The Site
The site is located on Bidder Street and borders East India Dock Road to the South, the River Lea to the West and Mayer Parry Wharf to the North. It is a short walk to Canning Town and Star Lane stations and nearby to several local bus routes.
Planning context
The site is located within the Royal Docks and Beckton Riverside Opportunity Area where the Mayor of London has earmarked for up to 38,000 new homes. He is currently developing a more detailed framework to deliver this which includes this site.
The site also falls within Newham’s own ‘Arc of Opportunity’, which the borough’s Local Plan sets out is the focus area for most of its new housing, job creation and infrastructure development.
As a result, the site has been recognised by Newham Council for several years as having redevelopment potential. Its Local Plan envisages this existing under-utilised site can be transformed by mixed-use development.
CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The area around the Canning Town Riverside is currently very fractured and with significant parts not currently being accessible to the public. Our plans for Crown Wharf look to breathe new life into this site, knit together other new developments coming forward locally, and crucially allow residents and the local community to once more enjoy the waterfront.
In realising this ambition, however, we need to be mindful of and seek to address early on the key constraints the site currently presents:
An island site
Opportunity to contribute to the function of the wider industrial estate and support local businesses. The site is bordered by an industrial estate to the north, the river to the west and two very busy roads to the east and south.
Low Accessibility and permeability
Once on site, it is currently very difficult to navigate and access the water edge. We are currently working together with Newham Council and other developers in the area to create a new and improved pedestrian and cycle links to allow people to enjoy all parts of our development.
River Lea
The river and water edge itself presents the opportunity to extend the River Lea pedestrian and cycle route, enhance connections to the Bow Creek Ecology park and also complement the Council’s aspiration to deliver a new bridge link.
Neighbouring developments
This is a part of Newham that is only going to continue to grow and change. It’s really important that we work closely with neighbouring landowners so that new pieces of city feel connected. We’ll be reflecting this in our masterplanning and bringing forward a scheme that knits the local community together.
