LHG (London Hotel Group) has won planning permission to convert and extend the former Greenwich Magistrates’ Court and two empty educational buildings into a 293-bed boutique hotel.
Located within the Ashburnham Triangle Conservation Area in Greenwich, London, project designed by Squire & Partners will retain the Grade II Listed Magistrates’ Court and the two redundant school buildings, as well as reintroducing public access to the Court building and creating new green space and local amenities.
Meher Nawab, CEO, LHG: “We are delighted to have achieved planning consent for this high-quality development that is not only respectful to the local heritage – particularly regarding the Magistrates’ Court – but will also bring this brownfield site back into vibrant and viable use. As ever, our focus is to create considerate, design-led quality developments that will boost the local areas in terms of their economy, employment opportunities and their community.”
Located less than two minutes’ walking distance from Deptford Bridge Station, from where DLR services can reach Canary Wharf within 15 minutes and central London within 25 minutes, the new hotel is ideally situated for both business and leisure travellers.
Squire & Partners’ design for the scheme is sympathetic to its physical and historical context, replacing a number of later extensions and alterations with four linear rows of quality contemporary buildings which will use a discreet, pared back palette of colours and materials. The buildings’ heights, varying from two to seven storeys, are staggered sensitively across the rear of the site, opening up the area and allowing the natural light to neighbouring properties.
The ground floor of the former Magistrates’ Court and one of the school buildings will contain front of house hotel services such as bar, restaurant and café, giving the buildings a new life and creating new amenities for both hotel guests and local residents.
The new scheme will also include a range of public, semi-public and private green spaces, including a new public square, built around an existing mature tree, and animated by a restaurant or cafe. Further facilities include a gym, pool, conference centres and generous parking spaces.
The development will create an additional approximate 150 permanent new jobs for the local area and provide £1.4m per year extra spend in the local economy. Fresh investment of £1.8m will be made across the neighbourhood via a Community Infrastructure Levy payment agreed with London Borough of Greenwich.
The hotel is expected to open in 2022.
The planning permission for the Greenwich Magistrates’ Court site tops a remarkable year for LHG, which saw the family run business accommodate more than one million guests across its portfolio of hotels, including the award-winning Best Western Plus London Croydon Aparthotel.
