Armourers Court, Woolwich

Armourers Court, Woolwich Environmental Statement, Non-Technical Summary December 2013

DESIGN PACKAGE C158 WOOLWICH STATION East End Over Site Development (Armourers Court, Arsenal Way, Woolwich) Environmental Statement Non Technical Summary Document Number:

Woolwich Station East End Over Site Development (Armourers Court, Arsenal Way, Woolwich) Environmental Statement C158-OVE-T1-XST-CR147-50002 Page 2 of 14

Non-Technical Summary The Application Crossrail Ltd is seeking planning permission for the erection of an Over Station Development above and around the east ventilation and services building at Woolwich Crossrail station, comprising five buildings varying in height from 10 to 25 storeys around a central landscaped podium, to provide 394 residential units. The proposed development is located within the Royal Borough of Greenwich and is bound by Plumstead Road, Cornwallis Road, Gunnery Terrace and Arsenal Way. This application relates to the eastern end of the Woolwich Crossrail station underground box. Location and Land Use Context A site location plan is provided at Figure 1. The site is currently cleared and in use as a construction site for the development of the Crossrail Woolwich station and ventilation shafts. The site context is shown in Figure 2. Figure 1 Site Boundary Page 3 of 14

Figure 2 Site location and context The ES Documents The ES comprises the following set of documents: ES Non-Technical Summary (NTS) comprising a summary of the key issues and findings of the EIA. ES Volume 1 comprising the main body of the ES detailing the results of environmental investigation, impacts arising from the proposed development, mitigation measures and residual impacts. ES Technical Appendices Volume 2 and Volume 3 these provide supplementary details of the environmental studies conducted during the EIA including relevant data tables, figures and photographs where applicable. Environmental Impact Assessment Process Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) EIA is a process that collects information about potential environmental effects of a proposed development and evaluates and presents this information in a way that both assists consultation and enables decision makers to take account of these effects when determining Page 4 of 14

whether or not a project should proceed. If the project does proceed, the EIA also helps identify any mitigation measures or controls over the construction or operation that maybe required. The scope and content of the EIA was agreed through a scoping exercise with the Local Planning Authority, Royal Borough of Greenwich. The EIA has identified the likely effects of the proposals on the environment (including people) and an assessment has been made as to whether any of these could be significant. In general terms, establishing whether an identified effect is significant is determined by the importance of the receptor i.e. a particular listed building and the magnitude of change that will occur as a result of the construction, operation and decommissioning of the development. Chapter 3 of the ES sets out the EIA methodology employed. A number of mitigation measures to reduce potentially significant effects have been incorporated into the design of the scheme or are proposed as part of the construction process or its operational management. Although the East End Over Site Development OSD is the subject of a stand-alone application for planning consent, the Proposed Development is an extension of the wider Crossrail project. As such, in accordance with the principles of Section 14, Schedule 1 of the Crossrail Act, the assessment of the OSD has followed the assessment methodology used for the ES that accompanied the Crossrail Act as far as possible and has adopted the significance criteria set out in Volume 5, Appendix A2, and Volume 8A of the Crossrail ES. The significance criteria and magnitude where relevant, used for assessing the Crossrail works and now the OSD, are outlined in Volume 5 of the Crossrail ES. Description of the Development The Proposed Development will comprise five buildings varying in height from 10 to 25 storeys around a central landscaped podium, to provide 394 residential units, 734 square metres of commercial floor space (including space which could potentially be used for shops, cafes, bars, offices and religious or cultural uses), all with associated car parking, access, servicing and landscaping. The Proposed Development has at its heart the single storey (6.5m high) station building containing station plant and tunnel ventilation equipment. This block, which occupies the centre of the Site for almost the entire Site width between Arsenal Way and Cornwallis Road, is topped by a private garden that will serve as the main amenity space for the over site residential development. The residential buildings will be arranged around this garden and will range from 8 storeys through to 23 storeys above garden level. There will be vents and shafts within the garden area to enable the operation of the railway below. The proposed garden area will be linked to ground level by a series of stepped, planted, ramps which separate the buildings and provide a visual and, in some secure locations a physical connection, between ground level and the raised garden. The three buildings to the north of the station building will be of 10, 16 and 25 storeys respectively and access will be gained via a one way private road (from Arsenal Way to Cornwallis Road) and generous double height entrance halls. The tallest of the buildings has been sized to provide a visual marker for the station precinct from the proposed town centre Master plan area to the east of the site. This Master plan area will depend on its connections to the station and therefore we believe that a visual connection is important within the townscape. The position of the tower has been carefully considered to have less impact on the main thoroughfares of the immediate area, particularly once the surrounding Master plan has been developed and mid-rise residential buildings begin to replace the current industrial sites. The three northern buildings taken together step down to and respect the listed carriage store. The 10 storey building relates directly to the height of rear block of the adjacent Berkeley Homes development and thus has a similar relationship to the listed building. The two buildings to the south are of 10 and 22 storeys and are set back from Plumstead Road and are accessed via small gardens and generous entrance halls. The 22 storey building matches in height that of Page 5 of 14

