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(Note: This Booklet has been reproduced
by kind permission of the Commission for the New Towns now known as English
Partnerships. It is published for general interest and research purposes
only and may not be reproduced for other purposes except with the permission
of English Partnerships who now hold the copyright of LDDC publications)
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Foreword
The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was
set up in 1981. Its task was to secure regeneration by bringing land and
buildings into effective use, encouraging the development of existing
and new industry, creating an attractive environment and ensuring that
housing and social facilities are made available to encourage people to
live and work in the area.
As the LDDC's regeneration work has been completed, it
has progressively handed on its responsibilities in the Urban Development
Area (UDA). It was always clear from the early days that the regeneration
task was the greatest - and would take the longest in the Royal Docks.
So it has proved, and the Corporation's completion of remit in the Royal
Docks on 31 March 1998 marks also the demise of the LDDC.
However, the Corporation is leaving the area on a high
note with the funding agreement signed in January this year, to build
a new international exhibition centre - ExCeL on the north side of Royal
Victoria Dock.
There are good reasons why the Royal Docks have taken
longer to regenerate. The area is Europe's largest development site, comprising
about a quarter of the UDA. With Beckton to the north, it is the area
furthest away from the City and West End. The dock estate is vast. A walk
around the edge of all three docks in the Royals takes over three hours.
The docks themselves cover some 230 acres (94 ha.) of water, surrounded
by 540 acres (220 ha.) of land an area equivalent to that between Marble
Arch and Tower Hill and Kings Cross to Waterloo. The scale of derelict
land and disused buildings n the Royal Docks was greater than elsewhere
in the UDA, and most of this land was held by the Port of London Authority
and other public bodies. Transport, both public and by road, was poor.
The existing infrastructure was not capable of sustaining even modest
regeneration.
 Of
course, some of these problems were present in other parts of Docklands.
However, nowhere else did they occur in such profusion, and nowhere else
did the dock estate present such a problem in itself. Today the picture
is substantially different. Transport and infrastructure have changed
from poor to excellent. London City Airport in the Royals, built on a
quay between the Royal Albert and King George V Docks, is Europe's fastest
growing airport, serving more than one million passengers a year. The
housing picture is being transformed with the construction of the UK's
first new urban village at West Silvertown. A business park is planned
and a university campus is under construction. By 2000 the Royals will
be home to the large, modern, easy-to.get-to exhibition centre which London
needs. With these and other developments in the Royal Docks, London's
centre of gravity is shifting eastwards.
It cannot be said that regeneration in the Royals has
reached the point at which it is self sustaining. However, with the completion
of the LDDC's remit, English Partnerships will take over the Corporation's
land holdings and contractual responsibilities in the Royal Docks. This
they will do by working with the London Borough of Newham. With the opening
of the Jubilee Line station at Canning Town in Spring 1999, the area will
be fully integrated with the rest of London.
Neil Spence and Roger Squire
Joint Chief Executives, London Dockland Development Corporation
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The origins of
the Royals
The history of London's docks is a story of obsolescence.
In Wapping and Limehouse, the docks became obsolete almost as soon as
they were dug, unable to cope with the ever larger ships made possible
by the age of steam. By contrast, the Royal Docks were at the forefront
of technology for a good many years and enjoyed a period of great prosperity
before the end came suddenly in 1981.
Royal Victoria Dock, the first of the Royals group, was
opened by Prince Albert during the Crimean War in 1855. It incorporated
a whole range of firsts: it was the first dock to use the new railways,
the first designed to take the new iron steamships, and the first to use
hydraulic cranes and lifts to raise ships in a pontoon dock. Its success
led to an extension to the east and the construction of Royal Albert Dock,
which opened in 1880. Finally came King George V Dock, begun in 1912 and,
after delays caused by the First World War, opened in 1921. Marsh land
to the north, which is now Beckton, was earmarked for further expansion
of the dock system.
Royal Victoria and Royal Albert Docks handled bulk grain.
As refrigeration methods improved, they started handling frozen meat as
well as fruit and vegetables. During the 1926 General Strike, the threat
was posed of some 750,000 frozen carcasses in the Royals rotting when
electrical power was cut off, but two Royal Navy submarines sailed in
to save the Royals' bacon by connecting up their generators to keep the
freezers going. Passenger cargoes also became big business. King George
V Dock could berth the biggest liners of the time. Passengers could travel
from mainline London stations by rail, some staying overnight in the now
Grade II listed Gallions Hotel.
