Arada submits plans for first stage of £2.5bn Royal Docks regeneration

Arada has submitted plans for almost 1,500 homes in the first stage of its £2.5bn Thameside West regeneration scheme in London's Royal Docks.

The developer has lodged a series of applications with Newham Council covering six residential buildings and a new seven-acre park. The proposals build on an existing hybrid planning permission for the 47-acre site, which has the potential to deliver at least 5,000 homes alongside new public spaces and more than a kilometre of waterfront.

A significant change within the latest proposals will see the first two buildings delivered entirely as social rent housing. These will include three and four-bedroom family homes as Arada moves to unlock the affordable housing component of the wider masterplan.

The first stage has been designed around a network of streets, gardens, parks and shared spaces intended to improve connections through the development and between the Royal Docks and the Thames. Ground-floor units facing the main park are planned for uses including cafés and restaurants, bringing commercial and amenity space into the residential neighbourhood.

At the centre of the scheme will be a seven-acre public park supported by around 1,000 new trees. Smaller gardens and planted areas will sit around the main open space, alongside dedicated children's play areas, woodland spaces and play trails.

The plans will also open up around a kilometre of waterfront, including a new riverside walk along Bell Lane on the south-east boundary of the development. A 20-strong community design group of local residents is working with Arada on part of the park through a series of workshops intended to feed local priorities into the final design.

Tom Copley, deputy mayor for housing and residential development, said: “Tackling London’s housing crisis is the Mayor’s top priority and Thameside West will help deliver the new homes Londoners deserve, including much needed social rent and family housing.

“By combining affordability, high-quality design and generous green spaces, Thameside West will transform a key brownfield site in the Royal Docks into a thriving new neighbourhood.”

Thameside West represents one of the largest remaining regeneration opportunities on London's eastern riverfront. Arada is bringing the project forward in partnership with the Royal Docks Team, with Gensler, Arup and landscape architect Planit advising on the scheme.

Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, group chief executive of Arada, described the project as “one of London’s most significant remaining riverfront regeneration opportunities”, pointing to its planned 5,000-plus homes, river frontage and publicly accessible amenity space.

He added: “We have the ambition to create more than a new residential district. Thameside West is planned as a neighbourhood within the city, not an enclave at its edge: a new piece of East London where the quality of everyday London life comes first.”

The latest applications mark an important step towards translating the existing masterplan into individual phases capable of moving towards delivery. As well as bringing forward the first substantial tranche of housing, the proposals establish the landscape and public realm around which later stages of the 47-acre regeneration will be developed.