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| Aerial View of the Royal Docks - the new UEL Campus is shown to the right of the near end of the Airport's Runway. Source: Chorley Handford Photography | New UEL campus on the north side of the Royal Albert Dock |
The new Business School with a state-of-the-art library, 400 seat lecture theatere and Knowledge Dock Centre for enterprise develoopment, was opened by HM the Queen in February 2007. In April the Student Village, providing en-suite accommodation and faciities for 1000 students, was completed
An international standard rowing course and regatta centre has been built in the Royal Albert Dock funded by the Lottery Sports fund and the London Development Agency, formerly English Partnerships. The scheme is one of only three rowing courses in the UK to meet international standards but brings sporting opportunities for local people. The new Manor Way Bridge constructed at the far eastern end of the Royal Albert Dock also improves traffic flow around the dock and access to the Woolwich Ferry. The Regatta centre started operating in October 1999 but was officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 30th March 2000. The centre was supported by the Royal Docks Trust (London) for several years - see List of Grants for 2001/08.
It was in 1994 that Peabody Homes took the first steps towards what would later be called Britannia Village by starting 85 homes for rent on the four-acre site off Fort Street. The following year the LDDC sold 28 acres of land to Wimpey Homes to build 777 private dwellings and six shops in what was billed at the time as the largest housing development by a single private developer anywhere in Docklands. As part of the deal Wimpey agreed to provide the Village Hall and contribute £30,000 towards providing a GP surgery at the centre. Meanwhile land was allocated by LDDC and Newham Council for 140 social homes to be built by the Peabody Trust and East Thames Housing Group at six integrated locations throughout the site.
The village plans included the £3.9 million Royal Victoria Dock Footbridge built by the LDDC to provide a direct link from the village to the DLR station at Custom House on the north side of the dock.
This award winning development is now substantially complete. Phase II of the project was left to the LDDC’s successors and plans for what is called the Silvertown Quays development are now in process - see below
For more information, and a wealth of pictures, visit the website of the West Silvertown Village Community Foundation
It was in July 1994 that the LDDC short-listed four firms to put in bids for a large-scale exhibition Centre on the north side of the Royal Victoria Dock. It took time to choose a developer and to work-up and finance the scheme and it was not until January 1998 that the project finally got the green light. The Centre opened in November 2000.
ExCeL is London’s largest single site exhibition centre, with 90,000 square metres of flexible exhibition space. It is the largest column-free hall in Europe, and has already attracted the most prestigious events, including The London Boat Show, the World Travel Market and host of other shows - for details see the ExCeL website.
At
ExCeL west, the listed warehouses were completed at the turn of 2002/03.
They provide a themed pub/restaurant, a nightclub, offices and apartments.
The Sunborn Yacht Hotel, the world’s first custom built, luxury Yacht
Hotel, is now berthed in Royal Victoria Dock right alongside the venue’s
eastern entrance. It offers 104 luxurious suites.
ExCeL is proving a major driving force for hotel development in East London. There are no less than six on-site hotels provided by Crowne Plaza, Ramada, Ibis, Novotel Premiser Inn and the Sunborne Yacht Hotel. The are other hotels nearby including the Custom House & Quality Hotel and a Travelodge on the south side of the Dock.
ExCeL London is a public company with a significant portion of private funding. £130m of bonds are traded on the Luxembourg stock exchange with a shareholding structure that is held 75% by a Malaysian corporate-equity consortium and 25% by major UK financial institutions..
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ExCeL
-London's New Exhibition Centre (Pictures by Paul Osborne) |
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This Barratts Development, part of the ExCeL campus overlooking the Royal Victoria Dock, is now in its final phase. It is billed as one of the largest single redevelopment projects in the Docklands. When completed it will comprise 718 apartments in a "series of 10 ultra-modern, glass-walled buildings rising to a maximum of 18 storeys".
London's first major riverside park was officially opened by the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone in November 2000. Designed by French landscape architect Alain Provost, in an Anglo-French collaboration of urban designers Group Signes and Patel Taylor, the 22 acre park has a strong continental flavour. Key features are a sunken landscaped garden (called the Green Dock), a riverside promenade and a children’s play area.
The park is open from sunrise to sunset daily and can be reached via the No.69 bus from the Canning Town Underground station
For more information visit the Park's website
This new 300,000 sq ft retail park with associated restaurants and car parking occupies a large site to the east of Royal Docks Road which was once part of the Beckton Gas Works.
The Park comprises 29 units, including stores ranging in size from 185 sq m (2,000 sq ft) to 1,860 sq m (20,000 sq ft) with two further standalone units and two standalone food units. The terraces have been designed to provide maximum flexibility in configuration and size. There are 1,156 car park spaces and there is extensive soft landscaping. Tenants include Next, WH Smith, Starbucks, Borders, HMV, Superdrug and Boots. Next door is a £12m Tesco superstore of 109,000 sq ft. The project required ground remediation works costing £22m. Adjacent to the south eastern corner of the site is an area of land with planning permission for leisure and bulky goods use.