By the 1970s, features which had made the Royals ultra
modern in their heyday were militating against them. For example, cargo
operators preferred ports with good road connections, which the Royats
lacked, whilst passengers not surprisingly preferred the speed of air
travel to that of the sea. The Royal Docks were still open when the LDDC
was set up in 1981 but the Port of London Authority closed them in December
of that year.
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 What the
area was like in 1981
In 1981 the Royal Docks and the surrounding areas of
North Woolwich and Silvertown were areas of economic and social deprivation,
characterised by inadequate and poor social and community facilities.
The area was physically isolated with few and poor public transport links,
whether to elsewhere in Newham or to the City and West End.
It is hard today to realise how much industry was once
based in East London, a good deal of it near the Royals. Some industry
continued after the closure, but much of it was there for reasons such
as low rents in poor quality property. Transport, storage and industrial
processes were among their number. There were, of course, notable exceptions
such as sugar refiners, Tate & Lyle, with a long term commitment and
long term loyalty to the area. The area has benefited considerably from
their presence of more than one hundred years. But for the rest, it is
hard to convey the sheer desolation of the area in the period after the
closure of the Royal Docks: so close to the City and West End, yet so
remote. Most Londoners remained ignorant of this huge blighted area of
their city - an area which, today, is beginning again to realise its potential
in contributing to London's prosperity as it did in the heyday of the
docks.
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 The
LDDC's strategy
The Corporation's first development framework for the
Royal Docks was published in 1985. It had taken longer to think through
than the equivalent frameworks for more compact, more central, less problematical
areas of Docklands. However, the time had been well spent. The framework,
and its successor published in 1992, sought to respond to the challenges
presented in the Royal Docks by securing development equivalent in stature
to the position the docks had held in the British economy. It was also
important to encourage buildings of a similar scale to the vast expanses
in the area and to find employment generating uses that could benefit
local people, as well as the capital as a whole.
As elsewhere in Docklands, regeneration was to be achieved
by a combination of public and private sector investment. The public sector
would concentrate on infrastructure by investing in environmental improvements,
new roads and public transport, and services including drainage. The private
sector would build on the new infrastructure, making imaginative use of
the potential of the dock waterscape, and providing developments of international
quality. The Government agreed to provide the resources needed for a comprehensive
infrastructure, environmental and transport programme. By 1988 most of
the work was underway including a network of new and improved roads and
a comprehensive drainage system. Construction of the Docklands Light Railway
(DLR) Beckton extension started in 1989.
When the LDDC was set up it had been vested with large
tracts of land, particularly on the Isle of Dogs. In other areas, such
as Bermondsey Riverside, the LDDC was able to proceed with regeneration
without physically owning much land itself. However, the scale of work
needed in the Royals meant that the Corporation had to acquire land and
the docks themselves before it could swing into action. First, Royal Victoria
Dock was bought from the Port of London Authority in 1983, followed by
Royal Albert and King George V Docks in 1986. That same year, the Corporation
acquired a large British Gas holding in the Royal Docks and in Beckton
- a hundred years earlier the Beckton Gasworks had been the largest in
the world, and their condition a century later added considerably to the
regeneration task. Finally, between 1990 and 1994, the Thames Barrier
construction site was acquired.
When the development framework for the Royal Docks was
published in 1985, private developers could see for themselves that regeneration
in Docklands was both serious and succeeding. They responded positively
and in 1986 three large consortia put forward mixed schemes for different
parts of the Royals, totalling some 12 million sq.ft (1.1 million sq.m.).
The principal land uses were residential, retail, exhibition, leisure,
business space and community. The Corporation granted planning permission
for all three. However, the property recession at the end of 1980s and
early 1990s meant that none of them proceeded.
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The Memorandum of Agreement
Prior to 1981, the London Borough of Newham had actively
pursued regeneration in Beckton, to the north of the Royal Docks. As the
Royal Docks were still in use until after the LDDC was set up, they were
not able to extend their efforts to these.
A key step was taken in 1987 with the signing of a social
and community compact - the Memorandum of Agreement - by the LDDC with
the London Borough of Newham. This sought to achieve a significant package
of housing, employment, training, social and community benefits for the
people of Newham through the redevelopment of the Royal Docks.
