Greenwich is a Borough in south-east London, which includes part of Blackheath, Kidbrooke and Westcombe Park. Vanbrugh Park’s leafy character is typical of the borough and the neighbourhood can be found just east of Greenwich Park and west of Charlton. The borough is south of the River Thames, and is in close proximity to East London areas such as Isle of Dogs, situated on the other side of the Thames. Unlike much of south-east London, Greenwich’s unique generally benefits from fantastic transport links, which includes two train stations, a DLR station, boat services, and the Emirates Airline, which gives spectacular aerial views of London whilst crossing the Thames. However, the area around Vanbrugh Park is slightly isolated from these transport options with the nearest station being around fifteen minutes walk north down the hill.

Greenwich is embedded in British maritime history. When translated, the name means “Green port”, illustrating Greenwich’s long use of water for local and commercial development, including boating, fishing and farming. Greenwich has long had Royal residents, due to its close proximity to Royal ships on the Thames. Most notably was Henry VII, who owned a palace there in the early 16th century, and also his son, Henry VIII, who was born there, and subsequently married two of his wives and had two of his daughters there. Around 100 years later, King Charles II commissioned the creation of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which was the catalyst for the Meridian Line and subsequently Greenwich Mean Time which is used as a universal unit of time even today.

Greenwich, previously known in Old English as Gronewic in 918, then Grenewic in 964, literally means “green harbour” or “green trading place.” Its connections to greenery and the waterways are not the only point of significance however. In 1884 the Meridian line was created here, which literally divides the world; it is the point that separates the eastern and western hemispheres – Longitude 0 – meaning that the delineations of the Earth are measured from Greenwich.

Research suggests that, for every five miles a car drives on one of Greenwich’s main roads, an extra 84 seconds should be added to the journey. This is largely due to the traffic, one of the downsides of the area. Furthermore, Greenwich has seen a disproportionate increase in the wave of recent knife crime when compared to the rest of London.

Greenwich Council is set to agree a new corporate plan, which will outline investment into a variety of areas, including housing, policing, sustainability and the economy. South of here, the £1bn redevelopment of the nearby Ferrier Estate, named Kidbrooke Village, has been one of the largest changes to hit this area in recent years. So far 1,900 of a planned total of 4,800 homes have been delivered, 35% of which will be ‘affordable’. This will not only increase the local population, but is also hoped to spur investment into the area. Kidbrooke Square is a similar residential-led development on nearby Kidbrooke Park Road, which will provide 619 new homes across eight buildings.