Woodland Terrace residents in Charlton return home 11 weeks after facades collapsed beside a Lovell site
Residents of 14 properties on Woodland Terrace in Charlton, southeast London, were allowed home on Nov. 9, 11 weeks after part of the frontage of three 1830s houses collapsed on Aug. 22. The cause of the collapse is still unknown; some of the gardens back onto Lovell's Trinity Park housing site.
Royal Borough of Greenwich said on Nov. 6 that its Building Control team had lifted the dangerous structure notices on all 14 properties. People moved back on Nov. 9, New Civil Engineer reported, though the road was still closed the next morning. The council hopes to reopen it from the Maryon Road end before mid-November, once SGN and UK Power Networks finish restoring permanent gas and power connections.
Nobody was hurt when the frontage came down at about 6:40 p.m. on Aug. 22. The notices covered about 25 dwellings, NCE reported, since many of the houses are split into flats. After the damaged parapets moved again, the council brought in Wates under a pan-London framework to remove unsafe parapet walls, weatherproof the houses and put up fencing. Those works were not meant to establish the cause, NCE reported.
Lovell, part of Morgan Sindall Group, paused its nearby work after the collapse and ran its own investigation; NCE understands work resumed in September. Lovell broke ground on the £290 million scheme in November 2022, with apartment blocks up to 13 stories, as part of the One Woolwich regeneration. In August the company said the cause had not been established and that it would not speculate. NCE said it had asked Lovell to comment on the return.
No finding on the cause has been published, so it is not known who will pay for the repairs. The council says the 14 properties are privately owned and that it will keep residents informed while the remaining dangerous structure matters are resolved.
Why it matters: An 11-week evacuation next to a big housing site, with no cause named, is the neighbor risk any builder near old masonry carries. Condition surveys before work starts and vibration records during it are what answer the cause question later.
If this affects you
- Royal Borough of Greenwich Building Control has lifted the Dangerous Structure Notices on all 14 affected properties on Woodland Terrace. royalgreenwich.gov.uk
- The council says the road will reopen from the Maryon Road end once utility and highway works are complete, which it hopes will be before mid-November. royalgreenwich.gov.uk
- SGN and UK Power Networks are restoring permanent gas and electricity connections to the affected properties. royalgreenwich.gov.uk
Sources
- Woodland Terrace update: dangerous structure notices liftedRoyal Borough of Greenwich, Nov 6
- Residents allowed to return home 11 weeks after partial building collapseNew Civil Engineer, Nov 10