Fresh plans to double to size of a proposed a skyscraper development on the Isle of Dogs’ controversial Westferry Printworks site have now been submitted to Tower Hamlets Council.
The 15-acre waterfront scheme reaching up to 46 storeys has 1,500 apartments as well as shops, restaurants, bars, shops, workspaces, a secondary school for 1,200 pupils, a health centre, two parks, dockside promenade, play fountains and a woodland walk.
The scheme led to protests by families on Millwall’s neighbouring Barkantine estate who were hit by clouds of dust when the old buildings were being demolished.
Work restarted last month, with the developers installing air monitors and watering equipment to dampen down the dust.
The new plans submitted this week doubles the size of the scheme from the original in 2016 which had planning consent. The increase responds to the London Plan which identifies the Isle of Dogs for new homes. The Mayor of London has called for 66,000 every year, with Tower Hamlets having an annual target of 3,500.
Mace Developments’ director Mike Myles said: “Our new planning application for Westferry Printworks is a statement of intent aligning with the London Plan.”
Families fear they’re in for seven years of pollution as preparation work is well under way. The Barkantine estate’s management team has applied to the council for funds for a portable air monitor kit to test pollution.
The contractors have installed their own dust monitoring equipment and a device to measure vibration, as well as wind-guided directional sprinkler systems to damp down the dust. The whole construction could take seven years.
One family affected by dust when demolition first began last summer was the Coopers in Starboard Way, off Tiller Road, next to the Westferry site. Five-year-old Freddy Cooper had croup seven times since work began, according to his mum Jolene, and has had to use a respiratory inhaler, like his gran Rita, 68, to get through the day. Jimmy was diagnosed with croup at the Barkantine GP practice.
The site owners, Northern & Shell, had planning consent in 2016 for a 700-unit housing complex, while this latest application doubles the size with six tower blocks, one as tall as 46 storeys.
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