the residential building due to be constructed by Berkeley Homes on the west side of Arsenal Way and together they will flank and serve to emphasise this important access point to the Royal Arsenal. The ten storey building anticipates a reduction in built scale in the new master plan area planned for the area east of the site and steps down towards those properties on the opposite side of Arsenal Way. This step in the building form also allows the central landscaped space to benefit from good levels of sunlight particularly in the mornings. There are two car parks proposed, both accessed from Cornwallis Road on a single ground level, one holds around 10 car spaces and the other around 40 spaces). The commercial space is arranged in three units located at the most prominent points around the perimeter of the site and each has two levels of accommodation to allow storage or back office functions to occur at first floor level. A small public landscaped area is anticipated to be formed on the corner of Arsenal Way and Plumstead Road to derive as much public benefit as possible from the reconfiguration of the road junction. Space has also been set aside for a future east/ west public footpath along the northern boundary of the Site in order to facilitate future pedestrian connectivity with the new residential led area defined by the Woolwich Town Centre Master plan. Figure 3 The proposed development looking from the south Scoping and Consultation Extensive pre-application consultation has been undertaken with Royal Borough of Greenwich Planning Officers in respect of the key principles of the OSD such as land use mix, scale and massing. Wider interested parties have been made aware of the upcoming OSD proposals. Page 6 of 14

The scoping exercise identified a range of potentially significant effects and these were then subject to detailed assessment using methodologies appropriate to the different environmental topics. These methodologies were based on recognised good practice. The environmental topics considered in the ES are: Townscape, Built Heritage and Visual Impact Assessment; Socio-economics; Daylight, Sunlight and Light Spillage; Transport and Access; Air Quality and Emissions; Noise and Vibration; Water Environment; and Microclimate Planning Policy The proposed development has been assessed against relevant national, regional and local planning policies. At a local level, the development has been assessed against any policy still current in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Unitary Development Plan and the Draft Greenwich Core Strategy with Development Management Policies (Submission Version. The principle of development above the Crossrail station at Woolwich would accord with Royal Borough of Greenwich, Mayor of London and national policy which encourages the regeneration of brownfield sites for high density residential-led mixed use developments. The development proposals seek to optimise residential densities at this highly accessible location through high quality and innovative design whilst responding positively to the site s surrounding townscape and context and have been worked up in detailed consultation with WCC Planning Officers. With appropriate mitigation and given the urban nature of the site, where the principle of residential development has been established, the proposed development is considered to accord with environmental and sustainability policies at all policy spheres. Alternative Designs Considered A number of alternative designs for the Site were explored based on the specified site usage and the key issues arising from the site and understanding of the surroundings. The alternative proposals extended to include a review of the shape and form of the station building to enable a better quality residential development to be created around it. The station building evolved from a 5 storey metal clad box into a 2 storey low profile building with a roof that was capable of being incorporated into the residential development as a central amenity space and improving dramatically the potential outlook for any properties looking into as opposed to out of the development. Schemes which would be built over the station or over the approach tunnels were rejected on grounds of cost and technical risk to the operation of Crossrail. Schemes requiring basements were also rejected due to ground water, station and underground services conflicts and cost implications. The constraint on building over the station effectively split the Site in half and a search for the appropriate building mass and form led to a second phase of options for various configurations numbers and sizes of buildings which were assessed for their appropriateness to incorporate residential apartments efficiently, Page 7 of 14