Click here for more information about the Retail Park
Ambitions to create a new £500 million business park in London’s Docklands came a step nearer in February 2001 when the London Development Agency (LDA) announced that property developer Development Securities PLC had been selected as its partner for this development which is major plank in the Agency's regeneration programme for the Royals and a key part of its overall economic development strategy for London.
On completion, the 50 acre
Business Park will be the capital’s largest urban business park with 148,000
square metres of offices and 9,000
square meteres of ancillary retail and leisure
accommodation. 
It
will occupy a one mile waterside frontage and is expected to attract high
quality tenants drawn by its strategic location and proximity to the City
and Canary Wharf. The site has excellent communications with two
existing DLR stations, London City Airport within 400 metres and dual
carriageway access to the M25.
The first phase of the development, the 23,436 square metre Building 1000, was sold in July 2007 to the London Borough of Newham for £75m. They will use 13,935 square metres for their "back office" functions It was the first major speculative office building in the Royal Docks, complementing the existing residential developments and ExCeL, London’s exhibition centre. The construction of the project uses a special Australian ‘strong force’ system of building which is not widely seen in the UK, and large scale prefabrication. It is is a joint development between Development Securities PLC, Standard Life Investments and the London Development Agency.
Subsequent phases will include retail and leisure as well as office space.
Link to Royal Business Park website
Following a competition among 35 developers the LDA in October 2001 entered into exclusive negotiations with a consortium including Silvertown Quays Ltd (SQL) and Kajima Urban Development International (KUD) for the second phase of the West Silvertown development taking up the 24 hectares (59 acres) bounded by the Royal Victoria Dock to the north, Mill Road to the west, North Woolwich Road to the south and Connaught Bridge Road to the east.
But not until May 2007 was it announced that this £1.5 billion development had finally received the green light from the London Borough of Newham following the confirmation of planning approval and the completion of legal and funding agreements by the developer.
Billed as one of Europe 's largest regeneration projects the development will include 5,000 new homes (including over 1,300 affordable units), 7,800 sq m of office space, 7,600 sq m of flexible workspace, 8,000 sq m of community facilities, 5,570 sq m of restaurants and bars and 18,925 sq m of leisure facilities including the aquarium project known as Biota! which is being developed by KUD International with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
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| Three "aerial" views of the development as it might look when it is completed. | ||
Development will commence with the refurbishment of the Millennium Mills which will be converted into apartments and Biota! The rest of the project will proceed in phases over the next 10 years and will also include the refurbishment of listed grain building Silo D.
The Section 106 planning agreement with the London Borough of Newham provides for the Biota! project and a contribution of £25 million towards the cost of infrastructure and local community benefits including a multi-use community centre, a modern library, a major new health centre and a primary school with nursery facilities.
There will also be new public open spaces and landscaping, better pedestrian, bus and cycle routes and a new pedestrian bridge across the North Woolwich Road to the new Docklands Light Railway station, which will be subject to an early architectural competition.There will also be high quality restaurants and retail units in what will become a "lively town centre".
Over £1m has been committed for training local people. It is expected that upwards of 2,000 jobs will be created with 25 per cent earmarked for Newham residents along with 25 percent of the construction jobs. Ten per cent of the construction jobs will be apprenticeships.
The developers have secured a £119m loan facility from the Bank of Scotland which will be used to finance the development.
Speaking about the Biota! project Ralph Armond, Director General of ZSL said it would "give its visitors a unique experience and inspire them about the aquatic world.” The 14, 500 sq m aquarium was designed by one of the UK 's leading architects, Terry Farrell & Partners. It will present the global diversity of aquatic life through "four strongly contrasting biomes recreating complete ecosystems with plants, fish, free flying birds, mammals and other animals". The building is arranged around a central atrium and the first floor houses the open ocean and coral reef exhibits with day-lit biomes on the upper floors. The exhibit areas represent diverse world habitats – the Amazon, the British Isles, the Indo-Pacific, and the Atlantic Ocean . The fifth exhibit area, ‘Living Conservation', focuses on protecting aquatic species and their habitats - the underlying message of Biota!
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| Three artist's views of the aquarium | ||
As well as being a centre of excellence for aquatic conservation, Biota! will also be a centre of scientific research and education. Breeding programmes for critically endangered species are just one of the many projects to be undertaken at Biota! and therse will be linked to others in the UK and around the world including: Project Seahorse (Philippines), Mamirauá Reserve Biodiversity Project (Brazilian Amazon) and the Cabo Delgado sustainable ecotourism project (Mozambique).
