One of east London’s largest regeneration projects has taken a major step forward after City Hall approved plans for nearly 3,000 homes on the former Beckton Gasworks site in Newham.
The Beckton Riverside development is being brought forward by St William, part of Berkeley Group, and will transform around 30 acres of derelict former industrial land on the north bank of the River Thames. The gasworks closed in the 1960s and the complexity of the contaminated site means substantial remediation and infrastructure investment will be required before large-scale housebuilding can begin.
Newham Council had previously resolved to approve the proposals, but the applications were called in by the Mayor of London in April. Following a public hearing, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills Jules Pipe has now approved the scheme.
At the heart of the masterplan are around 2,900 new homes, together with approximately 5,000 sq m of mixed-use floorspace and a five-acre riverside park. The first phase will include buildings rising to 15 storeys.
Berkeley is expected to invest around £250 million in remediation, enabling works and infrastructure to prepare the former gasworks for redevelopment. The initial programme will involve a major clean-up of the heavily contaminated site alongside work to strengthen flood defences and upgrade local infrastructure.
Architecture and masterplanning is being led by JTP, with HTA involved as landscape architect. The professional team also includes Quod as planning consultant, Vectos on transport and GIA as daylight consultant.
A major component of the wider vision is improved connectivity. The masterplan has been developed around proposals for a new Beckton Riverside DLR station, forming part of Transport for London’s planned extension from Gallions Reach through Beckton Riverside and beneath the Thames to Thamesmead. The transport project remains subject to funding and further approvals.
The regeneration will also open up a substantial stretch of the Thames waterfront, with JTP’s plans incorporating new streets, walking and cycling connections and extensive green infrastructure alongside the new riverside park.
Affordable housing has been one of the more closely scrutinised elements of the project. City Hall documents put the initial provision at 8.1% by habitable room, with the potential to rise to as much as 20% if housing grant funding is secured.
Dean Summers, managing director of St James & St William, described the approval as a significant step forward for the complex, long-term regeneration site.
Construction could begin in 2028, with the first homes expected to complete from 2030. Before then, the scale of the £250 million enabling programme underlines the engineering challenge involved in transforming decades-old contaminated industrial land into an entirely new residential neighbourhood.
For Berkeley and St William, Beckton Riverside represents a major long-term development opportunity. For east London, it could unlock a previously inaccessible section of the Thames and create a new mixed-use community at the heart of the wider Royal Docks and Beckton Riverside regeneration area.
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