This morning's Canada Water Regeneration Phase 1 information leaflet

This turned up through my front door this morning - the timetable for the first phase of construction of the Canada Water Regeneration plan, otherwise known as C1.  This does not appear to include the high rise shown in the artist's impression, thank goodness - it looks as though we are going to be spared that for another few years.  I've still not forgiven Southwark Council for Ontario Point, and it's always a worry to find that one's low-rise residential oasis is featuring in Skyscraper News!

The leaflet actually doesn't say a great deal, and its main benefit is the timetable on the first page, so for those who don't know, Site C is currently occupied by the two Decathlon stores and their 224 spaces of car parking.  This is the third part of the project, with sites A &and B now built, including the library and the 26 storey eyesore Ontario Point.  Phase C1, as I understand it (but to feel free to correct me) will be on the site of the Decathlon store next to Albion Channel and will be a set of buildings with a central communal garden, ranging from 5-17 storeys comprising 221 apartments and incorporating the new Decathlon store.

I can email the leaflet to anyone who wants it in PDF format.

 

News about The Clipper, William Gaitskell House and Rotherhithe broadband

I was out in the car today and drove past The Clipper.  It is boarded up and the "freehold for sale" signs have been removed.  I checked with its former landlord (landlord of the Moby Dick) and he confirms that The Clipper has been sold to developers and he has been told that they are planning to convert it into apartments.  Having said that, it still needs to go through an application for change of use as well as a planning application, and that will almost certainly be published in Southwark News.  Planning applications can, of course, be contested.  If it is to be saved, it will probably have to be on the grounds of diversity of purpose to combat the change of use (because that stretch of road is becoming unremittingly residential), or for its architectural/heritage merits as one of the few remaining 1930s public houses of its sort in Rotherhithe. There is also the impact of neighbouring residents to consider. We once, in the development in which I live, contested an extension on the grounds that it would block light from our communal roof garden, and the extension was refused, so owners of neighbouring properties should probably be careful to consider planning application proposals with a view to considering the impacts on their own environment.  Oddly, pressure on parking rarely seems to be taken much into account by Southwark Council, but from what I've seen additional cars in that area could be a serious nuisance to existing residents.

Still on the subject of property, thanks very much to @RainbowQuay on Twitter for letting me know that 23 Paradise Street, William Gaitskell House (about which I posted on Friday) is actually up for sale for a mere £2.5 million.  Funny to think that back in the 1960s its future looked really dim when the police moved to new premises and it was empty for several years.  Its Grade II listing probably saved it from being torn down. That's a real mercy, as the building is the last of its kind on Rotherhithe peninsula.  Such a pity that I don't have a spare £2.5 million kicking around!  You can see the advert for it on the Right Move website.  

Another piece of info from Twitter, via @brob11, is that Val Shawcross has decided to weigh in on the whole Rotherhithe broadband issue and provides a good, coherent explanation of why the problem exists on her blog: http://blog.valshawcross.com/the-great-rotherhithe-broadband-robbery/

East Rotherhithe: New Tesco Express

If you're on the eastern side of Rotherhithe, there's a new Tesco Express located in somewhat splendid isolation in the middle section of Plough Way, near the southern end of South Dock (map here, on the Tesco website). 

Marine Wharf

It is located at the base of the new "Marine Wharf" residential complex, which makes it easy to find.  My loathing for the giant and frequently re-organized Tesco at Surrey Quays (why are the cucumbers and lettuces kept on different aisles??) prompted me to go and have a look at the bite-sized version, which a friend who lives over there told me about yesterday.  It is very clean and tidy, and has a good mixture of products for such a small space. The staff who were in there today were busy packing shelves and were friendly.  As you would probably expect, the wine selection is very feeble and buying bread on a Saturday night is always a mug's game so it's difficult to assess what they might have on a good day.  The range of products are firmly positioned towards the middle of Tesco's range of offerings, as you would expect with limited floorspace - there are very few items from the Finest range, for example, and I didn't notice anything from their Basics range either.  The great news is that the lettuces and cucumbers are located side by side!

It is difficult to tell if it will take away business from the Costcutter further down Plough Way, near to Lower Road.  I hope not because although it is such a silly name for a chain of stores, and is located in a rather tatty, albeit useful row of shops, it is friendly, well organized and has been doing a good job for a very long time. More to the point, its wine selection is head and shoulders above that provided by the Tesco Express and I've always preferred the fresh bread from the Costcutter to that provided by other supermarkets in the area.

Apparently a Waitrose has opened just on the other side of Deptford Creek too, in one of the new residential developments there, which is a 15 minute or so drive away.  The address is Dreadnought Wharf, 1 Victoria Parade, Greenwich, SE10 9FR for anyone who wants to check it out on an online map.  The Waitrose website says that there's a carpark.

Whether it's the Costcutter, the Tesco Express, or the Deptford Waitrose, it's always good to have options that don't involve Surrey Quays shopping centre.