News

Covid-19 delays London Super Sewer 9 months

Completion of the London Thames Tideway tunnel project has been pushed back into 2025 because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Work has started fitting secondary tunnel lining
Work has started fitting secondary tunnel lining

Thames Tideway has now assessed the impact of the lockdown and more restricted working practices on the vast project.

It has warned shareholders that the project will be pushed back nine months into the first half of 2025.

Project engineers now estimate that Covid-19 will add £233m to costs, taking the expected final project budget to £4.13bn.

Tideway is in discussions with regulator Ofwat over a package of measures to mitigate the financial impact of Covid-19 on the company.

“We are making progress in these discussions and we expect to reach a full agreement in the coming months,” said a spokeman.

Following a temporary pause of all but essential works at the start of the lockdown, construction work recommenced on the majority of Tideway’s worksites in May, but at a lower level of activity in order to comply with social distancing requirements.

The project is approaching 60% completion and still in peak construction.

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Canary Wharf submits 3.8m sq ft North Quay plan

Canary Wharf Group has unveiled plans for a 3.8m sq ft development on the North Quay site.

Prelim work could start at North Quay site in 2021
Prelim work could start at North Quay site in 2021

Immediately opposite the new Crossrail station, North Quay is the largest undeveloped site remaining at Canary Wharf and will be built out with around seven high-rise blocks.

Masterplanned by architects Allies and Morrison, the site is earmarked as a mixed-use district with up to 2.5m sq ft of office and 1.6m sq ft of residential space.

All new homes will be net-zero carbon while office buildings will target BREEAM Outstanding level for sustainability.

Outline plans have just been submitted to Tower Hamlets Borough Council for approval.

Under the provisional timetable, enabling works could begin by the end of 2021. Development works will then be undertaken in several phases between 2021 and 2029.

Previously inaccessible dockside will form the backbone of the design providing a 250m east-west waterside promenade.

The development plans at North Quay are in addition to a further 2m sq ft CWG has underway in construction projects and a further 2.5m sq ft in design.

Sir George Iacobescu, chairman of Canary Wharf Group, said: “North Quay is a unique location and one of the largest single development sites in London.

“This will be a fantastic addition to the Canary Wharf estate and offer an exceptional environment for a range of occupiers and sectors including health and life sciences, technology, media, financial or business services organisations.

“In a dynamic and unpredictable world, the extensive flexibility in this plan will enable us to respond quickly to market demand within a framework agreed with the local authority.”

The planning application has been made after a seven-month-long consultation with local residents and businesses.

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Berkeley’s London White City towers approved

Berekely Group business St James has gained planning for 527 flats at White City in West London.

Designed by architects Pilbrow and Partners, the proposals at Centre House include two landmark 22-storey and 32-storey buildings and a new curved crescent of housing.

Around a third of the homes will be affordable homes, allocated to staff at Imperial and other key workers.

The gateway project forms part of the wider 10 acre White City Living major regeneration scheme that will eventually provide more than 2,300 homes.

The planning consent follows more than two years of consultation and engagement with Hammersmith & Fulham Council and represents the next phase of the regeneration of White City.

Works will start on site in late autumn, with construction due to commence in 2021 and the first homes expected to be completed by 2024.

Sean Ellis, Chairman of St James Group, said: “Centre House is the final piece of the jigsaw in the White City masterplan and is pivotal in connecting the major regeneration projects that surround it.

“We have worked closely with Imperial College London and Hammersmith & Fulham Council to create a high-quality new vision for the site, providing a significant number of key worker and private sale homes.”

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£250m London Borough Market mixed-use scheme approved

Regeneration specialist U+I and Transport for London have secured planning for a £250m mixed-use development of homes, shops, and workspace near London’s Borough Market.

Landmark Court has been designed as a varied collection of contemporary brick buildings
Landmark Court has been designed as a varied collection of contemporary brick buildings

The Southwark Street scheme, designed by architect Allies and Morrison, will provide around 200,000 sq ft of commercial space and 36 homes with 50 per cent affordable.

The Landmark Court building complex will be built on a 1.7-acre derelict site restoring old lanes at the historic Southwark site.

Importantly, the development provides a package of support for the historic burial ground, Crossbones Graveyard and Memorial Garden, securing the long-term future of the former paupers’ graveyard said to hold the remains of some 15,000 people.

Today, the graveyard has become home to a garden of remembrance, which has evolved over two decades as a contemplative space.

Richard Upton, chief development officer at U+I, said: “These plans represent the final piece of the puzzle on the Southwark Street.

