Pop Brixton founder chooses Woolwich for next shipping containers project

The founder of bustling south London venue and market Pop Brixton is set to bring his business model, centred on shipping containers, to Woolwich, it emerged on Monday.

Carl Turner’s firm has lodged plans with Greenwich council to use 32 shipping containers on a vacant car park and develop “a dynamic community of retailers, restaurants and local enterprises”.

The Wool Yard project by Carl Turner Architects will also include space that can be used as shared offices and studios for start-ups as London’s vibrant community for entrepreneurs seeking flexible space continues to grow.

Subject to planning permission, the two-storey development will be on a site roughly the size of three tennis courts, opposite a Lidl supermarket.

Turner said the development “will bring much-needed affordable work and leisure space to the centre of Woolwich, which we hope will transform a disused site into a hub of creative activity and enterprise for the benefit of the community”.

Businesses that set up in the shipping containers are expected to benefit from the arrival of Crossrail in 2018. A customer base will also come from residents at around 6000 homes planned or under construction in the area.

The plans come two years after designer and developer Carl Turner opened Pop Brixton, which is home to 55 businesses, including skateboard store Brixton’s Baddest, wine retailer The New Zealand Cellar and vinyl music shop Container Records. It attracts around a million visitors a year.

Pop Brixton is also known for its events, with a yoga party and jazz club night this month.