THAMESMEAD & ABBEY WOOD OPPORTUNITY AREA PLANNING FRAMEWORK 49 Culture and Heritage P1 1.4 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FIG 1.36 taco! Thamesmead community radio in a FIG 1.37 Bow Arts Trust at Lakeside Centre temporary space Studios LACK OF CULTURAL VENUES CREATIVE WORKSPACES There are very few cultural venues in the There are opportunities in the OA to support OA. More will be required, both to support different scales of creative workspace, existing grassroots creativity, and for future from artists’ studios to large scale theatre populations. Facilities like cinemas, music production facilities. Lakeside Centre venues, libraries and cultural centres will Studios, operated by Bow Arts Trust, has provide a heart to the community and create already opened, and is providing 40 new a place where people want to live and spend affordable creative workspaces. time. The OA has the potential to provide a Meanwhile (temporary) uses will also be vital creative employment hub, which can important to test and develop ideas for support the London creative supply chain cultural provision in an area which has been needs and play a role as part of the Thames so underserved for a long period of time. Estuary Production Corridor. Adapting empty or under-used spaces and buildings for cultural uses can also provide Alongside this is it will be important to opportunities for cultural organisations to explore further opportunities for work- revitalise areas creating new provision for live housing for artists and low-cost local people. accommodation for touring artists. THAMESMEAD & ABBEY WOOD OPPORTUNITY AREA PLANNING FRAMEWORK 49 FIG 1.38 View towards Gallions Hill from west FIG 1.39 Grade I Listed Crossness Pumping House Thamesmead UNIQUE HERITAGE NATIONALLY IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGY While located just outside the OA boundary, the Grade 1 Listed Crossness Over time, Plumstead Marsh and the Pumping House is an outstanding example western portion of Erith Marsh that falls of Victorian engineering that attracts within the OA, became buried as land visitors from across the country, putting reclamation changed the area. The area, Thamesmead and Abbey Wood on the map having been used for testing guns made at and adding to its historical and cultural the Woolwich Royal Arsenal factories, was richness. then transformed into the Thamesmead residential development. Today the ancient Lesnes Abbey Woods is a Site of Special marsh lies buried and with it a rich and Scientific Interest and a local nature reserve diverse archaeology as witness to our that is known for its ancient woodland and prehistoric ancestors who lived and worked abbey ruins that date back to 1178. in this tidal landscape. Other unique landscape features include There is also potential for nationally the tumps - small rounded hills - that are a important but undesignated archaeology to reminder of the area’s history as a munitions inform and shape the heritage offer. storage and testing grounds for the Royal Arsenal. Tump 53 is a local nature reserve with a community centre run by Peabody. THAMESMEAD & ABBEY WOOD OPPORTUNITY AREA PLANNING FRAMEWORK 59 Objectives for the Thamesmead and Abbey Wood OA The baseline analysis, engagement 2 IMPROVE CONNECTIONS AND feedback and resulting conclusions ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES have produced a series of objectives WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE OA for Thamesmead and Abbey Wood OA. These inform the Spatial Strategies, With Elizabeth line services soon to Places section, and Delivery Plan that commence from Abbey Wood, journeys follow. into central London will be faster. New developments have already started coming 1 SUPPORT THE DELIVERY OF forward in the south of the OA, bringing HOMES AND JOBS, AND ENSURE significant additional economic impetus. THE AREA REMAINS A MIXED AND INCLUSIVE PLACE Improvements around Abbey Wood station, including new homes, commercial space, Thamesmead and Abbey Wood is home and public realm, should help to create to over 40,000 people and it is important an attractive local centre with a range of to ensure that existing residents and amenities, jobs and scope for higher density businesses are able to share the benefits mixed uses. of future growth in the area. Depending on transport improvements, there is also the The opening of the Elizabeth line only goes potential for 15,500 new and affordable so far to connect the isolated communities homes, many of which be family homes. to the north. Investment in strategic public The area’s unique setting and proximity transport connections serving North to London makes it well-suited for family Thamesmead would also be required to housing, supplementing an already act as a catalyst for development and strong community of families. See Part 3 regeneration in the north of the OA. Unlocking Growth with Transport A new transport interchange and bus transit that serves North Thamesmead, along with improved walking and cycling connections would allow Thamesmead Town Centre and Waterfront to become a civic hub with sweeping views over the Thames. See Part 3 Unlocking Growth with Transport, and TfL’s accompanying Transport