Development News
The last few months have seen a raft of news and reports in the media concerning developments in Thames Gateway London. The following section summarises a few of the highlights.
Easter Park delivers investment in Thames Gateway London
Thames Gateway London's business offer gathered further momentum in mid-May with the official opening of the Easter Park development at Beam Reach 8, one of the region's key commercial development sites located at London Riverside.
Gateway to London jointly launched the scheme and has been a long-term supporter of the development which offers 155,000 sq ft of industrial/distribution units delivering key local employment facilities and high quality space for companies that are looking to relocate to or move within the region.
The scheme also benefits from being at the very heart of Thames Gateway London and offering great access to key locations in the region as well as the rest of the UK. This has led to Easter Park already attracting much interest from business with 70% of the floor space sold or under offer and businesses including Data & Records Management (part of the Wincanton Group), Ruskim Seafoods and A1 Pharmaceuticals already located there.
Speaking at the launch, Aman Dalvi, Chief Executive of Gateway to London said:
"Today's launch is yet another example of the significant investment and activity that we are seeing in Thames Gateway London, the UK's fastest growing business location."
"Easter Park offers the high quality space that it is needed to attract more businesses to the region. I am delighted that is has already succeeded in bringing in new companies and opportunities and look forward to many more businesses seeing the numerous benefits of operating here."
Gateway ‘Super Port' given go-ahead
Thurrock, in neighbouring Essex, is set to be home to a new £1.5bn ‘super port' following the green light from Government. The ‘yes' decision on the London Gateway Port, located at the site of the former Shellhaven oil refinery and owned by Dubai Ports World, follows a public inquiry and amendments to the original plans to upgrade provisions for extra road traffic.
The substantial development, which will include a major business park as well as the port, will create many new jobs in the wider Thames Gateway including forecasted employment for up to 1,900 people at the port alone. The plans also promise to deliver a massive boost to skills training in the local area, as well as providing new transport infrastructure that will help improve connectivity in the Thames Gateway.
The decision also means that there will be an increase in much needed capacity for handling the UK's growing international trade in containers. Essex County Council has said it welcomed the plans but would remain actively involved to ensure stringent standards were in place to protect the neighbouring environment and communities.
Responding to the decision, Aman Dalvi, Chief Executive of Gateway to London said:
"This is fantastic news for both Thurrock and the wider Thames Gateway. The London Gateway Port will create many new jobs, improve skills training and development for local people and deliver vital investment both from the UK and abroad in a location which is certain to become a major business and trade hub.
"It is crucial that decision makers continue to realise the many opportunities that schemes such as this and the Thames Gateway Bridge can provide. I therefore look forward to working with all those involved in the London Gateway Port and helping them deliver the enormous potential that the development offers."
Canary Wharf boom continues
Office take-up is continuing at a pace in Docklands with figures revealed in a report from Songbird, the Aim-listed company that owns 60.8% of the Canary Wharf Group, showing that occupancy has risen from 89.6% to 95.6% at Canary Wharf since the end of 2005.
The estate, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last week, currently has more than 90,000 workers occupying 14 million sq ft of space. This will rise to about 15.6 million sq ft during the next three years, taking the area's working population to more than 100,000.
The news preceded an announcement that Canary Wharf Group have agreed with French financial services firm, Fimalac, to construct a new £290 million UK headquarters for their Fitch Group subsidiary at 30 North Colonnade. The new building will comprise around 320,000 sq ft of office space over 15 storeys and be located between the world headquarters of HSBC and Barclays Bank and adjacent to the new headquarters for KPMG, which is currently under construction. The building and interior fittings are scheduled for completion during the last quarter of 2010, allowing Fitch to move into their new premises progressively towards the end of 2010, along with other tenants.
Canary Wharf Group is also planning to submit an application for a significant redevelopment at Wood Wharf, a neighbouring plot owned by a consortium of Canary Wharf, Ballymore and British Waterways. Wood Wharf will offer 6.5m sq ft of space and could include several towers as tall, or taller than those in Canary Wharf. The group has also just won planning permission for 2.4m sq ft of office and retail space at North Quay, to the immediate north of the estate. Meanwhile, Ballymore Properties has received detailed planning permission for its £400m Arrowhead office scheme close to Canary Wharf which will include restaurant and retail units on the ground floor and a public plaza facing the water's edge with a dockside view.
Canary Wharf's growing reputation as the world's premier banking and financial services location is great news for Thames Gateway London. It's ongoing success story provides a huge boost to the region's business offer and helps increase the interest from both national and international firms across a host of sectors who are keen to be part of such a thriving business environment.
Crossrail Station at Woolwich
Former Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander confirmed in May that an agreement has been reached over the way forward for the construction of a Crossrail station at Woolwich.
Alexander revealed that discussions had taken place between the London Borough of Greenwich and Berkeley Homes based on the housebuilder building the basic box structure of a station at Woolwich and then constructing a high density development overhead.
Both parties however recognise that the completion of the station would be conditional on a funding contribution from Berkeley as well as from the businesses that stand to benefit from a Crossrail station at Woolwich. The contributions would be in addition to any London-wide Crossrail funding arrangements that may be agreed and no additional public sector debt capacity would be made available.
The House of Commons Select Committee considering the Crossrail bill said that more work needed to be done to flesh out this deal but the House can now have sufficient confidence that Berkeley and Greenwich Council have the commitment and the right incentives to do that.
Gateway to London is a key supporter of the Crossrail scheme and has backed the campaign for a station to be built at Woolwich. Improving transport connectivity is vital to ensuring that the capital and Thames Gateway London retain their national and international business offers and would also provide a significant boost to businesses and residents in Woolwich.
