The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, visited Royal Albert Wharf this week to celebrate a trio of milestones for the landmark regeneration of the Royal Docks.
Mr Khan was joined by Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz to see new affordable homes at Gallions Place, the latest phase of the development to be completed, and welcome new residents. During the visit Mr Khan spoke to Shanade Mcadam, who moved in last week and proudly showed off their three-bedroom home.
Gallions Place, a joint venture between Notting Hill Genesis and Countryside Partnerships (formerly known as Vistry Partnerships), is ideally located between the docks and DLR station, providing 47 homes for affordable rent, 48 for shared ownership and 146 for private sale, alongside 1,500sqm of commercial space.
This phase will offer leisure space including parks and a games court, and complete the “retail centre” of Royal Albert Wharf.
The mayors then moved on to the site known as Gallions 2B for a topping-out ceremony, celebrating this phase reaching its highest point. To mark the event, Mr Khan laid a line of brickwork on the roof of the building.
Work on Gallions 2B, a joint venture between Notting Hill Genesis and Telford Homes, is due to be completed in January 2024. It will consist of 267 new homes across two blocks, more than half of which will provide affordable housing and 40% of which will be family units.
The visit coincides with the start of construction at Gallions 3B, which will be delivered by Notting Hill Genesis and contractor Lovell Partnerships and is due to be completed in April 2025, providing 238 new homes.
Thanks to additional funding from the GLA, this sixth and final phase of Royal Albert Wharf will deliver 76% affordable housing, including London Affordable Rent, London Living Rent and shared ownership. Notting Hill Genesis are also working with the GLA to create a new area of community open space on the site.
Once completed, Royal Albert Wharf will have been transformed into a vibrant mixed-use development for people to live and work, with retail and employment opportunities that complement and support the residential-led project and studio space for creatives, managed by Bow Arts. Notting Hill Genesis will have built 1,856 homes alongside 9,100sqm of commercial space. Affordable housing will make up 42% of these homes, made possible through more than £34m of funding support from the GLA.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Over the last six years I have worked tirelessly with councils and housing associations against rising economic headwinds to deliver more affordable homes than at any time since City Hall’s records began.
“Gallions 3B in Royal Albert Wharf has 76% affordable homes and is a fantastic example of the sterling work our partners are doing to deliver the affordable homes Londoners so desperately need, to build a better London for everyone.”
Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Mayor of Newham and Co-chair of the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone Board, added: “I am delighted with the fantastic progress being made at Royal Albert Wharf, which is an exciting new community at the forefront of the transformation of the Royal Docks.
“The completion of this latest phase will provide much-needed affordable homes for local residents, as well as new leisure facilities and green space. I remain committed to working hard with our development partners, like Notting Hill Genesis, to ensure more genuinely affordable homes are built in our borough, so the achievement of these latest milestones is very exciting!”
Patrick Franco, Chief Executive of Notting Hill Genesis, said: “Royal Albert Wharf is a triumph of partnership working and we are delighted to welcome the Mayor of London and Mayor of Newham given the immense support they have given us as we regenerated this amazing and historic area.
“We have a long and established relationship with the Mayor of London and share his ambition to build affordable housing, at volume, to support people in the communities we work. Under the 2016-21 Affordable Homes Programme we will have built more than 5,500 new affordable homes, supported by £169.5m of GLA grant funding, and further support in the 2021-26 programme will help us build another 1,200 much-needed affordable homes in the capital.”
Stephen Teagle, CEO of Countryside Partnerships, added: “The transformation of Royal Albert Wharf into the thriving, active new community that it is today epitomises what true regeneration is really about. Working with a range of high-quality partners, and with the support of the GLA we have created a new neighbourhood for London, with many hundreds of mixed-tenure homes and high quality new public areas.”
Greg Scott, Construction Director of Telford Homes, commented: “The regeneration of the Royal Docks is transforming the area into a global hub for business and creativity. Alongside our joint venture partners and with support from the GLA, we’re pleased to be contributing to the transformation of Royal Albert Wharf with quality housing, alongside significant contributions to the public realm and green infrastructure, bringing a unique sense of community and fresh way of living to this vibrant area of London.
“Having delivered over 15,000 homes in London, our developments are specifically designed to be places residents can live in, stay in and enjoy for years to come, and we are extremely pleased to welcome the Mayor of London and Mayor of Newham.”
Mick Laws, Regional Managing Director for Lovell Partnerships, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Notting Hill Genesis and the GLA to provide these much-needed affordable homes for Londoners. Lovell has recently commenced phase 3B and look forward to the successful completion of 238 new homes.”
