s ability to recognise and appreciate the landmark, and the viewing corridor of the protected vista from Greenwich Park incorporates these features. The proposal is therefore contrary to policies D25 and D26 of the Greenwich adopted Unitary Development Plan 2006, and the Revised Supplementary Planning Guidance, London View Management Framework (July 2010). It is further considered that the views of English Heritage and the Mayor of London should be sought."

4 comments:

  1. I think Deptford was a "Royal Borough" before there were Boroughs, Henry VIII's cypher and royal coat of arms on the Great Storehouse of 1513 testifies to this. In WWI and WWII Deptford was the site of His Majesty's Supply Reserve Depot and the Royal Victualling Yard remained open until the 1960's...Sayes Court was a royal manor, so when does a place cease to be 'royal' if that title was once conferred?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Dear! You would ask that.

    Places like Deptford and Greenwich exist in the real world. Like many things in the real world they have royal connections such as those you mention or the late Princess Margaret regularly dropping in on Revd David Diamond at St Pauls Deptford for a mug of gin, a ciggy and a good gossip (or so the story goes). In the real world few places are 'royal'.

    The London Borough of Greenwich, along with the other London Boroughs, was created by the London Government Act 1963 which provides at section 1(2) http://j.mp/tX2Syb that Her Majesty in Council can grant a charter making provision with respect to the name of the borough i.e. grant it 'royal' or 'city' status.

    Similar legislation applies elsewhere in England and Wales (with the exception of the City of London which predates any known statute), but obviously the more places that are granted special status the less eclusive it becomes.

    Returning to the original question, despite all our royal connections, the title 'royal' has never actually been formally 'conferred'.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Greenwich is Right to have Concerns about
    the Height of Sky Scraper Buildings .

    Greenwich is Fortunate to have some of it's
    Naval Heritage Preserved and Deptford Deserves
    to have it's Naval Heritage Restored to Honour
    the Past and give Something Back to the
    Present and Future

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don't bully Deptford Yard, he's a poet.

    ReplyDelete