In our rush to solve the housing crisis, we’re forgetting about one thing
Greenwich Peninsula has never been thought of fondly.
Once desolate marshland, by the turn of the 20th century it was best known for the difficult-to-love Blackwall Tunnel. A century later, the controversial Millennium Dome had joined it, along with the fiscally-questionable Emirates Air Line cable car.
So yesterday’s high-profile launch of 600 shiny apartments on the peninsula was encouraging: eventually, 15,000 new homes will be built as part of a massive regeneration scheme. Similar plans are afoot in Old Oak Common, where 24,000 new homes will be built, and Nine Elms Lane, where Battersea Power Station is the focal point of a mile-long masterplan which includes 20,000 homes.
Read more: This complex is planned for Greenwich, with no affordable housing
But one boss has warned of the knock-on effects. David Sleath, the chief executive of warehouse giant Segro, warned industrial land in the capital is dwindling at an “alarming rate”.
“The needs of the capital have changed. With a growing population and with e-commerce sales… growing, there is a need for more industrial and distribution space,” Sleath told the FT.
He had a point. Nine Elms Lane was once London’s engine room, with a power station, giant Royal Mail sorting office, flower market and even a climate-controlled warehouse housing priceless works of art for Christie’s. All of that will soon be replaced by homes.
Read more: It's time we saw some real planning reforms
In our rush to solve the housing crisis, vital functions of city life are at risk of being forgotten. In recent years, changes of use – retail to residential; office to residential; industrial to residential – have been seen as an easy way to shoehorn more homes into areas struggling to house people.
Experts have suggested a solution might be provided by the capital’s car parks. But even those are being gobbled up by residential: last February a car park off Oxford Street was sold to create a £600m hotel, while Phones4U founder John Caudwell has plans to transform a 1960s car park on Audley Street into £2bn of top-end apartments.
Read more: Nimbyism in decline as housing shortage bites
There is no doubt changes of use will help, but the real solution is to build – build up and build out. Without industrial space, the capital risks becoming a residential ghetto. Like it or not, with a growing population, the capital’s sprawl is going to have to increase.