Demolition of 'scary' derelict Woolwich estate to make way for 165 new homes moves step closer

Plans have moved forward to demolish a derelict estate in Greenwich and replace it with a series of new flats. The Maryon Grove estate, which has sat empty for over a year and neighbours have described as 'scary', could be torn down in favour of 165 new homes.

The estate sits in Woolwich and contains 172 homes across 16 four-storey blocks. Tall red hoarding was erected around it last year after a fire started in one of the flats, with the final residents reportedly being moved out in March 2023.

Greenwich Council documents for a cabinet meeting on May 15 said: "Maryon Grove has been handed over to Lovells for demolition with outline planning permission granted and a detailed planning application expected in Q3 2024/25."

Maryon Grove forms part of Greenwich Council’s plan to deliver over 1,500 new homes in Woolwich through the regeneration of three estates from the 1960s. The project, called One Woolwich by developer Lovell, dates back to 2013 and seeks to redevelop the Connaught, Morris Walk and Maryon Grove estates as they have reached the 'end of their natural lives'.

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Alexandra Dubosch, 27, moved into her house on Maryon Grove, just beside the estate, two years ago. She previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "The kids are afraid of it. They’re not going by themselves anywhere, but when we were passing by they said it was scary. Once some courier left our parcel there, so we had to go there and they were crying saying, 'Mum, let’s not go there'."

She added: "I was scared as well, but it's not that kind of scared. I was thinking that someone could be there, like some real person. [My kids] were afraid of ghosts."

Greenwich Council bought 265 of the planned homes for the estates from Lovells in 2022 for use as social housing, with 175 of them in the Morris Walk estate. The new report said the council-owned flats in Morris Walk are planned to be completed before summer next year, with the remaining 90 in Maryon Grove following later in the year. The scheme would see 165 new homes being built on the Maryon Grove estate overall.

Officers added in their report that the plans were too early in development to set up a management company for the Maryon Grove project, but it was expected that the ownership of the new homes would be split between PA Housing and the council. The documents added that the management company for a portion of the neighbouring estate, Morris Walk, was planned to be transferred from its current owner Lovells.

The change would see PA Housing and the authority owning the management company for the area in Morris Walk in a 50/50 partnership, despite the council owning 57 per cent of the homes planned for the northern area of the estate. Officers claimed such an arrangement would likely be a cheaper option for residents as PA Housing would be willing to provide estate services while under an equal deal. The overall Morris Walk estate is reportedly planned to have 766 new properties built on it.

A Greenwich Council spokesperson previously told the LDRS that work to regenerate the Maryon Grove estate was part of the £557 million Woolwich Estates programme to create 1,615 brand new homes, in partnership with Lovell and PA Housing. They added that 53 per cent of the homes for the project would be ‘affordable’.

The spokesperson said asbestos had been removed from the flats on Maryon Grove and developers had added in systems to manage dust and noise until the demolition of the site had been completed. They added that the council was aware of anti-social behaviour in the area and enforcement officers monitored the site daily.

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