meeting the requirements of the Mayor s of London s housing guidance including minimising poor views, restricting the number of apartments per set of lifts and providing a design capable of stacking dissimilar apartment types and thus providing the flexibility to adjust the apartment mix as the project developed to accommodate changed preferences. The type of materials used was influenced by discussions with the local authority, English Heritage and design team desires to ensure similar materials to the nearby Royal Arsenal. Brick is the predominant facing material in the Royal Arsenal. A bronze anodised panel finish is proposed which is reflective of the sites history (this particular site once had a collection of 72 metal forges working at one time), which will also be used in the window and door framing. Other materials which were considered included timber both as a cladding and as a framing material however its maintenance requirements and longevity in areas of potentially high exposure initially restricted and then as the design evolved removed its use as a main material finish. The final proposals represent a balance between broader urban design requirements within and outside the Royal Arsenal, the Crossrail station design requirements, achieving aesthetic and residential design quality and commercial feasibility. The Proposed Development reflects both the surrounding existing developments and those approved but yet to be built and helps to prepare the way for and to encourage the future development to the east envisioned by the Royal Borough of Greenwich-Woolwich Town Centre master plan. Environmental Statement The Environmental Statement which accompanies the planning application provides an assessment of all identified significant environmental effects of the proposed OSD. The following sections provide a brief summary of the main findings of the EIA as set out in the technical sections within the full ES. Townscape, Built Heritage and Visual Amenity An assessment has been undertaken, following a hybrid methodology of townscape, landscape and visual amenity and built heritage assessment. It has considered the impact on the setting of Listed Buildings, from a townscape and heritage perspective. There would be temporary adverse impacts on the townscape character during the construction of the Proposed Development. Due to the loose nature of the urban grain and the height of the proposed buildings, the impacts will affect both local views within the townscape and also medium and long distance views. Though the height and bulk of the proposed development is in contrast with the existing historic buildings and surrounding townscape, the Proposed Development will contribute to the area as it is a complete building, rather than the Crossrail ventilation structure. The scale of the OSD is in keeping with the neighbouring Berkley Homes development and will contribute to a renewed urban character There would be a temporary significant adverse impact of particular importance on the Conservation Area and particular listed buildings from the construction phase of the Proposed Development. The worksite itself will also disrupt the historic character of the area and will obscure several views, disrupting the visibility across the site. Hoardings can help to screen the worksite, but would also contribute to the diminution of character and the disruption to visibility across the site. Whilst construction is predicted to have adverse impacts, it should be noted that all construction impacts are temporary. Hoardings will be used to mitigate the visual impact of the worksite at ground level. Hoardings that screen the worksite from elements of the built heritage will partially mitigate the adverse impact of construction on the character of the Conservation Area. Page 8 of 14

