Major residential developments are one of the defining themes of 2014 and squeaking in before the close the year are these two consultations, down the road in Deptford, either side of the Laban Centre.
Creekside East (above) would create two new tall buildings and 249 apartments for rent, next to the Creekside development, which is at last starting to fill up at ground level, with a gym, contemporary furniture shop and nursery helping to fill the units.
Kent Wharf (above) runs alongside Deptford Creek itself and its redevelopment would add another 143 homes to the area, housed in three main blocks.
Although the existing Creekside development looks like an ungainly grey slab from a distance, up close it has succeeded in creating a promising public square, shielded from the busy Creek Road. All it needs now is people to use it.
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| Creekside square - just add people |
Pedestrians coming from Deptford town centre rarely make it past the Laban Centre and no one walking from Greenwich ever bothered negotiating the unforgiving road system to explore Creekside, so if the community at this end of town is going to have a chance of being self-sustaining, it's going to need more residents of its own. Filling these locations with decent residential buildings will help.
