First block at Silvertown Quays development nears completion

The first homes and shops of an eventual 6,500 dwellings is nearing completion at Silvertown Quays.

This block will form part of what the developer is calling a new “High Street” leading down to the dock.

The vast site is also home to Millennium Mills and the listed D Silo.

Developer Lendlease is taking the lead on site in an agreement with the Greater London Authority with completion expected by 2039. Far slower than major developments built out in over the decades post World War Two.

Constant delays

It’s now 24 years since plans emerged for the site and 21 years since an application was submitted.

Nothing happened and by 2012 then-Mayor Boris Johnson announced Chelsfield had been chosen instead to develop it. Nothing happened again for 11 years.

Now Lendlease are in charge.

Despite excellent transport links nearby it’s another vast tract of land which highlights ongoing failures between public bodies such as the GLA and private developers.

Photos in this post are taken from the DLR which runs to the south.

The closest DLR station sits is Pontoon Dock with the station seeing an upgrade approved. Now we need the homes to follow.

On the bright side further plots gained planning approval recently from Newham Council but as we see so often in so many areas, permission is one thing, building is quite another.

So far it’s 100 homes down, 6,400 to go.