Restored cannon on show at Twinkle Park summer festival

Kids and parents alike were fascinated by the restored Saker cannon on show at the Twinkle Park festival last weekend, right next to the Convoys Wharf site.

The cannon was brought to the festival by the Lenox Project as a way of raising awareness about the project and also giving local people a chance to find out about the Convoys Wharf redevelopment proposals and talk about the impact it will have on them.

The cannon, which is has been identified as a 'short' naval Saker of English manufacture, was believed to have been cast some time between 1620 and 1630, some 40 years before the Lenox was launched from Deptford Dockyard.

It was in a sorry state when it was first discovered by a scrap merchant clearing a riverside site in south east London, and has been lovingly restored by Lenox Project founder Julian Kingston.

Julian cleaned the corrosion off the shaft, removed the oversize cannon ball which was jammed into the end, and replaced the trunnions and button with replica pieces turned in wrought iron.

The replica wooden carriage was built using the dimensions of an original carriage in Windsor Castle, which carries a 'long' saker cannon; Julian built the carriage out of elm and used traditional smithing crafts to forge and shape the wrought iron rings and other components.

Kids were fascinated by the cannon and the story of its restoration, and it proved a talking point for visitors as well as a popular photo opportunity!

The Lenox Project is planning to take the cannon out to schools and youth groups to continue raising awareness. If you would like to know more, please contact info@buildthelenox.org

Convoys Wharf planning application: an initial overview

Over the coming weeks the Deptford is.. team will be commenting on a number of aspects of the proposed redevelopment of Convoys Wharf, in order to stimulate debate and encourage local residents and interested bodies to submit their comments on the application to Lewisham Council.

This proposal is going to have a massive impact on Deptford and surrounds, and we want to try and reach as many people as we can, to make them aware of what is happening.

If you are interested in finding out how this development will affect you, we strongly recommend that you read as much of the application as you are able to, follow our blog posts and those of other local bloggers (see sidebar) and talk to your local councillors, your MP and the planning experts at Lewisham Council to get answers to any questions you may have, and listen to what other bodies are saying about the application - we will report those comments here as and when we receive them.

We also invite anyone who is reading the application and wants to raise issues or ask questions to do so in the comments below, or by emailing us directly (deptfordis@yahoo dot co dot uk).

We will try and address those issues we consider most fundamental, including massing and density of the development, transport links, heritage and cultural strategy, and environmental aspects as well as the developer's proposals for the protected wharf.

The official deadline for submitting comments to the planning department is 1 July 2013. However please remember you can submit comments right up until the date at which the application comes before the strategic planning committee. We recommend that you copy your comments to your local councillors and your MP. 

Application: the official description and finding the documents

The comprehensive redevelopment of Convoys Wharf to provide a mixed-use development of up to 419,100 square metres comprising: 

• up to 321,000m2 residential floorspace (up to 3,500 units) (Use Class C3) 
• up to 15,500m2 employment floorspace (Class B1/Live/Work units) including up to 2,200m2 for 3 no. potential energy centres wharf with associated vessel moorings and up to 32,200m2 of employment floorspace (Sui Generis & Class B2) 
• up to 5,810m2 of retail and financial and professional services floorspace (Classes A1 & A2) 
• up to 4,520m2 of restaurant/cafe and drinking establishment floorspace (Classes A3 & A4) 
• up to 13,000m2 of community/non residential institution floorspace (Class D1) and assembly and leisure (Class D2) 
• up to 27,070m2 of hotel floorspace (Class C1) 
• river bus jetty and associated structures 
• 1,840 car parking spaces together with vehicular access from New King Street and Grove Street retention and refurbishment of the Olympia Building and demolition of all remaining non-listed structures on site 

All matters reserved other than access and the siting and massing of three tall buildings. 

Should you wish to download the documents, you can find them on Lewisham Council's planning portal here (application number DC/13/83358).

However in its digital form, the application consists of almost 60 files, some numbering more than 500 pages and many of them 50MB or more in size. Downloading the whole lot from the planning website will cost you more than 1GB of your broadband data.

Deptford Lounge.

As part of the planning process, applicants are required to provide paper copies of these documents, and one set of the Convoys Wharf application is available at Deptford Lounge. Thanks to the efforts of some of our team, and the kind cooperation of the library staff, these documents are now on display next to the information desk for any member of the public to browse.

