The latest update comes as the Crossrail Board said: “Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages and is being completed at a time of great uncertainty due to the risks and potential impacts of further Covid outbreaks.”

The board said the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood will be ready to open in “the first half of 2022.”

The line was originally due to open in December 2018.

Latest budget estimates show that the cost to complete the project could be up to £1.1bn above the latest agreed finance package taking the total beyond £19bn.

Crossrail said it is planning to start intensive operational testing “at the earliest opportunity in 2021.”

The board blamed the latest delays on:

• Routeway: we have had lower than planned productivity in the final completion and handover of the shafts and portals. The shafts and portals form a critical part of the routeway and contain many of the complex operating systems for the Elizabeth line. We have now completed handover of eight of the ten shafts and portals to TfL and will complete handover of the final two this autumn.
• Stations: as more detailed plans for the completion and handover of the ten central section stations have developed, we have revised our previous schedule assumptions about the pace at which these large and complex stations can be handed over to TfL. The completion and handover of all the stations in the central section is a monumental task – in our updated plan we have phased the transfer of stations to take account the scale of this undertaking.
• COVID-19: Covid has further exacerbated the schedule pressures due to a pause of physical activity on sites during lockdown to keep the workforce safe and significant constraints on ongoing work and productivity due to the reduced numbers that can work on site to meet strict social distancing requirements. We now have a maximum of around 2,000 people on our sites, less than 50 per cent of our pre-Covid complement.

Crossrail said it is undertaking “a period of intensive construction activity during August and September to complete the remaining construction works in the routeway for Trial Running.”

Mark Wild, Chief Executive, Crossrail Ltd, said: “Our focus remains on opening the Elizabeth line as soon as possible. Now more than ever Londoners are relying on the capacity and connectivity that the Elizabeth line will bring, and we are doing everything possible to deliver the railway as safely and quickly as we can.

“We have a comprehensive plan to complete the railway and we are striving to commence intensive operational testing for the Elizabeth line, known as Trial Running, at the earliest opportunity.

“Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages and is being completed at a time of great uncertainty due to the risk and potential impacts of further Covid outbreaks.

“We are working tirelessly to complete the remaining infrastructure works so that we can fully test the railway and successfully transition the project as an operational railway to Transport for London.”

Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “It is very disappointing to receive confirmation from Crossrail Ltd that their plan for opening the Elizabeth Line now has a date of the first half of 2022.

“The line will transform travel across London and is vital to supporting jobs, homes and businesses across the capital. I will now work with my team and the DfT to review Crossrail’s plans.

“I have been very clear that I am committed to getting this railway open safely and reliably as quickly as possible for the benefit of London and beyond.”

The specialist brownfield developer is in talks with Defence Infrastructure Organisation chiefs to buy the 36.7 acre Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow West London.

Completion of the deal is subject to vacant possession and anticipated to be in August 2021.

Inland Homes expects to make a planning application for a residentially led mixed-use scheme of over 1,000 homes within the next six months.

The Group will manage the planning and development process on behalf of the equity investors on this project and will be entitled to receive a significant share of the development profit from the £600m development.

The site currently operates as an occupational military barracks and is the home of the Irish Guards who are relocating to Aldershot.

The site is a historically important military establishment with a formal parade ground, specifically built to house soldiers and stable horses.

The Barracks comprises over 37 acres of land and includes 14 Grade II listed buildings and 19 locally listed buildings together with over 439 existing residential accommodation units.

The entire site is allocated for a major mixed-use development via a development brief adopted by the London Borough of Hounslow.

Inland chief executive Stephen Wicks said: “This is our fifth MOD transaction and the largest to date.  We have an excellent track record in the early delivery of homes on sites such as this, a significant proportion of which will be affordable, which is particularly important in London Boroughs like Hounslow.”

Barney Hillsdon, Principal at Avison Young who acted on behalf of the DIO added: “This is a fantastic result for both the DIO and Inland during a very difficult time in the market.

“The site will deliver much needed private and affordable homes for London and will offer a diverse range of product to the market due to the retained heritage buildings on the site”.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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

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.”

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.”

“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.”