News

The 800-home scheme located on the Western Gateway of the dock adjoins phase one, known as Royal Docks West – a 19-storey tower, which was launched successfully to market in spring 2017 and is now 90% sold.

The two new phases called Royal Eden Docks have been designed by architect SOM with 35% of the homes affordable.

Now construction will start in the autumn and run for over five and a half years, completing in 2024.

Emma Foster, development director at Mount Anvil, said: “Securing resolution to grant planning permission for phases two and three of Royal Eden Docks is a landmark moment for the site.

“The success of phase one demonstrated buyer demand for homes in this part of London, and in a period when the capital is gripped by an acute housing shortage, it’s important that we are working in partnership with the GLA to bolster the delivery of new homes for Londoners.

“Phase one brought substantial investment in the community and surrounding infrastructure, and we look forward to building on that investment with the construction of phases two and three.”

The project will create an estimated 147 new construction jobs every year and Mount Anvil is targeting at least 35% of those to go to local people. In addition, 30 apprenticeships and 10 work experience placements will be created over the duration of the development.

MSG want to build the 90-metre tall scheme on a 4.7 acre former coach park near the Olympic Park.

The 120-metre diameter building will take three-years to construct and will have a capacity of 21,500 people.

The sphere will sit on a four-storey base filling the whole site and its exterior will be clad with triangular LED panels displaying moving images.

Alongside the main venue MSG also plans a smaller music club/nightclub, retail space, a café, and restaurants.

Jayne McGivern, MSG’s Executive Vice President of Development and Construction, said: “This is an opportunity to take an inaccessible coach park and use it to support thousands of jobs, and billions of pounds of economic benefit.

“Our plans make training and local hiring a priority and would create a premier destination that serves as a long-term investment in the future of Newham, London, and the UK.

“If our plans are approved, we believe MSG Sphere will complement London’s existing venues and drive overall growth in the music and entertainment market – benefiting residents, artists and fans.”

The new development will involve construction of the Capital’s fourth tallest residential tower at 48-storeys, shops, offices and over 1,000 new homes.

Situated at 520 Old Kent Road, the 5-acre Cantium Retail Park scheme has been designed by local Southwark architectural practices – Brisac Gonzalez and Alan Camp Architects.

There will be four buildings rising to 37-storeys, two 11-storey and one of nine-storeys surrounding a central podium. The residential element of the buildings will be mixed tenure with separate cores for private sale, shared ownership and social-rented homes.

The new homes will include a mix of apartments, maisonettes, penthouses and townhouses, and 60,000 sq ft of offices, 24,000 sqft of retail space, 25,144 sqft of flexible space for restaurants, café, cinema and leisure premises and 6,415 sqft of space for cultural facilities such as a youth theatre or mini-opera house. The shops, restaurants and cafes are expected to create up to 580 new jobs.

The podium and one of the 11-storey buildings fronting onto the Old Kent Road will provide the majority of the development’s commercial floorspace, with 10 per cent of the space at discounted rent for start-up firms and small and medium-sized entreprises.

The new development will have a six-year construction programme. Existing Cantium Retail Park anchor tenants will be included in the development and the developers are holding discussions with other tenants about making provisions for them within the scheme.

Helen Rainsford, Senior Director at Aviva Investors said: “Aviva Investors is pleased planning consent has been granted for the regeneration of Cantium Retail Park.

“Working with Galliard Homes, we believe we can create a superb residential-led mixed-use development that will transform the site for the benefit of the local area.”

Stephen Conway, Executive Chairman of Galliard Homes said: “The regeneration of Cantium Retail Park will serve to kick-start the wider planned regeneration and transformation of the entire Old Kent Road into a vibrant new high quality commercial, retail and residential destination for South London.”

Under local pressure for more housing, the proposed rejigged scheme will now have twice the number of homes at 500 units and a landmark office tower has been cut in height from 46 storeys to 29 storeys.

Overall, the revised proposals for developing The Goodsyard see the removal of the two high-rise residential towers originally proposed for the site in the existing planning application.

The JV is also significantly increasing the size of the proposed public park at the 10 acre, mixed-use urban quarter in the heart of Shoreditch.

Proposals now include 1.4m sq ft of offices and affordable workspace, 175,000 sq ft of shops, a destination building for cultural space on Brick Lane, as well as an elevated park.

The developers, working with master planner FaulknerBrowns Architects, Eric Parry Architects, Buckley Gray Yeoman, Spacehub, and Chris Dyson Architects, consulted on revisions to the existing planning application for the site in November.

Original high-rise plans for Bishopsgate Goodsyard site

John Mulryan, group managing director at Ballymore, said: “Bishopsgate Goodsyard is an incredible site, packaged with a great deal of challenges.

“Thanks to a combination of over five different railway lines and tunnels passing through this site, as well as many heritage assets and structures to be brought back into use, there are a number of site constraints in play.

“The site offers significant development potential that is also capable of being sensitive to the townscape.”

Tony Coughlan, Development Manager at Hammerson, said: “Working closely with the GLA and the local boroughs, we have reviewed our proposals with the aim of further optimising the number of homes, while maintaining a balanced mixed of uses.