Strategy document for the OAPF. THAMESMEAD & ABBEY WOOD OPPORTUNITY AREA PLANNING FRAMEWORK 59 3 OVERCOME OBSTACLES AND 4 IMPROVE ECOLOGICAL PROMOTE SAFE, ACCESSIBLE RESILIENCE AND ENHANCE ROUTES FOR ACTIVE TRAVEL ACCESS TO AND QUALITY OF NATURAL ASSETS TfL’s Healthy Streets approach puts human health and experience at the heart The Mayor of London has set out of neighbourhood planning, and looks to aspirations for London to become a zero activities such as walking and cycling as carbon city by 2050, with energy efficient a way to incorporate the daily amount of buildings, clean transport and energy - RB exercise people require to stay healthy Greenwich have pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030. Developments in the OA should improve There is an opportunity in the OA for a the quality and safety of the walking and holistic approach to manage the impacts of cycling environment, in accordance with the climate change, improve air quality, reduce Mayor’s Transport Strategy. More existing waste and put environmental considerations trips made within the OA, particularly those at the very heart of regeneration in that connect existing or future social uses, Thamesmead and Abbey Wood. should be able to be walked or cycled to reduce the need for car use. The abundance of open spaces and waterways in the OA are a defining feature Future developments and the transit route of the area. Improvements should be made proposed in this OAPF open the opportunity to improve accessibility, amenity value, to turn major roads that currently divide management and safety of these spaces. places and communities into more Natural assets and existing open spaces balanced streets that can help create better should also be enhanced to improve connected, more integrated places. See biodiversity and provide for tidal flood Part 5 Places. storage. Riverside developments should address flood risk in a way that allows residents and visitors to appreciate spaces along the river. Enhancements along strategic routes should help create and improve existing active leisure circuits for running and cycling through the area, linking the Thames Path and the Ridgeway via a series of safe and attractive off-road connections. See Part 4.3 Environment, Energy and Utilities and Part 5 Places. THAMESMEAD & ABBEY WOOD OPPORTUNITY AREA PLANNING FRAMEWORK 61 Objectives for the Thamesmead and P2 2.3 Abbey Wood OA 5 ENSURE SOCIAL AND 6 PLAN FOR EFFICIENT USE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE OF EMPLOYMENT LAND AND SUPPORTS GROWTH SAFEGUARD PROTECTED INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY As development comes forward, it is crucial to ensure that social infrastructure, such as There is a substantial reserve of industrial schools and health centres, and community land in the Thamesmead and Abbey uses that support the day-to-day lives of Wood OA. These sites play an important people, are planned for. role in providing opportunities for local employment, contributing to economic In particular, the northern part of the OA vitality and sustaining London’s comprises pockets of deprivation and economic growth areas that are under-served by facilities and amenities. New development and potential As new development takes places, it transport improvements should improve is important to support and sustain access to these amenities and ensure that industrial capacity on Strategic they are accessible to all. Industrial Locations (SIL). There are also opportunities to increase industrial Part 4.2 Social and Community floorspace across the OA by making Infrastructure sets out the projected social better use of underused or vacant sites. infrastructure needed to support the high Part 4 Spatial Strategies illustrates growth scenario. potential approaches to managing land uses across industrial areas in the OA. THAMESMEAD & ABBEY WOOD OPPORTUNITY AREA PLANNING FRAMEWORK 61 7 CREATE VIBRANT, WELL- 8 SUPPORT EXISTING CONNECTED CENTRES THAT COMMUNITIES AND STRENGTHEN SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS, SOCIAL INTEGRATION AND LOCAL COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY, AND CHARACTER ENCOURAGE LOCAL EMPLOYMENT. Thamesmead and Abbey Wood has a As new transport connections and strong community spirit with engaged development come forward, there is an and pro-active residents and businesses opportunity to provide high quality, distinct who want to improve the area they live and centres with a range of retail, civic and work in. There are opportunities to work leisure uses. It is important to ensure new in close collaboration with local people in offers meet the demands of existing and the design and delivery of neighbourhood new residents while contributing to creating improvements. an inclusive and strong community. When planning and delivering new The large development sites close to development, developers and landowners Thamesmead Town Centre are situated in should initiate early engagement and the appropriate context for a new heart for inclusion with local communities. Existing Thamesmead with retail, family-friendly Gypsy and Traveller pitches should be leisure and cultural uses that celebrate the protected and taken into account when waterside location.