New pedestrian routes through the site will reinstate some of the medieval yards and lanes of historic Southwark

“This site has been a blot on an otherwise vibrant and successful High Street, but now we can bring forward a development that will stitch the streetscape back together, providing contemporary workspace, homes, shops and restaurants, all set within a carefully considered masterplan that reinstates the medieval lanes and yards of Southwark.”

These proposals form part of TfL’s housing programme, which will provide 10,000 homes across the capital as well as a commitment to deliver 50 per cent affordable housing across all sites brought to the market since May 2016.

Construction has already started on almost 1,400 homes in the capital, as the programme continues to build momentum.

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First phase of £1bn London Convoys Wharf approved

The first phase of the £1bn regeneration of Convoys Wharf in South London has gained planning.

Phase one of the Convoys Wharf regeneration scheme will see 456 flats built around a small public park
Phase one of the Convoys Wharf regeneration scheme will see 456 flats built around a small public park

Lewisham Borough Council has given the thumbs up to the first major residential block of 456 flats in the Farrells-designed scheme on the Royal Docks in Deptford.

It is the first of 22 plots within developer Hutchison Property Group’s large-scale consented masterplan to develop the former site of Henry VIII’s royal dockyard, established in 1513.

The redevelopment of Convoys Wharf will sustain 1,200 construction jobs as the formerly inaccessible site is transformed into a new waterfront district.

Planned park to be built on existing pontoons in the Thames

Plans include building a 1.5 acre park on an existing pontoon on the River Thames, cultural and commercial space, along with 3,500 homes including three ‘landmark’ towers up to 40 storeys tall.

Riverside view of planned high-rise towers at Convoys Wharf

It will include three acres of new public parks, a new school, space for cultural usage, a range of shops, restaurants and cafes, as well as link to and enhance the existing High Street in Deptford and the historic town centre.

Mike Stowell at Farrells said: “The regeneration of this former brownfield site creates a fantastic new opportunity for Deptford releasing to the local community new public realm, cultural, commercial and education opportunities and new greenspace.

“There is the additional important benefit of releasing 500m of the borough’s riverfront to the public for the first time in 500 years. We are looking forward to developing the first phase of this long-awaited scheme and working with the local community on the next phases”

Plan of the Royal Docks site in Deptford

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Tycoon’s £1bn flats scheme consent quashed in Whitehall U-turn

Newspaper tycoon Richard Desmond has been forced to suspend ambitious plans to redevelop his former Isle of Dogs printworks site in London with a vast luxury flats scheme.

Westferry Printworks luxury flats scheme halted as Government rescinds Robert Jenrick's decision to wave through controversial scheme
Westferry Printworks luxury flats scheme halted as Government rescinds Robert Jenrick’s decision to wave through controversial scheme

The 1,500 flats Millwall waterfront plan has been put on hold after the government was forced to accept it “acted unlawfully” in a legal battle with Tower Hamlets Council over plans for five skyscraper towers

In January, housing secretary Robert Jenrick gave consent, overruling the Government’s own planning inspector’s decision to reject the scheme.

The council then initiated legal action against Jenrick in March, alleging that the timing of the decision appeared to show bias in deciding to allow the planning appeal.

The council asked the court to order the government to disclose documents that it argued would show the housing secretary was influenced by a desire to help the developer save money by avoiding the council’s revised Community Infrastructure Levy charges.

The Westferry Printworks decision was made just one day before the council adopted changes to its CIL levels, which would mean the developer had to pay between £30m and £50m more to the council.

Faced with the prospect of having to release documentation relating to the decision, Jenrick chose to allow the planning permission to be quashed.

Mayor John Biggs said: “We may never know what emails and memos the secretary of state received before making his decision and what influence they had, but his reluctance to disclose them speaks volumes.

“In siding with the developer, he went against not only the planning inspector but also the council’s Strategic Development Committee and the residents whose lives would be directly impacted by this scheme.

“I am grateful to our legal team for their work on this case and for successfully holding the government to account.

“We will continue to press for a scheme that meets the needs of the community on the Isle of Dogs in terms of height and density, the provision of adequate affordable housing and infrastructure delivery.”

Cllr Rachel Blake, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Planning, said: “This is great news for Tower Hamlets and I would like to pay tribute to the teams involved. We were shocked that in taking his decision, the secretary of state went against the government’s own planning inspector’s recommendation.

“The timing, which meant the developer would have been able to pay significantly lower infrastructure costs than if it had been made the following week, meant we had no choice but to challenge it through the courts.”

