OMA’s 36-storey Greenwich peninsula scheme comes under attack by local MP

OMA’s £770m mixed-use Morden Wharf development on London’s Greenwich peninsula has come under attack from the local MP who has written to the local council to lodge his opposition.

Matthew Pennycook, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, says the four-tower mixed-use scheme is too tall.

He has written to the planning board of the Labour-led local authority, formally lining up against the U&I project which was lodged for planning in June last year. Work is expected to start in 2023 if given approval.

它将包括1500户住宅和超过1.7万平方米的商业空间，横跨12座建筑，包括4座21至36层的塔楼。

But Pennycook said that the “excessive” heights of the towers would be “wholly inappropriate” for the site, on the western side of the peninsula, and would have a “marked detrimental impact on the existing character of the area”.

He added that Morden Wharf would impact views of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site from Greenwich Park, despite the executive for the heritage site having decided not to object to the application.

He urged members of the Greenwich planning board to reject the application and encouraged U&I to revise the plans “in a way that respects the surrounding context of this important site”.

OMA, which has designed a handful of much smaller projects in the UK includingMaggie’s Gartnavelin Glasgow and aheadquarters for Rothschild Bankin the City of London, is working on the troubledManchester Factory arts projectbut Morden Wharf would be its biggest project in the UK by some distance.

It was appointed as masterplanner and lead architect in 2013. At the time partner Reinier de Graaf said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with an ambitious development team on one of the last significant riverfront sites on the Thames.

”Our vision for Morden Wharf adds value to an already impressive site through regeneration of existing buildings and infrastructure which will attract visitors and residents to the sites cultural, residential, leisure, and commercial offerings.”

Theproposalsinclude a new boathouse designed by Carmody Groarke (pictured below) which could provide a permanent mooring for the crown’s royal rowbarge, Gloriana, which was built for the Queen’s 2012 diamond jubilee celebrations.

A new road called Sea Witch Lane, named after a pub which was destroyed by a bomb in the Second World War, would run through the development towards a public square for seasonal events and markets.

Other firms working on the scheme include Chetwoods, which has designed the commercial space, QS Gardiner &Theobald, structural and M&E engineer Ramboll and landscape architect Planit.

U&I said in response to Pennycook’s letter that the proposals ”have been developed in close consultation with the local community and the design of all buildings has been carefully considered to ensure they are in-keeping with the emerging context on the Peninsula.”

The development is set to neighbour the BPTW-designed Enderby Place scheme, which will consist of three towers between 24 and 32 storeys in height.

But the landowner of that scheme, Criterion Capital, has said it is unlikely to build it and will revise the plans because a cruise liner port which would have been included in it has been abandoned.