The two authorities agreed to promote affordable and
social housing, to ensure that local people had the skills to secure employment
in the new schemes and to provide a range of new facilities for the area
from schools to health care centres.
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Strategic infrastructure scheme completed 1986-93
Roads: The LDDC built a series of new
and improved roads through the Royals Docks linking the A13/A406 in the
east and Aspen Way/Limehouse Link in the west, The first to be built,
commencing in 1986, was Royal Docks Road, running south from the A13/A406
to a new roundabout at the Gallions Pumping Station. From there the 1
mile (1.8 km) dual carriageway Royal Albert Way was constructed along
the north side of Royal Albert Dock, with the DLR running between the
two carriageways along part of its length. Roundabouts were built to serve
development sites and, in two cases, to accommodate DLR stations.
A new four lane north-south road, the Connaught Crossing,
was built between the docks incorporating a swing bridge to allow shipping
to pass beneath. North Woolwich Road was widened and, in turn, connected
to a new crossing over the River Lea to the Isle of Dogs.
The Docklands Light Railway:
The eleven-station eastern extension of the DLR from Poplar to Beckton
opened in March 1994. The stations were all designed by Ahrends Burton
and Koralek, and provide a good demonstration of the LDDC's sponsorship
of distinguished modern architecture.
 Drainage:
The LDDC established a 16 mile (1 1 km) foul and surface water
drainage network including two new pumping stations at Tidal Basin and
North Woolwich (Store Road), the former designed by Richard Rogers Partnership,
the latter, completed in 1997 by Nicholas Grimshaw. The LDDC also provided
a service network for gas, water and a variety of communications.
Landscaping:
A landscape framework for the area has been provided by the Corporation
with roadside planting, quay edge treatment and a series of footpaths
and cycleways.
Between 1986 and 1993, when most of the strategic schemes
were completed, some £500 million had been invested in the Royal Docks
by the LDDC.
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 Changes
between 1981and 1998
The time needed to regenerate the Royal Docks can be
illustrated by statistics. For example, the population increased by less
than 1%, between 1981 and 1991: from 4,178 to 4,211 (although households
had increased by 17% from 1,571 to 1,846). The improvements that have
characterised the 1990s are demonstrated by a population rise to 4,800
by 1997: a rise of 15% since 1981.
In employment, the first decade actually showed a further
deterioration. Whereas in 1981 16% of the economically active population
were unemployed, by 1991 this had increased to 23%. However, by October
1997 unemployment in the whole of Newham Docklands (the Royals and Beckton)
had fallen to an estimated 701. In 1981 there were 12,400 people working
in 258 businesses in the whole of Newham Docklands (no data exists specifically
for the Royals). By 1997 the number of employers had increased by nearly
two-thirds to 422 (of which 237 were in the Royal Docks). Over 10,900
employees were working in Newham Docklands (of which nearly 6,500 were
based in the Royal Docks).
In 1981, 95% of households lived in rented, mostly local
authority, housing. Only 5% were in private owner occupation. By 1991,
68% lived in local authority rented housing: 11% were in private or housing
association rented homes, and owner occupied homes had increased to 21%
from 87 to 379 homes. By 1997, owner occupation was estimated to have
increased to 23%.
 The
construction of the first phase of West Silvertown Urban Village in particular
illustrates the changing face of housing in the area. Located on the south
side of Royal Victoria Dock, this will provide 1,100 homes, attractively
spread across 36 acres (14 ha.) with 777 homes for sale. By February this
year 250 homes had been sold and 200 occupied. Balance continued to be
maintained: the LDDC gave a £1.9 million to secure 235 homes for social
housing in the first phase to be built by Peabody Trust and East Thames
Housing Group. The first of these will be occupied in June 1998. This
will allow the redevelopment of the West Silvertown area, as part of the
Urban Village, including the demolition of the two tower blocks at Barnwood
Court which the tenants supported overwhelmingly in a ballot.
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The Park and the Campus
The Royals Business Park on the north side of Royal Albert
Dock was launched in February 1997. This will be a new generation of business
park, combining closeness to the City and West End with road, rail and
air links unique for an inner city location. The first major business
tenant, Norton Healthcare, a subsidiary of the American IVAX Corporation,
one of the world's largest generic drugs companies, has started building
a 320,000 sq.ft (29,700 sq.m.) building on the site. This will be Norton's
European headquarters, with laboratories and other pharmaceutical facilities,
as well as a customer services centre, located there. The park will also
be home to another very important tenant: the London Docklands Campus
of the University of East London (UEL). This will include the Thames Gateway
Technology Centre which, in addition to its academic functions, will provide
a full range of services for new and existing companies in East London.
