An area starting out as one of the poorest in the UK is currently being transformed in a long-term project to bring more and better-quality homes to the strategically important east London area known since mid-Victorian times as Canning Town.
Originally housing workers from the Royal Victoria Docks, opened in 1855, along with foundry and chemical plant workers, shipbuilders and the workforce of the local Tate & Lyle refinery, the long deprived area was devastated by bombing in the Second World War, when much of the housing at the time was flattened. The decline of London’s docks in the subsequent years crystalised the area’s reputation as poverty-stricken and squalid.
Decades since the start of the modern era’s Docklands regeneration, the area around E16 is now peppered with cranes as new towers spring from former poor housing estates and neglected brownfield sites.
The Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration Programme is set to inject £3.7bn into the district over 15 years, much of which is aimed at around 10,000 new homes. These new residences will be joined by a swathe of improved infrastructure projects and improved amenities, including shops, schools, public spaces, hotels and leisure facilities.
The area is next to ExCeL, one of London’s premier events centres, and close to London City Airport. It’s also within easy reach of Stratford, also in the London Borough on Newham, which has itself seen the benefits of multi-billion pound investment before and since the 2012 Olympic Games. A £1bn Asian Business Port is also proposed for Royal Albert Docks, just a few minutes’ drive from Canning Town station, further enhancing the area’s growing commercial importance.
Recent analysis by property industry data experts Hometrack showed that last year, Newham recorded more new homes started than there were other property sales (a ratio of 104%) making the area one of the most active housebuilding centres in the whole of the UK.
New homes for sale in and around Canning Town:
Just minutes from Canning Town station, next to Royal Victoria Dock, is Hoola, two towers of 360 studios, one-, two-and three-bedroom apartments set in a landscaped garden. The development has concealed parking, a gym, residents’ business lounge and a concierge service. Heating and hot water will be provided through a shared energy network using surplus heat from the nearby ExCeL exhibition centre. Prices currently start at £568,000.
At Royal Docks, Galliard’s Royal Gateway comprises 336 apartments and penthouses in five apartment blocks, with secure parking, landscaped podium gardens and proposed concierge. The majority of upper level apartments and penthouses will have unrestricted views over the Royal Docks and London’s skyline. There will also be 13 commercial units to create what the developer calls a “cosmopolitan market atmosphere”. Prices start at £415,000.
The final phase of Waterside Park, a 780-unit development of apartments from studios to three-bedroom homes, is Kingfisher Heights, a 13-storey tower and four-storey building built around a central courtyard next to the award-winning Thames Barrier Park. Each property has its own terrace or balcony. Prices from £380,000 from Barratt London.
Countryside’s East City Point is a Housing Design award-winning development providing 649 new home to the heart of Canning Town. The Atrium Building is a new selection of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Prices start from £390,000 for a two-bedroom with London Help to Buy.
English Cities Fund is a joint venture between Muse Developments, Legal and General Property and the Homes and Communities Agency, bringing a further 216 new homes to Canning Town at Rathbone Market, complementing earlier phases Vermilion and Aurelia. 25% of the homes on this £180m scheme are ‘affordable’.
There are Shared Ownership properties available from £100,000 for a 40% share at Quayside House on Tarling Road, from Sanctuary Housing. These apartments have an excellent specification, including a full range of integrated appliances as standard.
Bouygues Development is providing a pedestrian-only mixed-use town centre to Canning Town, along with approximately 1,100 new homes, at Hallsville Quarter. Different tenures of property (private for sale, Shared Ownership, private rent, affordable rent) will be complemented by an energy centre, car parking and landscaping.
In the last couple of days, Berkeley Homes has announced its plans to create 3,500 new homes, along with a new secondary school and a new park, on the former Parcelforce site in Stephenson Street. The announcement promises “an equal division of affordable, private and build to rent” properties.