Changing with the tide: thousands of new waterfront homes are being built in regeneration zones along the River Thames from Barking to Battersea

Once ‘biologically dead’, the Thames is a now a vibrant resource again.
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Anna White3 August 2018

Forget Crossrail, extensions to the Underground and investment in south London’s expanding tram network — the capital’s oldest and most integral piece of infrastructure is the River Thames.

The Romans’ Londinium was built along the river, growing to become a global trading port by the Victorian times.

But as technology and banking replaced shipping, miles of industrial sites became wasteland, and in 1957 the Natural History Museum declared the river “biologically dead”. Wartime bombing had destroyed the sewage system that kept it clean.

Now, however, more than 60 years later the Thames and its banks are teeming with life again, both aquatic and human.

As well as the 125 species of fish and a large community of seals, homeowners and tenants are also returning to live by the river in their droves.

The waterside population in Greater London increased by more than 40 per cent between 2001 and this year to nearly one million people, compared with a rise of 22 per cent across the capital over the same period.

A new study by property consultants JLL reveals that the greatest change is on the Greenwich Peninsula where the number of residents has grown by 213 per cent since 2001.

The population of the Royal Docks in Newham has increased by 205 per cent, while vast riverside regeneration is under way in Barking and Dagenham, Canary Wharf and Battersea.

LIFE ON THE PENINSULA

The 300-acre Greenwich Peninsula, to the east of Canary Wharf, juts out into the Thames and is linked to the north side of the river by the Blackwall Tunnel.

Famous now for the O2 concert venue, this small ward has a colourful history.

Drained for pasture in the 1600s, it was a site for pirate hangings. Later, fully industrialised by the Victorians, it became a hub for making guns, iron boats and submarine cables.

By the late 20th century it had become a barren and contaminated wasteland. The clean-up started in the Nineties with the creation of an ecology park, roads and new homes.

The construction of the 3,000-home Greenwich Millennium Village began in 2002 and is expected to finish in 2030.

Units range from one-bedroom apartments starting from £414,995 with Help to Buy, to four-bedroom townhouses costing £849,995.

Developer Knight Dragon is building five glass towers of 21 to 30 storeys on the north-east corner of the Peninsula.

Prices at No 3 Upper Riverside start from £525,000 for a one-bedroom flat. Call 020 3713 6153.

Family homes are available in the centre of the Peninsula. Sixteen Signal Townhouses by U+I, each over three floors, are centred around a granite courtyard in a gated mews and cost £875,000. Through CBRE (020 7182 2477).

It’s three minutes by Tube from nearby North Greenwich station to Canary Wharf, 11 minutes to London Bridge and 14 minutes to Waterloo.

THE ROYAL DOCKS

In the early 1800s the Thames was in chaos: plundering and collisions were rife.

The Royal Docks, between Canning Town and the river, comprising Victoria Dock, Royal Albert Dock and King George V Dock were built to help capacity.

They survived heavy bombing during the Second World War and the mulberry harbours used in the Normandy landings were constructed there in secret.

The last vessel sailed out of the docks in 1981 and with the closure came mass unemployment in east London. The area is now home to the ExCeL Centre, while the £1.7 billion Asian Business Park is under construction.

Four thousand homes are also part of the £314 million regeneration. Two-bedroom flats are for sale with Savills from £499,000 with Help to Buy, in the Royal Albert Wharf scheme — named Residential Project of the Year by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It’s a five-minute walk to Gallions Reach DLR station.

PLUG INTO A POWER STATION

One of the UK’s largest regeneration schemes, Barking Riverside is set on the site of three disused power stations. The first opened in 1925 and the whole operation was decommissioned in the Eighties.

Some £500 million is now being sunk into transport links, parkland and other community facilities to support the development, which will deliver 11,000 homes and house 30,000 people. Only rental homes are currently available but more one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes will go on sale in the autumn.

A fluid approach: the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station has helped Londoners rediscover how to use the Thames

Battersea Power Station has a similar history. Station A was built in 1935 under the design of architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, with Station B following in the early Fifties. In its heyday it supplied 20 per cent of London’s electricity but was closed in the Eighties and fell derelict. In 2010 Malaysian investors won approval to create the £9 billion miniature town taking shape today.

David Hills, conservation architect at Battersea Power Station, says: “Not only are people now moving back to live by the Thames but it is also being used to transport materials and machinery to build these new developments. The river enables the whole city and we are rediscovering how to use it.”

Battersea Power Station flats start from £550,000. Call 020 7501 0678.

ON THE WATERFRONT

Tower West launched this spring and plays a starring role in the development of Chelsea Waterfront, the masterplan project of starchitect Sir Terry Farrell. Framed from the river by two glass residential towers of 37 and 25 storeys, it’s the first scheme of such scale on the north bank in Chelsea in 100 years.

Tower West is the tallest residential block in SW10 with 76 three-, four- and five-bedroom flats and penthouses. Prices range from £2 million to £14 million. For viewings, call 020 7352 8852.

The riverside buildings and landscaped gardens are a sensitive integration of the magnificent historic Victorian Lots Road power station into the scheme. When complete, Chelsea Waterfront will have shops, restaurants and leisure facilities. The Russian owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, has bought a £30 million penthouse with more than 4,000sq ft of space and towering ceilings in the area.

£899,999: for a one-bedroom flat at Landmark Place in the City, up to £9,975,000 for the three-bedroom duplex penthouse

Also on the waterfront, in EC3 residents are moving into Barratt’s grand Landmark Place, with views of the Tower of London, HMS Belfast and the Shard. More than 80 per cent of the two interconnected buildings is glass and there is a 24-hour concierge, a swimming pool, spa and cinema room.

Prices start at £899,999 for a one-bedroom flat, up to £9,975,000 for the three-bedroom penthouse across two floors with a big balcony over the river. Call 0844 811 4334 for sales.

‘I TAKE THE RIVER BUS TO WORK EVERY DAY’

Cindy Stott not only lives by the river but also commutes on it. Cindy and her husband Jason — both originally from Australia — moved into their two-bedroom apartment at Circus West, Battersea Power Station, last year, after living nearby in Queenstown Road.

Loving riverside life: Cindy Stott and husband Jason with baby Taylor at Circus West, Battersea Power Station

Working in the City, Cindy commutes by river bus from Battersea Power Station pier to Blackfriars, which takes 15 minutes.

“Coming from Sydney where lots of people commute by boat, I love having a brand-new pier outside our apartment which cuts down my journey time to work,” she says. “It’s a great way to travel and one of the key reasons why we decided to buy here.”

Prices at Battersea Power Station start from £550,000. Call 020 7501 0678.

‘I CYCLE TO AND FROM WORK FOLLOWING THE THAMES’

Security expert Roderick Arnold bought a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in 2012 at the Riverlight development in Nine Elms. He sold it in 2015 and with the profit has bought his “dream home” in a nearby waterside tower which is under construction.

Good investment: Roderick Arnold at Riverlight, Nine Elms

Roderick says: “I consider myself one of the first residents in the Nine Elms area, and I have had the privilege to watch it transform from a more derelict part of town into one of Europe’s biggest regeneration zones.

“I work in Tower Bridge and enjoy cycling to and from work following the curve of the Thames home.”