Crossrail has received the go-ahead from the Royal Borough of Greenwich to build nearly 400 new homes above the new Woolwich Crossrail station.

The major new residential development will consist of approximately 490,000 sq ft in five high quality buildings of varying heights landscaped gardens.

The Armourer’s Court design by architects TP Bennett was reviewed by Design Council CABE and created in consultation with the local community, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greater London Authority and English Heritage.

It draws upon the heritage of the nearby Royal Arsenal buildings, with brick, metal and glass façades.

Crossrail will market the Armourer’s Court site to potential development partners in the coming year and aims to commence construction once the station has been completed in 2018.

It is part of Crossrail’s strategy to develop three million sq ft of new commercial and residential space above stations, returning funds to the Crossrail budget and regenerating urban areas all along the line.

At the same meeting, Greenwich Council also granted consent for the external appearance of the Woolwich Crossrail station.

Ian Lindsay, Crossrail’s Land and Property Director said: “The successful development of this site will be another major step forward in the regeneration of Woolwich. This is part of our ongoing efforts to breathe new life into areas above and around our new stations. Crossrail is helping to boost the supply of new homes across the capital.”

The Woolwich area has enjoyed a renaissance thanks to the opening of Woolwich Arsenal DLR terminus in 2009, improvement of public areas and the impending arrival of Crossrail. Since 2008 there have been 13 planning applications within a kilometre of Woolwich Crossrail station, equating to 4,286 new homes, over 70,000 sq ft of new office space and 114,000 sq ft of new retail space.