Buying in Woolwich: riverside flats for first-time buyers with shared ownership start at £115k

Hundreds of new homes have been built on this south-of-the-river hotspot, where a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat is just £115,000.
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Ruth Bloomfield18 March 2019

The evolution of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich has been a slow-burn project.

Over 13 years many hundreds of new homes have been built on this historic site south of the river, pairing existing listed buildings with shiny new waterfront towers and adding many of the facilities that turn a housing estate into a fully fledged neighbourhood.

All being well, this should a be a milestone year for Royal Arsenal Riverside when, finally, Crossrail opens giving it quick links to the West End to add to its already good transport links to Canary Wharf and the City.

And first-time buyers can grab a slice of the pie thanks to a new tranche of shared-ownership homes on sale priced from £115,000 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat.

They will need a deposit of £11,500, and their monthly costs will be just over £1,300 including mortgage repayments of about £540, rent of £575, and service charge of £186.77.

Two-bedroom flats start at £138,000, again for a 25 per cent share, and monthly costs will total about £1,640.

ONE HUGE TRANSFORMATION

Anyone who lives or works in London is eligible to apply, and the homes are being sold by housing association Moat Homes.

"Woolwich has undergone a massive transformation in recent years and continues to do so," says Martin Fillery, managing director of selling agent Complete Moves. "This change is not only reflected in the properties but in the high street with its eateries, pavement cafes and coffee shops.

"The Royal Arsenal development provides direct access to the River Thames. And if you don't fancy the commute by train, the Woolwich Arsenal Clipper Terminal offers a viable alternative."

The Royal Arsenal site was first developed in the 16th century as a mansion for a fabulously wealthy gold merchant and one-time Lord Mayor of London.

In the 17th century it was purchased by the government for the manufacture and storage of weaponry.

By the time the First World War broke out almost 80,000 people worked at Woolwich Arsenal, which was a fully functioning urban village complete with its own football team - now known as Arsenal FC. After the Second World War, however, operations were scaled down and the Ministry of Defence finally quit the site in 1994.

In 2006 Berkeley Homes began work on the mega £1.2 billion Royal Arsenal Riverside development, on an 80-acre slice of the old arsenal, consisting of thousands of new homes, plus facilities including a new pier for river bus services, open spaces and an increasing number of pubs, bars, restaurants and shops.

The developer - which eventually plans to build more than 5,000 flats - has also part-funded the new Crossrail station at Woolwich, which will significantly upgrade Zone 4 Woolwich Arsenal station's existing Docklands Light Railway services and trains to Cannon Street which take just over half an hour.

Services from nearby Woolwich Dockyard take just under 20 minutes to London Bridge.

With Royal Arsenal Riverside establishing itself, Woolwich itself is also experiencing a knock-on effect, with better shops and restaurants popping up all over the place.

Last year British Land splashed £103 million on a slice of the High Street which is plans to spend the next five years upgrading.

In 2017 Greenwich council gave planning permission for a £32 million "cultural quarter" which will add a new music venue and studio theatre within a former munitions factory and the Royal Military Academy, originally a training school for Army officers.

WHAT ELSE CAN I BUY?

If ever there was a postcode of two halves it is SE18, with properties ranging from fabulous riverfront penthouses to excellent-value starter homes. The average property price is £423,000 says Rightmove - almost exactly the same as the average London first-time buyer spend.

At the top end, Berkeley Homes is selling a three-bedroom penthouse at Royal Arsenal Riverside for £1.75 million. At the other end of the scale you could pick up a dated one-bedroom purpose-built flat in Plumstead or Woolwich for less than £200,000.

For £420,000, options include a two-bedroom flat in a converted Victorian hospital in Eltham, through Truepenny's (020 8693 2277) or a new one-bedroom flat at Wellington Quarter Woolwich through Gordon & Co (020 3858 3517).