Estate could be demolished to make way for 165 new homes

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

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 been empty for more than a year and which 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 more than 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’.

It is expected that the ownership of the new homes would be split between PA Housing and the council. 

A Greenwich council spokeswoman previously said that work to regenerate the Maryon Grove estate was part of the £557 million Woolwich Estates programme to create 1,615 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 spokeswoman said asbestos had been removed from the flats in 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 antisocial behaviour in the area and enforcement officers monitored the site daily.

Pictured top: The Maryon Grove estate sits between Woolwich and Charlton in the borough of Greenwich (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/My London)