The first phase of development, scheduled to open in time for the 1999/2000
academic year, will accommodate 3,000 students and is under construction.
On a four acre (1.6 ha) site at the western end of the
dock, Sports Lottery Funding of £8.9 million, matched by LDDC and English
Partnerships' contributions totalling £7.2 million, will enable construction
of an international rowing course and regatta centre. To accommodate a
2000 metre Olympic standard course in the dock, Woolwich Manor Way, including
a new bridge, will be realigned to the east.
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The Bridges and the Park
The LDDC has pioneered the construction of footbridges
throughout Docklands to give pedestrian access to and across docks. Designed
by Lifschutz Davison and Techniker, the £3.9 million Royal Victoria Dock
footbridge linking the Urban Village on the south side of the dock to
the planned exhibition centre and Custom House DLR station on the north,
is a leading example.
 Work
is underway on the 23 acre (9 ha.) Thames Barrier Park, London's newest
and most spectacular park, developed following an international competition
won by a team led by the acclaimed French landscape architect, Alain Provost,
best known for his work at the Parc Citroen in Paris. The larger part
of the funding of the Park, which is due to open by the Millennium, has
been met by the Corporation, with a major £3.4 million contribution from
English Partnerships. Ownership of the park will pass to the London Borough
of Newham. Another new footbridge over North Woolwich Road, designed by
Eva Jiricna, will directly link the park with the Urban Village on the
north side of the road.
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London City Airport
London City Airport was the Royals' first major success.
The prevailing winds in London mean that the correct alignment for airport
runways is 280 degrees. It was in 1982 that it was noticed that, by happy
coincidence, the quay space between Royal Albert and King George V Docks
followed this same alignment and an airport was proposed.
Careful consideration was given to the environmental
controls needed, with most parties, who were given the chance to air their
views at a public enquiry, satisfied by the end. The Airport opened in
1987. It was originally useable only by a few types of approved STOL (Short
Take Off and Landing) turboprop aircraft. These had a limited range of
400 miles and limited passenger capacity. However, following a second
public inquiry, the British Aerospace 146, the world's first quiet passenger
jet aircraft and other similar aircraft, were able to use London City
Airport as the runway was extended to accommodate these aircraft, which
have a flying range of some 1000 miles (1800 km). Jet flights started
in 1992.
London City Airport is the first entirely new airport
built in the UK for 40 years. As the 1990s progressed, it became Europe's
fastest growing airport, with features such as the ten minute check-in,
making it extremely popular with business people. More and more routes
are being added all the time, and the airport is now dealing with more
than one million passengers a year, serving 20 UK and European destinations.
The airport has also become a major local employer, providing jobs for
some 736 people, a visible symbol of the Royals' regeneration, and a crucial
factor in attracting developments such as the ExCeL exhibition centre
to the area.
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London's New Exhibition Centre
The agreement to build the new international exhibition
centre, ExCeL on the south side of Royal Victoria Dock, crowns, in the
most spectacular way possible, the Corporation's achievements over the
past 17 years.
 The
deal secures the future of the Royals, which were thought by many to be
too large and too remote to be developed on any realistic timescale. Not
only will the East End of London have an exhibition space as big as Earls
Court and Olympia combined, the £200 million phase one of the project
will be the impetus for further developments in the Royals.
The ExCeL agreement was signed by the LDDC and Country
Heights Holdings, a large Malaysian property developer, and shareholders
of the London Internationa Exhibition Centre Ltd, which has promoted the
project to date. Even the first phase is a massive undertaking with 710,000
sq.ft (66,000 sq.m.) of gross lettable exhibition hall, 260,000 sq.ft
(24,000 sq.m.) of conference meeting and banqueting accommodation and
parking for 5,000 cars. Three on-site hotels with 1,000 bedrooms are planned.
The LDDC is contributing to the 85 acre (34 ha) site and investing in
associated infrastructure in return for a shareholding and a percentage
of turnover, leaving no net cost to the public purse.
