A DECISION on proposals to erect a three-storey block of flats in the gardens of a town centre's oldest surviving building has been deferred.

Greenwich Council's Greenwich area planning and environment committee was expected to approve the application to build 31 flats in the Trinity Almshouses' two-acre gardens when it met at Forum@Greenwich, Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, on November 3.

But members of the committee decided to defer the decision until after they had visited the site.

The Mercers' Company, which manages the almshouses, wants to create more flats for elderly residents so the site has a more a viable community.

But residents living near the almshouses, dating back to 1613 and lying on the banks of the Thames at Highbridge, Greenwich, fear the proposals would harm the setting and gardens of the Grade II-Listed building.