Unhappy residents in Charlton have urged Greenwich Council to stick to its “£854,000 masterplan”.

In response to a contentious plan for 11 blocks of homes along the Charlton Riverside, campaigners have set up a petition for the council to adhere to its own vision for the area.

The plans concern land off Anchor and Hope Lane which is all industrial, but developers want to concrete it over and build 11 towers that would be between two and 10 storeys tall.

This follows earlier attempts to push through developments at the site, which at one point included a 28-storey tower.

Last year the council signed off a masterplan at a cost of £854k that said developments should be mainly six storeys tall and “pro family.”

Rockwell’s plan to build 771 flats over 11 buildings – including five 10-storey blocks –  were pushed back by councillors at a planning meeting in April so they could visit the site.

Dozens of campaigners attended the meeting with placards, and now their petition has already gained more than 100 signatures.

The petition reads: “The VIP Rockwell development application currently before RBG drives a coach and horses through the carefully created masterplan in terms of building heights, levels of density/massing, and affordable housing.

“If the VIP Rockwell development is approved by the RBG Planning Board it will set a precedent for all future developers to ignore the masterplan in respect of further planning applications for the wider site. This will have a huge impact on the whole of Charlton.”

The level of affordable housing included is 25 per cent, which is below the council’s target of 35 per cent.

A spokeswoman for Derrick & Atlas Gardens Residents' Association (DAGRA) said the proposals do not fit the masterplan and core strategies.

They said: "As, currently, the only existing homes within the Charlton Riverside, we supported RBGs vision in wanting all future development to compliment the area’s heritage, to build homes fit for families: low level flats and houses, to achieve or exceed affordable housing targets and propose spaces which enable communities to thrive. The Charlton Riverside Masterplan is a real opportunity to encourage well designed development, which is appropriate for the area and benefits the community. Despite the investment of 5 years of effort, commissioned studies and over £850,000 of tax-payers money, we are disappointed that RBG seems to be throwing this opportunity away.

"If the planning application is approved by the RBG Planning Board, our neighbourhood of 2 storey homes will be overlooked and completely overshadowed by the multi storey flats which will be built directly behind us. Approval of this planning application also clearly signals to other developers, some of which have already purchased land here, that RBG will not support or uphold its own Local and Core Strategies or the Masterplan developed for Charlton Riverside and paid for by its residents!

"This petition is really about showing how much support there is from the residents throughout Charlton regarding the Charlton Riverside Masterplan and imploring RBG to fully adopt it, therefore setting a much-needed precedent for better development."

The petition can be found here. 

Rockwell said previously: “Following the deferral of our application we remain fully committed to helping deliver much needed new homes for Charlton as part of the Charlton Riverside masterplan area.

“Following the election we look forward to welcoming members of the planning committee on a site visit and continuing conversations to ensure that the aspirations for this site are realised.”

Officers had recommended the plans be approved by councillors at the planning meeting, saying: “Overall the design quality is considered to be of a high standard and it is considered that the scheme will bring about improvements to the quality of the environment on the site.”