Developers are ordered to tear down two occupied tower blocks in London after breaking planning rules.

Greenwich Borough Council said the Mast Quay Phase II rental development, near the Thames in Woolwich, needed to be demolished and rebuilt as it was so different from the initially approved plans.

But people now live in some of the 204 apartments and may have to move out.

The council said developer Comer Homes Group had breached 26 planning conditions after a year-long investigation.

‘The council believes that the only reasonable and proportionate way to rectify the harm created by the finished Mast Quay Phase II development to the local area, and the tenants living there, because of the changes made during its construction is the complete demolition and the restoration of the land to its former condition,’ the council said in a statement.

‘The council issued an enforcement notice on Monday, September 25 which is subject to appeal rights for a period of at least 28 days following the date of issue.

‘To support the residents currently living in the development the council has written to them directly to provide them with support, assistance and advice.’

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It said the deviations include a change in appearance to the blocks to be larger and more ‘solid and bulky’, no green space, lower quality accommodation and a reduction in commercial space.

There are also issues for disabled residents, with a lack of step-free access for disabled residents to their own balconies and a lack of disabled parking bays.

Councillor Anthony Okereke, Labour Party leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: ‘This decision is not one that the Royal Borough of Greenwich has taken lightly, but I believe it is reasonable and proportionate to the scale and seriousness of the situation.

‘Mast Quay Phase II represents two prominent high-rise buildings on Woolwich’s riverside that just are not good enough, and the reason that they are not good enough is because the development that was given planning permission is not the one that we can all see before us today.

‘In Our Greenwich – our vision for the borough by 2030 – I committed to development that delivers positive change to the area for existing and new communities, and this is simply not the case with Mast Quay Phase II.

‘The right thing to do is not usually the easy thing to do. That is why we will not stand by and allow poor quality and unlawful development anywhere in our borough and we are not afraid of taking difficult decisions when we believe it’s the right thing to do.’

Building work started in 2015 and was completed in 2022, with the flats leased through the developer’s subsidiary Fincraft Ltd. Planning permission was obtained in 2012.

At least 78 of the flats are thought to be occupied, but it is likely to be more than this.

The developer told Metro.co.uk in a statement: ‘The Comer Homes Group is surprised and extremely disappointed by the decision of the Royal Borough of Greenwich to issue an enforcement notice in respect of our Mast Quay Phase II development.

‘We are particularly surprised to see the accompanying public statements which are inaccurate and misrepresent the position and our actions.

‘We will be appealing against the enforcement notice and look forward to robustly correcting the inaccuracies and addressing the council’s concerns.

‘We have over many months sought to engage constructively with the council, and not withstanding these disproportionate actions, remain willing to do so.’

It said it believes the issues can be addressed with a retrospective planning application and added it will assist residents in remaining in their homes while the decision is appealed.

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