The Section 106 planning agreement provides for 12,000 free Biota! visits each year for Newham school children and an outreach programme in schools, modern apprenticeships and work experience places. There will be bursary support for students studying marine biology or a related subject at university.
More Information: There is more detailed information about the planning application on the LBN's website. The contact at Silvertown Quays Limited is Zoe Milne on 020 7292 0420 or e-mail: zoe.milne@sql.uk.com Click here for the SQL website.
Apartment buildings, paved plazas, restaurants and cafes have been designed around a new yacht basin, offering residents and visitors' alike European style surroundings. The historic Gallions Hotel will bethe centrepiece of the scheme, after conversion into a restaurant, health spa and small business centre. The development received planning approval in 2002.
The London Borough of Newham in October 2004 published for consultation draft Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for the Albert Basin. Developed jointly with the London Development Agency (who own the site) and the Greater London Assembly Architecture and Urbanism Unit, the draft provides a vision for the regeneration of the Albert Basin area at the eastern end of the Royal Docks. It is estimated that bringing this area back into use will result in nearly 3,000 new jobs and over 2,000 new homes. The draft can be seen on the Council's website. The closing date for comments on the development was 26th November 2004.
Already developed within the Framework site is the land occupied by the IVAX Pharmaceuticals European headquaters - see above. To the west of this lies the Royal Quay development now in construction. The rest of the area will be split into four development areas:
After Shell UK took over Gulf Oil (UK) Limited in 1997 the decision was taken - in spite of a £5m refit just completed - to decommission the Gulf Lubricants plant at Minoco Wharf and sell the 5.9 hectare site for development. This ended a long connection with oil production going back to 1896. The riverside site is sandwiched between the Barrier Point residential development to the east and the industrial units to the west.
The site is currently owned by the developers Ballymore who acquired it from a consortium which who drew up a planning application for the site which did not find favour and it was withdrawn.
In June 2006 Ballymore submitted an application for outline planning permission for a mixed development covering both Minoco Wharf and the adjoining Crescent Wharf. But in May 2007 this was withdrawn and in June 2007 a new one for a revised scheme was submitted.
The new application can be seen in full on the London Borough of Newham's planning website under the application reference 07/01142/OUT. It is for a phased mixed development with residential, employment, retail and food and drink components along with community, health, education, cultural, assembly and leisure & recreational uses. There will be vehicular, pedestrian and cycle access from North Woolwich Road. There will also be a marina with lock access to river Thames. The scheme includes public realm, public open space and private amenity space, landscaping and a network of footways and cycleways including a riverside path. Theere is full description in applicant's Development Specification which is among the documents avilable online as well as detailed plans of the scheme.
The Council sent out local consultation letters on 28th June 2007 and comments were required by 19th July 2007.
Although the site falls within Newham, the western half lies also within the boundary of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation. Thus, two identical applications for the whole site were submitted to Newham Council one of which would have been determined by Newham Council and the other by the LTGDC.
Until recently planning for the development of the site was inhibited because it was a "safeguarded wharf". This gave the Mayor of London the power to direct the refusal of planning applications. In January 2005, however, the Mayor recommended the Government to remove the safguarding of the wharf and this was accomplished in June that year. This has no doubt made it easier for Ballymore to plan the use of the site.
Peruvian
WharfThis development site, incorporating also Plaistow Wharf, was previously owned by Tate and Lyle for the storage and processing of sugar. They have now moved all their local operations to their Thames Refinery further east in Silvertown. The site was acquired for development in 1999 by Capital and Provident.
The riverside part of the site is a "safeguarded wharf” and although there has been no port related activity there for many years the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is insisting that any development should include a working wharf. This has inhibited the development of the site for some time.
However, in August 2005 new plans for the development of the whole of the 20 acre riverside site opposite Britannia Village - were lodged with Newham Council. The £300m mixed use scheme included:
The new plan thus included a covered wharf facility for both aggregates and cement products, with road access integrated within the development, as well as three separate berthing points, including a new passenger pier for riverboat services.
This plan for the development of the site was aired at a public inquiry held in the Meridian Business Centre at London City Airport in May/July 2006.
Having considered the report of the Inspector the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly, refused the application. The decision documents can be seen on the website of the West Silvertown Village Community Foundation (WSVCF).
It is understood Capital and Provident are now reviewing their options, taking into account the need to devote 9 acres of the site to an aggregates operation, without the environemntal protection they had built in to the earlier scheme. They are also reviewing with the London Development Agency (LDA) and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) what might be possible on the other 10 acres.
Three other applications for development at Plaistow Wharf/Peruvian Wharf have been submitted:
Barrett is seeking planning pemission for this final phase of its development adjacent to the DLR, the Thames and the Thames Barrier Park. If approved the new development will comprise 939 new homes offering private, shared equity and social rented housing alongside retail and community amenities.
