The Preferred Bidder to develop 11,500 homes at Thamesmead Waterfront in London is Lendlease. The firm was selected by housing charity Peabody and it is subject to contracts being finalised. Lendlease will work alongside Peabody in a corporate joint venture to masterplan and deliver the mammoth scheme over the next 30 years. The details of the new Joint Venture (JV) vehicle will be finalised by Summer 2019.

“As one of London’s largest areas of opportunity to develop new housing and to support business and employment growth, Thamesmead can offer a fresh approach to living in London. Surrounded by water and outstanding wildlife, but within reach of the heart of the capital, we are excited at the opportunity to collaborate with Peabody, the local community and businesses, to bring new high-quality homes and workspaces to this exciting part of south-east London,” commented Dan Labbad, CEO at Lendlease, Europe.

The 250-acre site is currently undeveloped and underpopulated, benefiting from 2.5 km of undeveloped river frontage, with an abundance of green space, open grassed and wooded areas, canals, two major lakes and an existing town centre. To transform the area, the scheme includes a new waterfront district of 11,500 new homes, focused around a proposed new DLR station in the heart of the development. Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan instructed TfL in 2017 to carry out detailed work on a DLR crossing connecting east and south-east London.

“We are pleased to have selected Lendlease as a development partner for Thamesmead Waterfront. Our shared vision is to create thousands of new homes by the Thames and drive the local economy through new jobs and commercial spaces. With a new DLR river connection complementing the Elizabeth Line on the other side of town, Thamesmead would be more connected to the city than ever before. This would unlock enormous potential and could be a real game-changer for this part of London,” added Peabody Chief Executive Brendan Sarsfield.