Unlocking 1,900 new homes at London’s historic Woolwich Barracks
The Royal Artillery Barracks site in Woolwich, southeast London, served as the headquarters for the Royal Regiment of Artillery from 1776 until 2007. In 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that much of the site would become surplus to defense requirements when it was vacated and could be sold for redevelopment.
This created a time-sensitive need for clear planning guidance before redevelopment could take place and presented both an opportunity and a challenge: it offered a rare chance to create new homes and enhanced public realm, community facilities, supporting infrastructure, employment opportunities and long-term socio-economic benefits for the local area. Importantly, it also required protecting several of the country’s most significant military heritage assets, particularly the main barracks building fronting the parade ground.
A successful solution hinged on the creation of a balanced, comprehensive planning framework. It would need to provide guidance on creating a clear route for the future of the landmark London site and support its transition from a former defense estate to a well-planned neighborhood informed by housing need, heritage value and long-term community benefit. In March 2026, the Royal Borough of Greenwich marked a major milestone by adopting the Woolwich Barracks Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).
The SPD provides planning, design and development guidance to support the delivery of a high-quality mixed-use neighborhood, including more than 1,900 new homes, commercial space and supporting infrastructure. The framework reflects the site’s historic significance and green character while addressing future environmental, infrastructure and community needs in a sustainable way.
Jacobs supported the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) as strategic environmental and technical advisor throughout the evolution of the planning framework.
We turned a complex set of environmental, infrastructure and planning challenges into practical technical input, supporting DIO and the wider team as the framework progressed through to adoption. Our work included land quality assessments, flood risk reviews, carbon and climate policy analysis, power demand analysis and ongoing technical input throughout the planning process. This technical support strengthened the evidence base behind the SPD, giving the project team a clearer view of the opportunities, constraints and infrastructure considerations that will shape future redevelopment.
The project forms part of Jacobs’ broader support for the DIO under the MOD’s Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio which is a long-term £5.1 Billion investment to enhance the Defence Estate across the United Kingdom. Adoption of the SPD reflects close collaboration among the DIO, the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the wider project team, creating a strong foundation for the next phase of the project.
By providing responsive, integrated advisory support for this complex public-sector estate program, we’ve enabled the client to move from early-stage assessments toward more informed and deliverable plans.