A new four lane junction will link the site at its eastern
end with Royal Albert Way. The centre will set new standards for the exhibition
industry and satisfy the escalating demands for a more modern venue in
the heart of the capital. It will bring major benefits to the area with
the potential for 14,000 new jobs and provide a significant boost to the
local economy.
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Investing in the community
The Royals, by dint of their sheer size, lend themselves
to strategic investment for the larger community. This is particularly
true in the field of education. The London Docklands Campus of the University
of East London, due to open for the academic year some eighteen months
after the de-designation of the LDDC, with £5 million in funding from
the Corporation, will rightly crown the process, but should not take away
from the Corporation's other investments in education.
The University Campus on a 25 acre (10 ha.) site on the
north side of Royal Albert Dock will include purpose built teaching and
research facilities and business and retail units. The £30 million first
phase will accommodate 3,000 students. When completed, the full 562,000
sq.ft (55,000 sq.m.) development will accommodate up to 7,500 students
and 1,000 staff.
The Campus will also include the Thames Gateway Technology
Centre which has received £7.8 million from the Government's Single Regeneration
Budget. The Centre's services will include training and demonstration
facilities, business start-up space and consultancy, a technology resource
centre, an industrial design centre and research and development services.
The LDDC has given £5.2 million in grants to the £17
million 1200-place Royal Docks Community Secondary School, opening in
1998, which will be the first secondary school south of the A13 in Newham.
Drew Primary School and Storey Primary School at either end of the southern
side of King George V Dock have benefited from LDDC funding for curriculum
assistance.
 Plans
are well advanced to provide a new primary school to serve the developing
community of over 1,500 new homes at West Silvertown. The Corporation
is contributing £700,000 towards the cost. A village hall will also be
built and will include a multi-purpose hall available for sports, leisure,
social and community activities, together with meeting rooms and a doctor's
surgery.
Pier Training in North Woolwich was refurbished to expand
access to training in business and computing with a grant of £131,000
from the LDDC. The Thames Gateway Technology Centre within the Docklands
Campus of the University of East London will, of course, be the ultimate
Docklands Training Centre, working in partnership with London Borough
of Newham and local schools.
In healthcare, the LDDC contributed £700,000 towards
the new £2.2 million Royals Medical Centre. Located just to the north
of the Royals in East Beckton, this provides a model of modern primary
healthcare, with four GPs, a dentist, a pharmacist and community health
staff such as health visitors, school nurses and midwives, all housed
under the same roof. The Corporation also contributed £175,000 towards
the refurbishment of Kennard Health Centre in North Woolwich, while £863,000
was invested in the North Woolwich Children's Centre, providing full-time
nursery and day care.
 In
addition to providing major support for infrastructure projects with statutory
bodies, the LDDC has worked in partnership with grass roots community
projects to establish or refurbish key local facilities. These have included
grants to Andrew Street Tenants Association Tenants Hall (£21,000), Ascension
Church (£134,000), Woodman Street Tenants Hall (£43,000), Royal British
Legion Club (£17,000) and St. John's Church and Community Centre (£55,000).
The LDDC has also supported innovative projects such as the Docklands
Motorcycle Project (£128,000), providing an off-road motorcycle track
and maintenance and safety skills for young people.
The Royal Docks Waterski Club was established in 1985.
A commercial operation, since 1986 it has used approximately two thirds
of King George V Dock. The Docklands Watersports Club for jet-skiers and
wetbikes has been based at the eastern end of the dock since 1988 and
its new floating clubhouse, funded with a £800,000 grant by the LDDC,
opened in Summer 1997.
Two much bigger watersports facilities were under way
as the LDDC prepared to complete its remit: the International Regatta
Centre and Rowing Course in the Royal Albert Dock and the Royal Victoria
Dock Watersports Centre, which will be a focus for sailing and windsurfing
activities of regional significance. The latter will receive £1 million
of LDDC funding, subject to Sports Lottery Funding, for a new permanent
building.
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Conserving the past
Part of the LDDC's rich and varied legacy is its investment
in safeguarding the heritage buildings of Docklands. In the Royal Docks,
the Corporation's imaginative contribution to preserving the past includes
restoring to their former glory a flamboyant Victorian church, a 19th
century hostelry, dockside cranes and even a rare Victorian pissoir. The
innovative Samuel Saunders Teulon designed St Mark's Church, Silvertown.
