A public inquiry into controversial plans for a 27-storey residential development, which has been critcised as a potential “icon for social division”, is set to start this week.

Meyer Homes’s application for the skyscraper in the centre of Woolwich was rejected amid fierce community opposition when put before Greenwich council’s planning panel last year.

The developers have since appealed the decision, with eight days of hearings set to start at Woolwich Town Hall on Tuesday, ahead of the planning inspectorate making a decision on the ruling.

It’s the latest chapter in the controversy-fraught history of the development, which was initially granted planning consent when an outline application was presented to the council in 2007.

However the most recent incarnation of the plans – which included 804 homes, a cafe, shops and a community room – were rejected by councillors in November 2018, with planning board member cllr Adel Khaireh stating: “You said you’re working with the community but it’s a community with a 1,600 (signature) petition and 200 objections refusing your development, how are you working with the community when the community is against it?”.

Local campaign group, Speak Out Woolwich, are set to oppose the plans again at the hearings.

Speaking at last year’s planning decision, the group’s organiser, John Edwards, accused the developers of chasing profits at the cost of providing affordable housing for residents.

“The 27-storey tower would stand as an icon of social division in Woolwich, that is why there is so much anger. None of the flats in the luxury tower would be for social housing,” he said at the time.

At the same meeting, Meyer Homes said the scheme would benefit Greenwich, a borough that has more than 17,000 people waiting for a home.

“We feel our offer is compelling in terms of policy and a need of affordable housing. This offer provides a mix of London living affordable rent, living rent and shared ownership,” said an agent speaking on behalf of the applicant.

Following the hearings, which are scheduled to conclude on November 28, the planning inspectorate will deliberate for several weeks before coming to a decision on whether to overturn the council’s ruling.