Skip to site navigation

Accessibility Options

Font size

Colour scheme

A modern council

 
Woolwich streets, children and proposed DLR station

We are making Greenwich an even better place to live, work and study.

That's why we've launched an exciting Modernisation Programme that is about improving life in the borough and our delivery of services to you. These improvements represent an investment of more than £800m.

We are upgrading schools and housing as part of our major regeneration programme. We have opened integrated centres at Eltham and in Woolwich at the Riverside Centre, offering a range of leisure, educational, community and Council services. We are building two further centres, one in Woolwich (to replace the Riverside Centre) and one in Greenwich.

We've built 16 Children's Centres across the borough, so that education, health and family and other services for children under five will all be in one place for you. Five more centres are in development. 

We are also building two new libraries in Woolwich and Greenwich and we have refurbished the Eltham library. These new libraries will have the most up-to-date technology and working practices to ensure an improved customer experience.

We have also launched a major e-government programme to make sure that we have the best technology in place to help you contact the Council as quickly as possible, whether you get in touch by telephone, email, through our website or in person.

It is now easier to contact the Council over a range of matters.

Find out more about the work we're doing to improve:

Value for your money

This investment will generate savings, halve the use of Council office space, reduce the running costs of public buildings across the borough, and contribute to regeneration of town centres. It will not be paid for by raising Council Tax or housing rents.

Public service partnerships

We are developing high-quality, joined-up public services with our partners.

We have  developed partnerships with the Primary Care Trust, Greenwich Leisure Limited, Greenwich Community College, English Partnerships, Jobcentre Plus and the Police.

We're also working with organisations like Berkeley Homes, the Southern Housing Group, English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation to build new homes.

What will happen when?

Work is under way and is set to continue until 2011. 

  • The Eltham Centre opened in November 2007
  • It is intended to begin construction of the new Woolwich Centre in late summer 2008 and to complete by 2010
  • The planning application for the Greenwich Centre has been submitted and work is expected to start on site in 2009
  • Plans for building new schools are well advanced. The first five new and refurbished schools are expected to be open for the school year 2010 
  • Further releases of the Customer Contact System are being carried out. By 2009 the following services will be accessed from the  Contact Centre:
    • abandoned vehicles
    • antisocial behaviour team
    • Cleansweep
    • enforcement
    • highways
    • mobility
    • out of hours
    • pest control (basic functions only)
    • waste services
    • information and forms provision to support Riverside and Eltham Service Centres
    • parking
    • parks and open spaces
    • revenues (Council Tax)
    • housing benefits
    • complaints
    • change of address / bereavement reports
    • electoral services
    • registars.
  • Sixty per cent of houses included in the Housing Renewal Programme now reach Decent Homes standard. The Council's Housing stock will meet the Government's Decent Homes standard by 2010.
See the links in the left menu to find out more about these developments. 

A to Z of Services