It was built between 1861 and 1862 after a cholera epidemic swept the
district and local clergy appealed through the columns of The Times for
funds to provide an architectural, as well as spiritual, beacon for the
area. The LDDC worked with the local Passmore Edwards Trust to restore
it after a fire destroyed much of it in 1981, contributing £464,000 towards
the costs of renovation.
 The
Corporation spent £1.86 million to repair two of the Royal's oldest buildings,
the Grade II listed Dock Manager's Office and the Central Buffet which
stand together on the north side of the Royal Albert Dock. One of the
most unusual restorations currently underway by the Corporation is the
wash and brush up for a Grade II listed Victorian cast iron urinal, officially
known as The Rotunda, but locally nicknamed the Iron Lung. Bought from
Newham Council for £1, the Corporation is spending more than £47,000 to
refurbish it. The Gallions Hotel at North Woolwich was built in 1881 and
used by the St Katharine Docks Company to serve passengers travelling
on the P&O Line from the Royal Albert Dock. It featured underground
stables and an underground passage to the dock. The structural fabric
of the property has been comprehensively repaired and restored by the
Corporation, and floodlighting installed. The building's condition is
being monitored until a new use is found.
Another imaginative project in the Royals was the restoration
of the Cold Store Compressor House near Royal Albert Dock. It was built
in 1914 as a refrigeration plant to service surrounding warehouses storing
beef shipments from Argentina. It fell into disuse in the mid1970's. Landmark
building D Silo on the south side of the Royal Victoria Dock has been
reinstated to its original condition after a £350,000 restoration by the
Corporation in 1994 and will be incorporated into the Urban Village. On
the north side of the Royal Victoria Dock are the massive brick K-R warehouses.
Built along with the dock in 1855, the buildings survived the Blitz. Their
back wall is Grade II listed and the buildings have been refurbished at
a cost of £3.547 million. Ultimately they will form part of ExCeL, the
new exhibition centre, but currently they are let for entertainment and
events.
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Environmental improvements
Numerous land reclamation, site services and landscape
projects have been carried out on development sites. These include a comprehensive
network of footpaths and cycleways through the area.
The sheer size of the Royals, combined with the other
open spaces in the area, lent themselves to a programme of open woodland
planting. The extensive environmental programme has transformed the way
the area looks. Works have included hard and soft landscaping, open spaces
and extensive planting along the new highways. A number of footpaths and
roadside verges have been planted with native species such as field maple,
hawthorn and blackthorn, creating an environment reminiscent of hedgerows.
 Bow
Creek Ecology Park and the East India Dock Bird Sanctuary are geographically
located on the borders of the Royals and the Isle of Dogs. Both areas
have benefited from these two leading LDDC initiatives which will be taken
over by the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority.
The Corporation established the Royal Docks Management
Authority or RODMA in 1990 to provide for the maintenance and long term
management of the dock estate. This includes water areas and items such
as locks and the impounding station. To date, the company has been financed
by the Corporation, with a service charge levied on a defined area of
the dock estate and payable by developers as sites are sold. These, in
turn, receive shares in the company. LDDC's shareholding in RODMA will
pass to English Partnerships.
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As we hand on the Royal Docks
As the LDDC hands on the Royal Docks, a number of transport
developments remain in progress or pending. A programme of junction improvements
on the A13 at Canning Town, Prince Regent Lane and Woolwich Manor Way
are in the Government's highway improvement programme and are expected
to be started in about 2000. However, the issue of whether a flyover will
be built between the A406 and the Royal Docks Road over the A13, one of
London's major congestion black spots, remains unresolved.
 Integrated
transport planning of the kind which the LDDC has provided in Docklands
lays strong emphasis on interchange facilities. In Spring 1999, the new
Canning Town interchange will open. Passengers arriving on the DLR, the
Jubilee Line Extension, British Rail and in buses at a large bus station,
will be able to change modes of transport for their onward destinations.
This interchange station will also be the Gateway station for London City
Airport, with check-in facilities and a shuttle service to the airport.
Yet to come - it is hoped - are the go-aheads for river
crossings to provide much needed improvements in the connections between
the Royals and South East London and North Kent. It was in 1943 that Patrick
Abercrombie wrote in his county plan for London that "intimacy between
the two river banks is essential for proper development . . . The construction
of the new Lambeth Bridge stimulated redevelopment on the south bank of
the Thames: we can expect a similar process further East if the connection
between the two banks is improved." We leave plans for the river
crossings in the hands of the Government Office for London, under consideration
for the next century.