“We are excited to bring forward this updated masterplan which we feel realises local ambitions and converts this derelict area into a vibrant new space; bringing a currently unused site back to life in the heart of Shoreditch.”

Figures released by Transport for London detail payments to the Bouygues Travaux Publics and Cimolai SpA – Joint Venture.

Consultant Arup was also paid more than £12m in fees among a total of £53.5m wasted on the project.

The documents state the contractors were paid for “mobilising significant resources, systems, labour, supply chain and support networks to further refine the designs, create prototypes and samples, submit designs for approval by Arup, liaison with third parties to secure rights and consents over areas to erect the bridge and submit details to discharge the planning conditions.”

They were paid £5.1m for the Preconstruction Services Agreement period and £13.4m for the period between being awarded the £90m main contract and the project being scrapped.

A payment of £2.1m was also made for the ‘The demobilisation of staff, offices and repatriation of plant and labour upon suspending the contract.”

Alex Williams, Director of City Planning at Transport for London said: “As part of our continuing commitment to transparency, we have published the final financial breakdown for the Garden Bridge project, on behalf of the Trust, as well as all evidence sought as part of this review.

‘This formally ends our involvement with the project.”

The High Court earlier this month ordered that landlord Ground Rents Income Fund must replace one thousand glazing panels on Manchester’s tallest residential tower because of safety concerns after the discovery that sealant used to fix the panels is failing.

It was given 18 months to complete the refit of the 47 storey building, after main contractor Carillion’s collapse stalled progress to find a remedial solution.

Problems with the sealant around some of the 1,350 single glazed insulated shadow box units was first uncovered back in 2014.

This revealed failure of the bond between the structural sealant and the polyester powder coating applied to the supporting cladding frames.

As a temporary fix, while a permanent solution was found, Carillion fitted pressure plates to the frame profiles to hold the panels securely in position.

This urgent safety work was completed over four years ago. But progress on the subsequent detailed investigation and assessment of options for a safe long term solution became so protracted that nothing concrete was agreed by the time Carillion collapsed a year ago.

Malcolm Naish, the Chairman of Ground Rents Income Fund said the firm continued to take advice on how best to respond to the judgment.

He said: “The court ordered the temporary hoardings which had been erected by Carillion outside the hotel as an exclusion zone to be removed by 28 February 2019. It is expected that the completion of their removal will be finished within days.

“The cost of the permanent remedial works to the façade of Beetham Tower, Deansgate, Manchester, has been estimated by NWGR’s advisers, based on their recommended solution, to be approximately £4.0m, excluding VAT, any professional advisory costs and damages yet to be determined.”

He added: “NWGR is pursuing the proceedings it has already issued against Carillion through its insurers and the sub‐contractor BUG, through existing warranties and indemnities, which, if successful, would greatly limit any potential liabilities or irrecoverable losses for NWGR.

“However, in order to comply with the judgment NWGR will be required to finance the remedial work and any litigation costs while
seeking recovery from Carillion’s Insurers and BUG. There can be no guarantee that NWGR will be successful in that recovery, but it has
received legal and expert advice which suggests that its case is strong.

“If NWGR is unsuccessful in its action against the original contractor’s insurers or the sub‐contractor, it may be able to recover some of the remedial works costs from other parties,” said Naish.

The developer has acquired the plot for £20m from London & Continental Railways, the Department for Transport and HS1 Ltd.

The 1.14 site is adjacent to Stratford International station and Westfield Stratford City.

Telford will now deliver 380 homes with a gross development value in excess of £160m.

Jon Di-Stefano, Chief Executive Officer of Telford Homes, said: “I am delighted that Telford Homes has exchanged contracts on another acquisition involving LCR and HS1 Limited.

“We have enjoyed considerable success in Stratford developing more than 1,750 homes in the area over the last twelve years.

“This site is really well located next to the International station and Westfield, and is an excellent addition to our development pipeline.”

A planning application has been submitted for the 31 storey office building at New City Court in the London Bridge Area.

Designed by AHMM architects, the offices will rise to 139m offering 370,000 sq ft of office and groundfloor retail space.

The project would require demolition of buildings at 20 St Thomas Street and would also see the front elevation of existing Georgian buildings retained and Keat House reconstructed.

The tower will boast a 250-seat auditorium and terrace on the 21st and 22nd floors and an elevated double height public garden within the building on the fifth and sixth floors.

Gardiner and Theobald is on board and has drawn up the construction management plan.

Toby Courtauld, chief executive, said the London Bridge project was one of its most exciting schemes in a development pipeline of 11 projects equating to 1.3m sq ft.

GPE has also committed to three projects in London.

In a trading update, he said at Oxford House, 76 Oxford Street, W1, demolition of the existing building is complete and groundworks have commenced.

At Hanover Square, W1, following the acquisition of the land in October 2018 that sits above the eastern entrance of the Bond Street Crossrail Station, GPE has commenced construction of the main office building at 18 Hanover Square.

The scheme will deliver 221,300 sq ft in total, comprising 167,200 sq ft of offices, 41,900 sq ft of retail and restaurant space and 12,200 sq ft of residential apartments.

Construction of  Cityside House near Whitechapel was progressing well with the  74,700 sq ft Grade A office and retail building expected to open at the end of this year.