In a year dominated by crunch Brexit talks, a new leader was elected to run Greenwich Council.

Councillor Dan Thorpe kicked off his tenure by speaking out over the controversial 'toxic port' development in East Greenwich and committing the council to building more local authority homes.

Despite the local Labour party being split – with reports claiming Cllr Thorpe won the leadership by just one vote – his administration has been busy since May dealing with rows over academies,  contentious planning decisions and bringing forward ambitious plans for council housing.

Here are the biggest Greenwich Council headlines that caused a stir locally.

Developers scrap 'toxic port' plan

A revived campaign against the proposed cruise liner terminal at Enderby Wharf proved successful this year as Morgan Stanley announced they would shelve the scheme.

Enderby Wharf was first approved back in 2011, and seven years later the communities efforts were finally successful when, in November, the council leader revealed the scheme had been scrapped.

Morgan Stanley had proposed a docking station that would have boosted the borough’s tourist economy, but No Toxic Port for London petitioners blasted the scheme for not featuring on-shore power.

The massive community campaign won a U-Turn from Dan Thorpe himself, who called on the banking giants to make their scheme greener or sink the plans.

New plans are expected to come forward for the site, with the council leader keen to see a new riverside park and more affordable homes.

Pocket Living row

Greenwich Council caused controversy in the summer when it revealed plans to sell three parts of public estate land to private developers Pocket Living.

Some Labour councillors took issue with the authority selling public land rather than develop the sites themselves, and residents blasted the lack of conversation about the proposals.

Pocket, which said it specialises in affordable housing, planned 151 homes across three estates, all aimed at young professionals.

The council launched feedback sessions and a consultation on the plans, which it claims will deliver “much needed” homes whilst providing cash for the authority to build its own homes elsewhere.

Residents say the estates are already too cramped – but the developers think there is scope for flats, should the proposal be given approval.

Rockwell, Stalingrad and rejection

Rockwell’s contentious plan for 771 homes in Charlton was compared to Stalingrad when it was thrown out by councillors earlier this year.

Rockwell Homes’ vision hit the headlines earlier this year after campaigners petitioned the council to stick to its riverside masterplan and throw out the proposals.

The developer plans to build 771 homes in 11 tower blocks at the end of Anchor & Hope Lane, on land earmarked by the council and the Mayor for major growth.

Greenwich councillors unanimously blocked the huge development, which was then called-in by Sadiq Khan who said it delivered a good number of affordable homes.

The council’s decision was cheered by objectors, who delivered a 600 strong petition against the proposals. The Mayor will ultimately rule on the plans in the new year now.

Wide Horizons

A row broke out earlier this year after a bankrupt charity claimed the council u-turned on providing vital cash to keep it afloat.

Wide Horizons penned strongly worded arguments against Greenwich Council, blaming it for leaving it until the last minute to say they would not be providing the much-needed loan.

The council said it was not in the public’s interest to give taxpayers’ money to a charity again months after it already agreed to a loan.

Council leader Dan Thorpe said the charity had asked for more money on top of  what was already agreed, and said it would have needed even more money by Christmas.

“It would have been wrong to continue to back an organisation that is so unstable that it has had to request significant financial assistance twice in less than a year,” he said.

Wide Horizons said it would have to close its nine sites, putting 75 people out of work, after an extensive crowdfunding campaign to salvage the outdoor education charity’s future.

The John Roan

The long-running saga of the John Roan School will continue after the rubber-stamping of a controversial academy order for the Blackheath school was deferred by the council.

The decision to sign the school over to University Schools Trust (UST), the body that was nominated to take it over, has been pushed back for “further due diligence”.

The school was given an academy order following an “inadequate” Ofsted rating earlier this year.

Education secretary Damian Hinds nominated the University Schools’ Trust to take over the running of the school, sparking dozens of protests and strikes throughout 2018.

A number of parents, staff members and some councillors have been campaigning for months for the decision to be reversed, with a crowdfunder being launched to take Ofsted to court over the ruling.

Despite disagreeing with academisation, Greenwich Council’s cabinet was poised to rubber-stamp the academy order at a meeting in November before the last-minute deferral.