Visualisations.
One of the more accessible documents as an easy starting point is the one considering the visual impact of the development - it's not easy to find as it is blandly named Environmental Statement Volume 2C.

We have extracted some of the views that locals will be familiar with. Not all of them have been provided as full visualisations; on some of them the finished outline of the buildings are just shown as a green line.

On those that have been provided as full visualisations, only the three tall buildings are shown in any level of detail; the lower buildings (from five storeys upwards to 20 storeys) are shown as white blocks which to some extent lessens the visual impact as seen on the rendering.

Do look closely; many people are more concerned about the impact of the 'lower' buildings on the streetscape and surrounding properties than the tall buildings. You can view higher quality images in the document linked above.

View from Island Gardens Park, opposite Greenwich

View across Pepys Park (photo of park taken during renovation work)

View from the bottom of Deptford High Street

View from Deptford Strand/Foreshore - the grey building in the foreground is also part of the development

View from Twinkle Park - buildings shown in green outline.

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New masterplan documents now online

The planning documents for the revised masterplan for Convoys Wharf are now available online, with the official date for comments set as 1st July 2013. Comments can be submitted right up to the date when the application goes before the strategic planning committee, but you should aim to submit your objection as soon as possible.

You can find the 56 documents on Lewisham's planning website, either by searching under 'convoys' or clicking the link here.

Deptford Is.. evaluating the new proposals and will be publishing our comments on this website over the coming days and weeks. One immediate difference we note is that the heights of the towers (shown above) has increased.

We intend to hold a planning workshop to help people understand the implications and extent of the proposals and give them the opportunity to write a planning objection if they wish to do so.

If you want to be kept up to date with our plans, please join our mailing list by entering your details into the panel in the left-hand column. We will only use your details for this purpose, and you are free to unsubscribe at any time.

Deptford's 'spectacular history'

The full text of Joan Ruddock's introduction at the recent Naval Dockyards Society conference has now been published on her website. We have included our highlights below.

When I was first invited by local Labour party activists to contest the selection to succeed the late John Silkin MP I was a stranger to South East London. My only reference point was Samuel Pepys’ diaries and his oft recorded “went down to Deptford”. .

Looking back it wasn’t a bad connection to have made because although my life has been bound up with all the contemporary issues of the past 25 years a small thread has drawn me repeatedly back to the Dockyards. It was the vicar of St Nicholas Church, Graham Corneck, who first got me interested in the history of the Royal Dockyard. Christopher Marlowe’s bones are reputed to rest in St Nicholas’ churchyard and Graham was an enthusiast for the history of that time.

Deptford has a spectacular history, sadly little appreciated or promoted locally.

It was the decision of News International to close Convoys Wharf - the last remaining working wharf - that got me enthralled with the history of the Royal Dockyard. When the site was due for closure the management invited me to a meeting to explain their plans and assure me that the hundred odd workers were all to be redeployed. I was astounded to see the extent of the site – a footprint equivalent to the whole of the South Bank – yet hidden from public view for decades. My immediate concern was how we, the local people, would regain the site and access to the amazing river frontage. 

Instinctively I knew that development plans would come forward, based on millionaire’s housing and no respect for the site’s extraordinary heritage. I was right – over the next few years, I, the council and local people pressed our case. The first proposals were scrapped, a new master plan was produced but in the end News International abandoned their task and sold to Hutchinson Whampoa in 2008. They equally struggled to find their way. Eventually I insisted on meeting a senior Chinese executive. We had a very tough meeting in which I likened the importance of the Royal Dock Yards' place in British history to that of the Great Wall of China in his. Probably this is the one audience that doesn’t think I exaggerated.

Convoys Wharf when I first visited it was a concrete wasteland with huge sheds dotted randomly on site. One building stood out – the Olympia Warehouse – with its huge ugly façade but superb Victorian vaulted ironwork inside. Fortunately this had been listed and will remain on site but I was appalled to learn that the remains of a Tudor storehouse had been pulled down as late as the 1950s. 