Built heritage encompasses Listed Buildings, unlisted above ground heritage assets and Conservation Areas. Although there is no direct impact on these assets there will be an adverse impact on their settings and on the character of the Conservation Area. The proposals will result in a permanent adverse impact on the immediate area of the Conservation Area and areas to the north and east. This impact diminishes to the west, north-west and north-east where there is less visibility across the site between the area of the scheme and those parts of the Conservation Area. Permanent street lighting will have been installed with the station works. There is potential for impact from temporary lighting associated with construction works at night time, and also permanent light spill from the Proposed Development. There are permanent significant adverse impacts on visual amenity from the Proposed Development that cannot be mitigated due to the height, scale and proximity of the building on the following: Residents 23 26 Plumstead Road (flats above shops) Workers and visitors 23 26 Plumstead Road Residents 1-36 Gill Court, Plumstead Road Workers and visitors Thameside Adult Education Institute Residents 40 52 (even) Jessups Close Residents, workers and visitors in the Berkley Homes Royal Arsenal Riverside development Socio-economics The socio-economic impacts of the proposed development have been assessed for a range of socioindicators used to measure potential changes including employment, population and community welfare, health, education, local services, town centre vitality and viability during the construction and operational phases. The proposed development is likely to have positive socio-economic impacts at both the local and subregional levels. It is expected that the development would not only provide temporary jobs, but would also create a number of permanent jobs as well as having positive impacts on property/land value, retail activity and on town centre vitality and viability. Traffic and Transport Overall it is concluded that the temporary increase in construction vehicle movements would not have a significant impact on existing road users and receptors along the construction routes. It can be assumed that the construction vehicle trip generation of the Proposed Development would be lower than that predicted for the Crossrail construction works. The proposed construction vehicle access route currently accommodates HGV movements and no significant impacts associated with additional construction vehicle movements have been identified that require mitigation. Safe vehicle access can be provided to the construction site without the need for road closures or footway diversions, resulting in negligible impacts to existing road, footway and site users. Once the construction works are completed, the operational trip generation of the Proposed Development would not have a significant impact on existing road users and receptors in the vicinity of the Site. The Proposed Development is predicted to generate a minimal number of vehicular trips. Public realm outcomes of the Crossrail works will accommodate the predicted pedestrian movements. Additional rail services will ensure public transport trips will not have a significant environmental impact. The Proposed Development will provide only 50 vehicle parking spaces and therefore will generate minimal levels of additional vehicular traffic. It is therefore concluded that the implementation of a Travel Plan, in combination with the Crossrail Page 9 of 14

infrastructure improvements, ensure that the operational trip generation will not have a significant environmental impact. Air Quality An assessment of the potential impacts of dust and vehicle emissions during the construction phase has been undertaken. This development is not expected to lead to an increase in traffic flows once open; therefore an assessment of the potential for the development to affect existing air quality is not required. The air quality assessment focuses on the introduction of new receptors into an area of poor existing air quality. The OSD lies within the boundaries of the Royal Borough of Greenwich which is designated as an Air Quality Management Area as the air quality is poor. The air quality assessment concluded to mitigate for high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide at level 1 and 2 residential unit facades on the southern side of the Proposed Development (adjacent to Plumstead Road) windows should be non-opening and ventilation that draws the air from less polluted regions of the Proposed Development should be provided. Noise and Vibration The noise and vibration assessment has considered the potential noise and vibration impacts on sensitive receptors associated with the construction and use of the proposed above ground retail and residential buildings. It has also considered noise from building services plants, fixed plant installations from the Crossrail station and increased operational traffic resulting. The assessment concludes that noise levels during the construction of the OSD will be mostly adverse noise impacts during the site preparation and piling. At residential receivers on Hastings Street, at the Royal Carriage Facility and Berkeley Homes Block E development, the impact is determined as significant. There will be no significant traffic noise impacts on the surrounding road network resulting from the delivery to and removal of materials from the OSD construction sites. The life-safety diesel generator in the northern block, which uses ducted louvres for ventilation, will have duct noise control fitted to limit noise emissions to acceptable levels. The generator itself will also be noise controlled using either a local enclosure for all of the generator or part enclosure with duct attenuation measures as outlined. The exhaust flue will also be designed with in line silencers to limit noise emission. All other ventilation systems e.g. boiler plant room, car park ventilation, gas intake room and generator cooling have been designed to include noise control attenuators on both sides of the fans to ensure noise emission is controlled. Plant noise from residential blocks would be negligible unless there were large-scale centralised heating and ventilation services, which is not proposed. Should these be proposed, then appropriate source noise control would be required to ensure that the noise emission limits were met. The apartments themselves will have whole house mechanical ventilation heat recovery systems with openable windows and during periods when the windows are closed, filtered outside air can be delivered by locally placed ventilation units with heat recovery to supply internal temperature controlled fresh air. There will be small individual apartment louvres to supply intake/exhaust air, which will not require noise control. Page 10 of 14

