2nd October 2025

After months of silence after mid-July from Berkely Homes, we were surprised to get mail from Rendall & Rittner announcing that the plan to take Wellington Park had been abandoned!

Thank you for your continued engagement in the consultation process regarding the expansion and decarbonisation of the existing district heat network serving Royal Arsenal Riverside.

In May 2025, during two public consultation events, we presented a proposal to supplement the current Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Energy Centre located on Station Way with Air Source Heat Pumps in a satellite Energy Centre at Wellington Park. Following consideration of the feedback received from residents to these initial proposals, Berkeley is now pleased to confirm an alternative location to Wellington Park.

Further to careful consideration of the feasibility and viability of alternative locations for the ASHP’s, we now propose to expand the existing Energy Centre on Arsenal Way into the adjoining vacant commercial premises. Please refer to the attached map.

This new location will ensure that the existing amenity space within the estate at Wellington Park is maintained, and subject to the grant of planning permission, the new facility will be fully contained within an existing building.

Our professional team will be developing the proposal in greater detail in preparation for a second round of public consultation, which we expect to take place in November but, in the meantime, we wanted to keep you informed of this important response to your initial concerns.

We look forward to presenting the updated proposals to you and receiving your feedback in due course.

Kind Regards,

Rendall and Rittner on behalf of Berkeley Homes

In brief, Berkeley Homes backed down and admitted that it made more sense to locate the heat pumps in the unused commercial space adjacent to the existing heating center.

The impact of this will be that it's much simpler to provide heat both to Armourer's Court (which will be across the road), and The Ropeyards (existing ducting already exists).

The commercial space in Building 10 has been empty since construction, and there was no indication that the space would ever be let, as it's an out-of-the-way location with negligble visibilty or passing footfall.

As the new site will be fully enclosed, it's anticipated that there will be no impact on apartments in the adjacent Building 10 beyond what the existing heating center provides.

Having said that, it's important to watch the revised proposals and plans from Berkeley Homes carefully, and be prepared to hold them to account if they once again propose negatively impacting quality of life and heritage values for the Arsenal.

11th July 2025

Two encouraging notes! First up, Berkeley Homes broadcast a response via the Rendall & Rittner resident's portal:

10/07/2025 13:11:55 by O'Loughlin 286966
Dear Resident(s),

Berkeley Homes would like to thank you for your participation in their consultation event in May 2025 for the Air Source Heat Pump proposal and the engagement of the Ward Councillors and the MP for Greenwich and Woolwich for providing valuable feedback.

Acknowledging the concerns and strong feelings that have been shared by the community following the initial consultation, they want to assure you that your feedback has been carefully considered and in response, are exploring an alternative location for the proposed air source heat pump (ASHP).

This process will involve assessing the technical viability of another location, and is expected to take several months to complete. Following this, Berkeley will hold a further round of consultations in the Autumn and will of course keep you informed about the dates for upcoming consultation events after the summer period.

We recognise from the event that there was a clear preference for communication via the Residents’ Portal. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us at 0800 061 4095 or via email at info@ASHPRoyalarsenal.co.uk.

Once again, we thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

Kind Regards
Royal Arsenal Property Management Team on behalf of Berkeley Homes
info@ASHPRoyalarsenal.co.uk

This changes the timeline a little. Initially BH had indicated they would submit plans for Armourer's Court and the ASHP site "during Summer". As they are now proposing new consultations during Autumn, it will be the last months of 2025 at the earliest that they will submit plans.

Also worth noting that they're acknowledging that residents have been leaning on Greenwich Councillors, and on the local MP. Speaking of which, the local MP finally responded to our various mail to him, even if it's cut-and-paste to all correspondents:

Dear resident,

Thank you for your recent email regarding Berkeley Homes’ proposal to install an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) compound on the Royal Arsenal.

Please also accept my sincere apologies for the delay in responding – the volume of correspondence I have received over the past six months has been unprecedented and while my small team and I continue to work diligently through the backlog, significant delays in processing replies have been unavoidable.

As you will be aware, the Royal Borough of Greenwich granted planning permission for The Ropeyard Reserved Matters (Ref: 24/0848/R) on 12 June.

My understanding is that while the energy requirements for The Ropeyard development are met by the existing Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Energy Centre, changes in building regulations and planning policy require Berkeley Homes to decarbonise the existing gas-fired energy network prior to the first homes on that phase being occupied.

They intend to do so by installing an ASHP compound on the Royal Arsenal, which will also supply energy to the proposed Armourers Court development (updated proposals for which were recently re-submitted to the local planning authority for determination).

My understanding is that Berkeley Homes’ proposal would see the ASHP equipment installed at the lower ground level within a dedicated, enclosed compound with the roof aligned with the Wellington Park podium level i.e. not entirely subterranean but designed to be visually discreet and surrounded and screened as part of a planned landscaping strategy.

However, I appreciate fully that Wellington Park is a valued open green space on the development, and I note the concerns that residents have expressed to me about the siting of the ASHP on it.

I have therefore made the strength of feeling among Royal Arsenal residents known to Berkeley Homes and have asked them to ensure that there are not alternative locations on the development that might, in terms of engineering feasibility and proximity to the existing energy centre, similarly accommodate the compound in question without the impact entailed by installing the compound in Wellington Park.

Whatever the final location proposed, at the point at which Berkeley Homes formally apply for an ASHP compound, it will be for the local planning authority to make a determination based on material planning considerations. As your MP, I have no role in that process.

Once an application is submitted, residents will be consulted; will have a chance to formally submit their views; and will have a chance to make representations in person if the application goes before the local authority’s Planning Board or relevant Area Planning Committee.