The first river crossing would be underground. The Woolwich
Metro has been planned as a rail tunnel which would enable a new Metro-type
service to run between Stratford, the Royals, Woolwich Arsenal and North
Kent.
The second new river crossing would be Thames Gateway
Bridge. It would be between the Royal Docks and Thamesmead, and would
have a fixed public transport system on it, such as a guided bus, which
could run on the existing roads on either side of the bridge.
More progress has been achieved in the regeneration of
the Royal Docks than could have been envisaged in the LDDC's Development
Framework of 1985. By 1993, most of the £500 million of strategic infrastructure
work laid down in the framework was in place. What the framework could
not predict, however, was when and with what commitment private developers
would then move in to take advantage of the foundations we so meticulously
laid. The satisfaction of our last five years of work in the Royal Docks,
rising to a climax in the major announcements made during our last year,
has been to see major developers from all around the world decide to move
into the Royal Docks. The process of regeneration may not be complete,
but it is well under way.
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The Future - London Borough of Newham
The LDDC has laid foundations for the successful future
development of the Royals. Most of the infrastructure schemes have been
completed, a number of high profile developments have been agreed and
work on some of these schemes has started. The success of the London City
Airport has demonstrated the potential for business in the area.
 As
a Council designated Showcase Area, where resources will be targeted to
improve the physical and social environment, the Royals will play a crucial
role in the ongoing Regeneration of Newham. The Royals, along with Stratford,
Canning Town and Beckton, make Newham the pivotal player in East London's
Arc of Opportunity. Our aspiration for the Royals, as for the rest of
Newham, is to achieve balanced regeneration that meets a number of strategic
regeneration objectives including: developing a strong and diversified
community; providing an environment that supports a high quality of life
for residents, businesses and visitors; improving access to employment
across London for Newham's residents; and creating and promoting a positive
image for the borough. The Council will promote initiatives and seek developments
of regional and European significance that build on the area's strategic
location and positively contribute to meeting the above objectives.
The immediate task is to establish, with English Partnerships,
an investment framework, programme and initiatives to promote the continued
development of the Royals and ensure that the momentum is sustained after
the LDDC s involvement ceases. The Council has worked closely with the
LDDC to achieve regeneration in the Royals. The same level of close co-operation
with English Partnerships will be needed to take forward and complete
the substantial remaining programme of works.
London Borough of Newham
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English Partnerships and the future of the Royal Docks
 With
effect from 1 April 1998 after the de-designation of the London Docklands
Development Corporation, English Partnerships - the Government's Regeneration
Agency - formally assumes responsibility for completing the regeneration
and development of the Reyal Docks, in partnership with the London Borough
of Newham. English Partnerships will oversee the completion of all infrastructure
projects in progress, together with the development and disposal of all
undeveloped land, currently standing at approximately 100 acres (40 ha.).
The agency also inherits the freehold of the water areas (about 240 acres
or 97 ha.) that are leased to RODMA (The Royal Docks Management Authority).
The London Borough of Newham will assume responsibility for all the usual
local authority statutory functions in relation to planning and the adoption
of infrastructure.
English Partnerships has carried
out an audit of all information relating to the transfer of responsibility
to the agency and a high priority identified is the continuation of the
existing marketing and disposal strategy for uncommitted development sites.
English Partnerships anticipates future development taking a further 6-8
years to complete, with a portfolio of work that includes the new ExCeL
Exhibition Centre, the Royals Business Park, the university campus and
technology centre, premises for Norton Healthcare, residential development,
together with other new opportunities for developers and end users. English
Partnerships has worked alongside LDDC as a joint client in respect of
the development of a new international standard rowing course and regatta
centre, a spectacular new Thames Barrier Park, and infrastructure projects.
The agency will also be taking forward plans for Phase II of the West
Silvertown Urban Village.
Strategically located and already home to London City
Airport and Docklands Light Railway, the Royal Docks is destined to become
a leading, premier business location within London.
English Partnerships
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Completion Booklets
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LDDC Monographs
published in 1997/98
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Annual Reports and Accounts
As with most organisations the Annual Reports and Accounts of the LDDDC are a good source of chronological information about the work of the Corporation and how it spent its money. Altogether these reports contain more than 1000 pages of information. These have been scanned and reproduced as zip files on our Annual Reports and Accounts page
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