Places for London – Transport for London’s (TfL) property company is looking for a partner to co-develop a former Crossrail building site at Canning Town for 1,500 new homes.
Development site – overlay on Google satellite view
The Limmo Peninsula site is where two large shafts were dug down to allow the tunnel boring machines to be lowered down to dig the tunnels towards Farringdon, and later towards the Custom House portal. As a property development site, it now includes around 5 hectares of land, with 600m of river frontage, and sits within the Royal Docks and Beckton Riverside Opportunity Area.
In addition to a planned 1,500 new homes, the site could potentially include commercial space, large areas of publicly accessible open space, and enhancements to the connectivity of the area, such as a new cycle and pedestrian bridge and a new river walkway.
Part of the site also includes a ventilation shaft for the Elizabeth line, covered in an earth mound that will likely become the heart of a future park.
The site is likely to include a range of different housing tenures, including affordable housing, although at this very early stage, it’s not yet decided how the housing mix will be allocated.
The north part of the site is less than five minutes’ walk away from Canning Town station, with customers able to access both the Jubilee line and DLR, as well as Canning Town bus station. If it were to be built, then the Thames Wharf DLR station would be about the same distance walk for people living at the other end of the development.
Ben Tate, Head of Property Development at Places for London, said: “We are excited to be searching for a joint venture partner to help us deliver a residential-led scheme at Limmo Peninsula in the heart of east London. With the ability to build up to 1,500 new homes, including affordable housing, alongside a range of other improvements, this is a unique opportunity for a partner to help us transform this site into a sustainable development that will benefit the local community.
“This partnership will form part of our wider programme, which seeks to build the homes and commercial spaces the city needs, while also generating vital revenue that can then be reinvested into the transport network.”
Places for London became financially independent of TfL in April 2022, taking forward TfL’s commercial property activity without diverting any funding from transport. Operating profits from recurring revenues are returned to TfL as a dividend to reinvest into the transport network, helping to reduce its reliance on fares revenue.
They’re going to need to do something about the excessive tube noise there, or sell the homes very cheaply. Putting up homes on the other side will most likey make it even worse
I feel a major concern, surely, is the overcrowding of the area. Lots of new dvelopments but little in terms of extra central London rail capacity?
It’s one stop on the DLR from the brand new Elizabeth line – which increased central London rail capacity by 10 percent.
new green areas are needed
It’s right next to a the Bow Creek Ecology Park on one side, and the Keir Hardie Recreation Ground on the other, and next to a river.