THE
2012 OLYMPICSIn early July 2005 the International Olympic Committee chose London as the venue for the 2012 Olympics - a decision which is bound to have a marked impact on the Royal Docks.
The success of the bid marked the culmination of a huge amount of prepapratory work spread over many months. For example on 9th September 2004 the Planning Committees in Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest approved the planning applications required for the facilities needed for the Games if the bid were to be successful.
The approved applications focus on the Lower Lea Valley and form part of a comprehensive regeneration strategy for the area. The facilities, on a 237 hectare site close to Stratford, include an Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome, Olympic Village, Hockey Stadium and International Press Centre. Three coach drop-off areas to the north, south and west of the site are also proposed as well as a ramp leading from West Ham Station. The area is presently occupied by a variety of commercial, residential, social and industrial uses as well as by waterways, vacant land and open spaces. The applications also proposed "legacy" uses for the various facilities once the Games are over.
The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games was created to oversee the development of the Games after the success of the bid, and held their first board meeting on 7 October 2005 . The committee, chaired by Lord Coe, is in charge of implementing and staging the games, while the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is in charge of the construction of the venues and infrastructure.
The Government Olympic Executive (GOE), a unit within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is the lead Government body for coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. The GOE reports through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for the Olympics, Paralympics and London, Tessa Jowell. It focuses on oversight of the Games and the 2012 legacy before and after the Games that will benefit London and the UK.
Various aspects of the Games have developed since the time of the initial bid.
The successful regeneration of the Royal Docks depends crucially on good road and rail links. To open up the area the LDDC built the Docklands Highways (the Limehouse Link, Aspen Way, the Lower Lea Crossing, North Woolwich Road, the Connaught Crossing, Royal Albert Way and Royal Docks Road) and the Beckton extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). It had also lobbied successfully for the the Jubilee Line Extension (linking Green Park with Stratford via Waterloo, London Bridge, Surrey Docks, Canary Wharf and Canning Town) which was under construction at the time of its demise. Meanwhile the Highways Agency was working on the long awaited scheme (now completed) for the comprehensive improvement of the A13 and discussions were in progress on new River crossings including a new rail link across the Thames from the Royal Docks to Woolwich Arsenal.
In July 2000 transport planning became the responsibility of a new agency, Transport for London (TfL), which, like the LDA, operates under the auspices of the new Mayor of London. TfL also took over responsibility for the Docklands Light Railway and the A13 improvements project on which work had just started. It has also now assumed responsibility for London Underground.
Today, a number of new projects which are of importance to the Royal Docks are underway or in development. These include the extension, now completed, of the DLR from Canning Town to London City Airport and North Woolwich with work now underway on a further extension on to Woolwich Arsenal. Other projects include the East London and Greewich Waterfront Transit projects, Crossrail and the DLR's Stratford International Extension and Barking Reach projects. TfL are also working on plans for new Thames crossings including one between Barking and Thamesmead.
For summaries about these transport projects visit the web site of the London City Airport Consultative Committee which also includes information about developments at the Airport itself:-
The
DLR Extension to London City Airport/North Woolwich and Woolwich Arsenal
DLR's
Stratford International Project
London
City Airport - Operational Improvements Programme
FOR further information on the regeneration of the Royal Docks visit the following web sites:
The
Work of the LDDC - The LDDC History Pages - http://www.lddc-history.org.uk
Royals
Development Projects - the London Development Agency - http://www.lda.gov.uk
ExCel
Exhibition Centre - http://www.excel-london.co.uk
The
Docklands Campus of the University of East London at http://www.uel.ac.uk/docklands/index.htm
A13
Improvements - Transport for London Street Management -
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/streets/ - click "Initiatives" then
"A13"
Docklands
Light Railway - Extensions:
~ to London City Airport and North Woolwich - http://developments.dlr.co.uk/extensions/lca/index.shtml
~ to Woolwich
Arsenal -
http://developments.dlr.co.uk/extensions/woolwich/index.shtml
~ Stratford
International -
http://developments.dlr.co.uk/extensions/stratford/index.shtml
~ Barking
Reach -
http://developments.dlr.co.uk/extensions/barking/index.shtml
East London Transit -
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/initiatives-projects/ip-transit.shtml
Crossrail
- Cross London Rail Links Limited - http://www.crossrail.co.uk/
The
Thames Gateway Bridge - http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk/tfl/thames-gateway/tgw-bridge/tgb-planning-application.shtml
Page updated: 15th January 2008
In
July 2000 there was a further organisational change when EP's lands in
the Royals were transferred to the new London Development Agency (LDA).
The LDA joined the nine other Regional Development Agencies set up in
1999 but unlike the others, the LDA is answerable to the Mayor of London,
and is one of four bodies for which the Mayor is responsible (the others
being the Metropolitan Police, Fire Authority and Transport for London).