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£161m north London housing scheme approved

A major new housing regeneration scheme at Kilburn in North West London has been approved by Brent Council’s first virtual planning committee.

Peel Place, the £161m civic quarter of the South Kilburn Masterplan Regeneration Programme, will now go-ahead into construction.

Developer Countryside, housing association Home Group and Brent Council are working together to deliver 308 homes, of which 41% will be for affordable housing – including shared ownership and social rented homes.

As part of the civic quarter, residents will also have access to a new health centre, community hub, affordable gym, affordable workspace, and a market square.

Child Graddon Lewis Architects & Designers is the architect for Peel Place

Located within walking distance of the bustling Carlton Vale area and a short walk from Queen’s Park and Kilburn Park stations, the first wave of new homes is expected to be ready in Q3 2021.

Andy Fancy, managing director, Partnerships North & South London, Countryside said: “Gaining planning permission for the entire Peel Place scheme is testament to the meticulous work we have done together with Home Group and Brent Council to shape a vision for what’s set to become a thriving new community in the capital.”

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Latest tower for Canada Water unveiled

Developer Southern Grove has unveiled plans to build an £80m mixed-use residential and office complex in London’s Canada Water.

“The Brooklyn” will provide 150 homes alongside 25,000 sq ft of office space and is designed by architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.

The scheme will be 18 storeys high and will occupy a site called St Olav’s Court next to the Rotherhithe Tunnel.

Planning permission will now be sought from Southwark Council after Southern Grove exchanged on the site last week.

The development is near a 53-acre site south-east of Canada Water Station that has become a major redevelopment focus for Southwark Council under its Canada Water Area Action Plan.

Planning permission for the new ‘town centre’ was granted for British Land’s scheme in October, promising a £3.3bn facelift including 3,000 homes that will help turn the whole Canada Water area into a major regeneration centre.

Tom Slingsby, CEO of developer Southern Grove, said: “The Brooklyn is a fantastic addition to this site and will provide a healthy boost to housing and commercial stock in Canada Water, which is one of the capital’s regeneration hotbeds.

“People living here really will feel like they are within striking distance of central London. They will be able to hop on the Tube and be in the City, Canary Wharf or any corner of the capital in minutes.

“Canada Water is going to be put on the map in a bold new way by the extensive regeneration that is going to take hold over the next 15 years and our own scheme will complement that effort.”

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£600m London twin towers get final all-clear

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has waved through final planning for a twin-tower scheme in London’s Nine Elms District.

Twin tower scheme in Vauxhall was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects
Twin tower scheme in Vauxhall was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects

Developer Great Marlborough Estates plans to build two towers rising to 54 and 42 storeys in an area known as the Vauxhall cluster.

Its £600m Vauxhall Cross Island scheme has been designed by world-famous Zaha Hadid Architects and will offer a mix of new homes, offices, shops and a hotel.

Both towers will be linked by a 10-storey podium.

The contractor and start date for the project will be revealed in the coming months, becoming a symbolic scheme for recovery in London after the coronavirus crisis.

The north tower will consist of 257 homes, ranging from penthouses to three-bedroom family-friendly flats, with access to private winter gardens, communal lounges and a children’s play area.

The taller south tower will include a 618-room landmark hotel with views across the capital.

A new public square with also offer shops and restaurants with office space spread across the lower floors of both towers.

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Chinese developer names builder for London debut scheme

Chinese developer Poly UK has appointed Bennett Construction to build a 257-home scheme in north west London.

The Plaza Collection scheme in Mill Hill has a development value of £380m and marks Poly’s entrance into the UK market following decades of success in China, Australia and America.

It forms a key part of the wider Millbrook Park transformation – a new 2,000-plus home development on the site of the former Inglis Barracks.

In total, Poly UK’s portion of the site will deliver over 700 residential units, a new landscaped plaza and 1,400sqm of associated commercial and retail space over four different phases. The development will form a much-needed gateway between Millbrook Park and Mill Hill East Station.

May Zhao, Executive Director, Poly UK, said: “As this is Poly’s first residential project in the UK, it is imperative that we have the best-in-class project team, from initial design to delivery, to meet our vision of creating standout homes.

“Bennett Construction has a first-class track record in delivering large-scale projects of this nature, making it an ideal partner to take the first phase of the site forward.”

“We remain highly confident in the London market”

The planned start to construction will be delayed by the coronavirus outbreak after Bennett decided to shutdown all of its construction sites.

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