Daylight, sunlight and overshadowing An assessment has been undertaken for daylight and sunlight using the Building Research Establishment Guidance, to predict the likely impacts of the proposed development on daylight and sunlight in the context of site layout and building design. The calculations have been carried out on key rooms for the Proposed Development and daylight availability was assessed at 25 sensitive receptors on each of the following floors: ground, fourth and eight floors; and 15 sensitive receptors on the twelfth floor. The rest of the floors were not tested since it was expected that they will meet the recommended daylight levels. Based upon this exercise it was found that circa 70% of the tested facades achieved the required average daylight factor and it is anticipated that over 80% of the facades in over 80% of the rooms of the respective facades will meet the daylight requirements. Every effort has been made to address the environmental issues (including maximising the availability of natural daylight) of the design, without compromising the integrity of the of the architectural design and site limitations and the current design is the best overall option in term of the other issues relating to daylight, size and shape of building, building spacing, and building heights. An assessment of the impact of the Proposed Development on the public realm was carried out. The analysis showed that the Proposed Development does not cause any adverse impact to the existing adjacent properties and open space with regards to overshadowing, and the shadows cast on buildings opposite the Proposed Development only occur at certain times of day. The new development is anticipated to reduce the spillage of unwanted light due to the use of more modern and regulated lamp technology; therefore there is no impact. Water Resources The assessment of water resources was limited to surface water and ground water. The proposed amenity green space at podium level would seek to attenuate impact of surface water flooding. Cumulative Impacts An assessment of potential cumulative impacts of proposed development in combination with potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of other developments in the area has been undertaken where relevant for each topic assessment. It has been concluded that cumulative impacts predominately relate to Townscape and Landscape, Built Heritage and Visual Amenity. A number of schemes were identified including Woolwich Crossrail Station, the Berkeley Homes development and the wider development of Woolwich Arsenal. The cumulative impacts predicted would occur once the development is complete and would relate predominately to cumulative Townscape and Landscape, Built Heritage and Visual Amenity impacts of the combined developments on the surrounding area, including the Royal Woolwich Arsenal Conservation Area. The cumulative impact of the Proposed Development and the adjacent Berkeley Homes development have on their surrounds is recognised, particularly to the east and also to the south of Plumstead Road where the buildings are of a much smaller scale and height. It is expected that the combined impacts of the schemes upon operation would have a beneficial impacts on employment, on retail activity, housing and town centre vitality or viability. In terms of construction, the combined impacts of the proposed development would have an insignificant effect on employment in the local area, given the occupational profile of local residents. Page 11 of 14

Residual Impacts and Conclusions During construction, short term adverse impacts are predicted for townscape, visual amenity, built heritage, noise and air quality. However, it is concluded that these are temporary impacts. Permanent positive impacts are predicted in terms of employment generation and positive impacts on retail activity, land/property value and town centre vitality and viability. There will be permanent negative impacts townscape, visual amenity and built heritage. However, the townscape is not of unspoilt character and the Berkeley Homes development has set a precedent for height and scale in the area. The Proposed Development is of similar scale to this new development and in policy terms, it does comply with the overall intention for the area outlined in the Woolwich Town Centre master plan. The development proposals seek to optimise residential densities at this highly accessible location through high quality and innovative design whilst responding positively to the site s surrounding townscape and context. In addition, the Proposed Development will provide the optimal mix of units that is considered deliverable and appropriate for the site s context. ES Availability The ES is available for viewing by the public during normal office hours at the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Comments on the planning application should be forwarded to the Royal Borough of Greenwich at the following address: Alex Smith Directorate of Regeneration, Enterprise & Skills Royal Borough of Greenwich Woolwich Centre, 5th Floor 35 Wellington Street London SE18 6HQ Page 12 of 14

Page 13 of 14

Crossrail Document Number: