Joint venture developers Weston Homes and Cathedral Group are preparing to start work transforming the historic 1.2 acre Telegraph Works site at Greenwich in London. 

Currently demolition works of the old cable sheds and warehouses is being undertaken on the site by the ex-owners – Alcatel-Lucent.

Weston Homes will get vacant possession of the cleared Telegraph Works site at the beginning of October when it plans to start project construction immediately on site to create a new £120m residential address.

It will use an in-house team with several subcontractors, still to be appointed, to help deliver the 272-home scheme at the historic site.

The site became known as the Telegraph Construction & Maintenance Company Works  in 1857 when the submarine cable manufacturer took over the old rope making factory.

This factory built the first transatlantic telegraph cable, made from seven copper wires, which when laid under the Atlantic Ocean enabled Queen Victoria to communicate with US President James Buchanan on the 16^th August 1858.  This first formal message took 17 hours to transmit.

The 18-storey residential tower will have floor to ceiling windows and recessed balconies. The architecture features a striking brise soleil made from coloured and rendered panels, giving the facade a mosaic-style theme. The other apartment buildings have similar mosaic-style facades and floor to ceiling windows opening onto outside balconies.