Woolwich College eyes up imposing Equitable House as a new home

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

A scheme to convert a former doctors’ surgery in a Grade II listed building in Woolwich into a college has been revealed.

Greenwich council has received plans to transform a unit in Equitable House in General Gordon Square into an education centre for The Woolwich College.

Planning documents from Hawkins Designs, on behalf of the Kandel Group, said The Woolwich College was ‘keen’ to expand and felt the space offered excellent accommodation for the organisation.

The college reportedly has 130 students and offers courses in dental nursing, pharmaceutical science and health and social care as well as business and IT-related topics.

The Kandel Group said in the plans: “With strong ties to the Nepalese community, The Woolwich College has actively engaged with and served this community for the past five years, positioning itself favourably to attract students from this demographic.

“As a registered training organisation, the college presently offers a diverse array of courses tailored to meet the specific educational pathways of the local populace.”

The unit was previously occupied by Clover Health Centre, which closed last year after being in the building for 11 years.

The South East London Integrated Care Board said in a statement last September that finding a new provider for the surgery would not be viable given its small patient list size.

It said: “We are confident in the capacity of Greenwich GP practices to accommodate the increased number of patients. They have expressed their willingness to take on this responsibility.”

The Woolwich College, which currently sits in Barnard Close, was acquired by the Kandel Group in 2014.

Rajen Kandel, who submitted the current application, said he was worried about how the closure of Clover Health Centre would affect the Nepalese community in Greenwich.

He said: “Nepali is the second largest spoken language in this borough. I know a lot of the ex-Gurkha communities who live around.

“I’ve been helping a lot in this area especially around translating and doing a lot of community campaigns. I have always had interests in the health sector, having personally registered a lot of ex-Gurkha pensioners in that surgery myself. Obviously, I was immediately drawn in when I heard it was closing.”

Equitable House was built in 1935, according to Historic England, and was first listed in 2001. The building reportedly served as the headquarters for the Woolwich Equitable Building Society until 1989.

The building currently hosts several businesses such as The Coffee Lounge and Paddy Power. The Woolwich Equitable pub in the building was put on sale in February this year for £1.5million. The space, run by Antic, had closed last year due to rent arrears as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Woolwich College has been approached for comment.

Pictured top: Equitable House, which overlooks General Gordon Square in Woolwich town centre (Picture: Joe Coughlan)