The Mayor of London has published a five-year plan for the Royal Docks, which is set to employ 55,000 and see the construction of 36,000 new homes.
There are also 129,300 homes planned for neighbouring areas, while the public and private sector investment into the area is set to exceed £2 billion.
The plan will see the completion of the Royal Docks corridor – a major highway improvement project – jointly funded with Newham Council.
The Royal Docks is one of largest regeneration areas in London, with seven significant developments being brought forward across 175 hectares of public land belonging to the Greater London Authority (GLA), representing a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial developments.
Sadiq Khan, The Mayor of London, said: “Once the beating heart of global trade, today the Royal Docks is re-emerging as one of the country’s leading areas of opportunity, investment, and innovation.
“Our new five-year plan sets out the vision for unlocking the full potential of this area with a multi-billion-pound regeneration programme that will deliver thousands of new homes and jobs and create a new economic powerhouse for the capital as part of my work to create a better, fairer, greener London for everyone.”
“I am pleased that we are now looking for a new development partner to transform Royal Albert Dock, one of the key sites in the Royal Docks. This will play a major role in the capital’s continuing economic success and growth Eastwards.”
Highlights of the five-year plan are as follows:
· More than £2bn of public and private sector investment planned over the next five years, including £64m from the Mayor, on top of the £44m that he has already invested
· Accelerating the delivery of key development sites at Silvertown, Royal Albert Dock, and Albert Island to unlock thousands of new homes, commercial space, jobs, and low carbon infrastructure
· Completion of the Royal Docks Corridor – a major highways improvement project, jointly funded with Newham Council, which will create a thriving new high street along Silvertown Way
· Creating 100,000 sqm of new commercial workspace which will support a mix of new businesses, 3,500 new jobs, and space for culture, education, and community participation
· Constructing the brand-new Silvertown Bridge – a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over Royal Victoria Dock, which will connect Thameside communities to the new Elizabeth Line station at Custom House
· Major transport improvements, including the completion of the Silvertown Tunnel as well as upgrades to the DLR network, and station improvements at Pontoon Dock
· Completion of a new commercial shipyard at Albert Island, the first in a generation for London, which will ensure that the Royal Docks’ maritime traditions continue, into the future
· £725,000 invested into local cultural and community projects to help build a thriving cultural eco-system in the Royal Docks, supporting existing creative businesses, as well as nurturing local creative talent and jobs
Approximately £5bn of investment is planned for the area over the next 20 years.
This includes more than 9,000 new homes built or under construction, approximately 2,620 new jobs created, and the establishment of the Royal Docks as London’s only London Living Wage place.
Work has also begun on the flagship Silvertown redevelopment, one of the key sites in the Royal Docks that has laid dormant for more than 40 years eluding the attempts of successive mayors and governments to regenerate it.
This will create 6,500 new homes, including hundreds of much-needed homes at social rent levels the first of which are already under construction.
The Mayor also relocated City Hall to The Crystal Building in the Royal Docks in 2022, joining major anchor institutions such as ExCeL London, London City Airport, Tate & Lyle Sugars, and the University of East London, making it a strategically important centre for London.