Finally, noting the points made about the adequacy of public consultation and communication in respect of the proposal and the concerns expressed about the disruption and noise that its construction would involve, in my representations to Berkeley Homes I have asked them to reflect on whether the delivery of flyers was sufficient to ensure all residents were made aware of the emerging plans and to consider what steps, in the event that an application were approved, might be taken to mitigate disruption to residents in terms of noise, dust and traffic.

Best wishes,
Matthew Pennycook MP
Member of Parliament for Greenwich and Woolwich
Minister of State for Housing and Planning
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
matthew.pennycook.mp@parliament.uk | 020 7219 6820
www.matthewpennycook.com | @mtpennycook

10th June 2025

After a suggestion from some initial legal advice, we submitted an additional objection to The Ropeyards, and received quite an encouraging response from council.

(We) contend that RBG have erred in approving 24/0848/R and have not properly examined the remedies proposed for Condition 9.

Fulfilment of Condition 9 is based on a proposal to construct an ASHP energy centre on Wellington Park, described in the Hodkinson Energy Strategy (March 2024), without any plan for that development or consultation with the community. The prior plan 13/0117/O (2013) specifically identified the energy solution to either make use of the existing CHP energy centre in Arsenal Way, or to construct an additional energy centre inside Block K.

(We) refer to: Appendix 2 – Conditions and Informatives to the Ropeyard Royal Arsenal Riverside Plots D & K Condition 9; 24/0848/R, page 33; and 24/0848/R, page 102, paragraph 22.7 - these indicate that RBG accept the proposal stated in the Hodkinson Energy Strategy (March 2024) to build the ASHP in Wellington Park, rather than in one of the two locations identified in the prior 13/0117/O

(We) further note that the proposal to build the ASHP is not explicitly put forward in any of the plans submitted by the applicant, but is instead indicated by a single sentence in paragraph 6.15 of supporting energy consultants report.

(We) believe by not challenging this proposal by the applicant, the applicant will then use approval of 24/0848/R as the compelling reason for approval of any future plan to build the energy centre in Wellington Park, in the heritage zone and outside the area covered by the Royal Arsenal Waterfront Master Plan.

The response from Council on this was quite encouraging, and included the statement:

Whilst the submitted Energy Strategy identifies the replacement of the current gas systems with Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) as part of the decarbonisation strategy for the energy system, the location of the ASHP has not been agreed under this application.

27th May 2025

We attempted to speak to the Royal Borough Greenwich planning board meeting today, but sadly were not able to raise our concerns. The agenda, decisions and (eventually) minutes of that meeting can be viewed here.

The actual matter up before the planning board was the final approval of reserved matters regarding The Ropeyards development. In particular, the last of these "reserved matters" was approval to make a variation on Condition 16, which meant approval to alter the material used for the exterior of The Ropeyards buildings.

This was the final hurdle to be jumped by Berkeley Homes for proceeding with The Ropeyards, and as that plan is now approved, building will commence.

We'd like to find fault with the Chair of the meeting, who made it very clear that they would not allow us to speak to Condition 9 (the heating provisions), however the reality is that the opportunity to object to Condition 9 on that development passed months ago, before Berkeley Homes announced to the community they were taking Wellington Park. In the end, the Chair correctly was exercising proper procedure, and sticking strictly to the matters on the published agenda. We cannot fault them for this, the Planning Board is diligently aiming for fairness, accountability and transparency.

This is not the end though, merely the first formal skirmish we could attempt. The real battle begins once Berkeley Homes lodges plans for the ASHP development, and for Armourer's Court. Once that happens, we have 28 days to lodge formal objections, and the sundry meetings of the Planning Board to discuss the plans will begin and possibly continue for months. We'll be there for all of them, and take every opportunity to speak to the agenda, and do our best to get this matter on the agenda.

26th May 2025

Today is the last day to be able to submit comments to the Air Source Heat Pumps consultation - you have up until just before midnight!

We have put together a joint submission to the Air Source Heat Pumps consultation, which you can download here. This has also been shared with our local member, Matthew Pennycook, and the three councillors who cover the Royal Arsenal ward

23rd May 2025

We got together in the park to take some photos of the park and some of the folk who live near it and use it regularly.

This was a great opportunity to get photos of some of the great dogs that love the park!

22nd May 2025

We've been reaching out to consult with legal consultants and heritage bodies, and are getting some very solid advice and guidance from them so far to suggest that Berkeley Homes are not exactly doing things by the books so far.

We've also put together a joint submission to the Air Source Heat Pumps consultation, which you can download here

20th May 2025

After we noticed it, SSE removed their April 2023 announcement of the plan to take the park.

As Barabara Streisand found out, the Internet does not forget, and we have a preserved copy you can download.

Meanwhile, after several days delay, more information has been added to the consultation site. The display boards used at the two consultation sessions are available for download from there, but if they go missing, we have a copy of them here for you.

19th May 2025

The second and final Consultation Session was held in Woolwich Works, with strong turnout from residents. Berkeley Homes invited attendants to leave their thoughts on sticky notes. The responses were not very favourable!

Some residents met up before the consultation and decided to join forces to coordinate our response to Berkeley Home's proposal. This small working group is working rapidly to: prepare a joint response; consult with legal, town planning, construction and heating specialists; put together this information site; and help spread the word across the wider Royal Arsenal Riverside community.

17th May 2023

The first Air Source Heat Pumps consultation was held at Woolwich Works. Despite this being tucked around the back of the building, through the stage door, up some stairs and generally rather hidden, a reasonable number of residents attended and left concerned and upset by the proposal.

15th May 2023

After Lowick Group sent out some small and selective notifications to some leaseholders, residents started to become aware through Facebook that Berkeley Homes were doing a consultation on this proposal.