The Mayor Boris Johnson today announced significant progress in one of London’s largest residential schemes, creating thousands of new homes and jobs for south east London. The final stage of planning consent, to build almost 3,000 homes on the 190 acre Greenwich Peninsula site, the majority of which is owned by the Greater London Authority, has now been secured by development partner Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration Ltd (GPRL), a joint venture between Knight Dragon and Quintain. Construction work on the southern quarter of the site will begin by the end of the summer to deliver the next phase of residential development, comprising 704 homes. It is anticipated that a further 850 homes will start on site in March 2014, subject to planning.
The next phase of development in the southern quarter of the Greenwich Peninsula site further marks a commitment to the provision of affordable homes, with 325 social rented and intermediate homes coming forward as part of the proposals. The overall development will eventually deliver around 10,000 new homes – including approximately 3270 affordable homes for rent or part-rent – along with 600 student beds, and 3.5 million sq ft of commercial floorspace transforming what was an old gas works into a major new residential, business and leisure district. The Greenwich Peninsula site is part of the Mayor’s ambitious plans to release surplus public land to boost construction jobs, drive investment and deliver the additional housing so desperately needed in London. Since the Greater London Authority became the largest public land owner in the capital last year the Mayor has negotiated similar deals on sites including the Royal Albert Docks, Silvertown Quays and the former Catford stadium, providing a total economic benefit of £3.5bn.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “The transformation of Greenwich Peninsula is without a doubt one of the most exciting development opportunities in London. So it is fantastic to see these plans move a step closer to bringing thousands of new homes and jobs to Greenwich, helping to secure the wider regeneration of this key opportunity area and maintain London’s position as the best big city in the world.”
Cllr Chris Roberts, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said, “Greenwich Peninsula is an extremely important regeneration site, with the capacity to make a vital contribution to the new homes that London so desperately needs. After nearly 10 years of delays in bringing forward this phase of the housing, this approval is therefore extremely good news. The development of these homes comes as the Peninsula continues to grow into one of London’s brightest new business districts. With its strong emphasis on media and technology companies, and excellent transport connections to the rest of the capital, the Peninsula is attracting significant inward investment, and offering vital employment opportunities as it helps to strengthen the economy in East and South-East London.”
Most recent in a series of positive planning decisions is outline consent for 1,683 homes with up to 90,000 sq ft of retail space and two hotels for the Peninsula Quays district.
Max James, Chief Executive of Quintain, said: “This consent comes after a series of positive planning decisions and appropriately concludes a year of action for the GPRL joint venture on its first anniversary. The scheme reinvigorates the design of Peninsula Quays and, with construction starting shortly at Peninsula Riverside in the south, we expect to see up to 2,000 Londoners living at Greenwich Peninsula within the next two years.”
Sammy Lee, Director of Knight Dragon, said: “Re-mastering Peninsula Quays to introduce iconic, cohesive architecture in a beautifully landscaped environment reflects our ambitions for the wider Peninsula and sets the tone for the quality of development being brought forward.”
The Greenwich Peninsula area is fast establishing itself as a vibrant and exciting new part of London. It is already home to the O2 Arena and the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Digital Enterprise Greenwich Centre, next door to the cutting edge digital institution, Ravensbourne College. With the Emirates Airline cable car link, connecting Greenwich Peninsula with London’s Royal Docks, it is also a few minutes from the Siemens Crystal and the exciting new developments at Silvertown Quays and Royal Albert Docks creating the capital’s next business district. The Mayor has also proposed a new road tunnel between Greenwich Peninsula and Silvertown in the Royal Docks, which could potentially move 2,400 vehicles an hour in each direction under the river.
Notes to editors
• The Mayor pledged to bring forward the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula, one of the UK’s largest areas of public sector land with planning consent, when he launched his revised Housing Strategy in December 2011. • The Greenwich Peninsula site was transferred to the GLA from the HCA as part of the devolution of power to the Mayor under the Localism Act 2011. • Other public sites which are being developed under the Mayor include: Trenchard House in Soho, Cane Hill in Croydon, St Clements and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Tower Hamlets, Lymington Fields in Dagenham, and Greenwich Square in Greenwich. • Greenwich Peninsula is being delivered by Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration Limited (GPRL), a joint venture between Knight Dragon and Quintain Estates & Development plc, for more information on the development, visit: www.greenwichpeninsula.co.uk> • Planning consents already given: Peninsula Quays The new Peninsula Quays scheme, which was designed by Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, provides for towers of up to 32 storeys offering residents unrivalled views of Canary Wharf on the adjacent riverbank. The 1,683-apartment district will be connected to Peninsula Square and The O2 through landscaped gardens, designed by Gillespie Landscape Architects, and benefit from two storeys of underground parking, two hotels and almost 90,000 sq ft of restaurants and shops. The scheme was approved by Royal Borough of Greenwich in July. Deed of Variation At the end of last month, Royal Borough of Greenwich resolved to vary the existing Section 106 Agreement in relation to 11 of the remaining plots to be delivered on the Peninsula. This variation redistributed the housing mix on the next phase of development to enable GPRL to provide approximately 2,870 homes in a viable manner. Central Marketing Hub Underpinning these major strides forward, GPRL has also been granted planning permission for a new marketing hub located on Peninsula Square, facing The O2 and next to North Greenwich Underground station.The new hub, which will be passed by 8 million annual visitors to The O2, has been designed by Marks Barfield Architects and will provide a natural path through the marketing hub on the journey from the tube station toward the Emirates Cable Car and Central Park, as well as attracting event-goers. Peninsula Riverside In February, detailed planning permission was secured for 506 homes on three plots, now covered by the Deed of Variation, at Peninsula Riverside in the south, and GPRL’s contractors are scheduled to start construction later this summer. With piling underway by Bellway homes on an adjacent plot in this district and Zenprop close to completion of its student accommodation building, by the winter of 2015 Peninsula Riverside is expected to be home to approximately 2,000 Londoners. For media enquiries please call Jessica Roscoe or Leona Janson-Smith in the Mayor’s Press Office on 020 7983 4716/4186. For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000.
For non-media enquiries please call the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.