Model of the Tudor storehouse

My basic demands for the redevelopment of Convoys Wharf were complete access to the site for all including the riverfront, a mix of jobs and homes, including affordable homes, recognition and marking of the important heritage and mitigation of the impacts of such a vast development on local roads, transport and services. I knew there would be many objections as there always are but what I didn’t anticipate was the advance of two hugely imaginative projects by local people. 

A group of people led by a local boat builder, Julian Kingston, have put forward a plan to build a replica ship. The project is to build a replica of the Lenox which was the first of the great thirty ship programme of 1677, overseen by Samuel Pepys. The plan is based on the 20 year research programme undertaken by marine historian Richard Endsor which means that it is possible to construct an exact replica. The details of the potential build are fascinating and could employ an army of apprentices. I have never had a particular interest in boats but contemporary paintings record a magnificent war ship that could not fail to inspire. 

The second project is one particularly close to my heart as a former botanist. The Sayes Court project is led by landscape gardener Roo Angell and Bob Bagley. They have researched the origins of John Evelyn’s garden established at Sayes Court in 1653. John Evelyn worked on his designs and experimented with plans over a period of 30 years, making his garden one of the most famous and revolutionary gardens of its time. The remains of his manor house and the site of most of his garden now lie within the boundary of Convoys Wharf. 

The project aims to create a John Evelyn Centre based on the archaeological remains of the ancient manor house and to plant an extensive garden with trees and medicinal herbs. Once again this site could offer the opportunity to combine natural beauty, scientific research and a place of relaxation for local people. 

The site requires a decae-long investment programme

We are looking at a decade-long development programme during which we will need to be vigilant. I won’t be the MP by the time it’s completed but I’m intending to stay involved. This is a part of our heritage too important to miss.

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.

Naval Dockyards Society conference: 500 years of Deptford and Woolwich Royal Dockyards

The five-hundred year anniversary of the founding of Royal Dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich was the theme of the annual conference organised by the Naval Dockyards Society at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich this weekend.

To mark this historic milestone and draw attention to the plight of these sites that risk being forgotten, the NDS lined up a series of speakers who gave presentations on different aspects of the dockyards.

Local MP Joan Ruddock opened the conference, and voiced her support for the Sayes Court Gardens and Lenox schemes being put forward by Deptford Is.. to recognise the significant heritage of the site.

Chris Ellmers is president of the Dockland History Group and was instrumental in setting up the Museum in Docklands in 2003. His presentation examined the private shipyards at Deptford and how they related to Deptford Dockyard over the period from 1790 to 1869. He pointed out that attention is almost always focused on the Royal Dockyard, but that Deptford also has a very rich history of shipbuilding at private yards. Merchant sailing ships, innovative steamers and early iron ships were also built in these dockyards and during the Napoleonic War the private shipyards also built and repaired naval vessels.

Peter Cross-Rudkin from the ICE Panel for Historical Engineering Works spoke about John Rennie, who was effectively the consulting engineer to the Navy from about 1806 onwards. He was involved in planning and designing works at Deptford and Woolwich, as well as Chatham, Milford Haven and Sheerness. The dock gates and parts of the river wall at Convoys Wharf (above) were designed by Rennie.

Archaeologist Duncan Hawkins (above, at one of the open days on the site) who led the excavations at Convoys Wharf presented his findings so far. He noted that while few artefacts were found at the site, the nineteenth-century slipways, entrance to the Great Dock, and the Dockyard basin were in relatively good condition.

Mark Stevenson is English Heritage's archaeology adviser for national planning for South London, and he spoke about archaeology and development management in the context of the developments that have taken place in Woolwich Dockyard and those planned for Deptford.

Finally Chris Mazeika and William Richards (owners of the Master Shipwrights House) presented a paper on the Dockyards Officers Terrace at Deptford (above). Their presentation focussed on the Dockyard Officers' Terrace, tracing its early history from a WWII bomb damage map, plans from the 1930s and a photograph taken around 1900. By analysing these resources and comparing them with earlier naval records as well as further photographic and cartographic evidence, they established that a terrace was present as early as 1623 and survived in part until the post-war period.

This discovery prompts the question as to whether the terrace at Deptford is the first palace front terrace in a royal naval dockyard. 

They also showed a fly-through 3D model of the site showing the location of the former terrace. 

The Greenwich Industrial History blog has also published a report on the conference.