EMERGING LONDON 2018

The transformation of the former Surrey Commercial Docks, part of the Rotherhithe Peninsula, on the south bank of the Thames just east of Tower Bridge started in the 1980s. Now the London Borough of Southwark’s Canada Water Area Action Plan seeks to enhance and improve on that first wave of regeneration. Covering over 750 acres, including the SE16 Print Works (which used to print the Daily Mail and Evening Standard ), Surrey Quays Shopping Centre and Surrey Quays Leisure Park. The centrepiece of the new vision is unquestionably British Land’s proposal for a comprehensive £3bn 53-acre redevelopment anchored around Canada Water Dock, which will include up to 1 million sq ft of retail space, a new High Street, 2 million sq ft of workspace and approximately 3,000 homes. Key to assuring the anticipated growth of both housing and commercial space, is an extremely important transport hub at Canada Water station, where the London Overground and Jubilee Line meet to give unrivaled north-south and east-west connectivity. Beyond the rail links the plans propose to improve bus routes and cycle paths better connecting the site with the South Bank and the City. Also proposed for the area is the world’s longest pedestrian and cycle drawbridge, which would create a 184-metre span across the Thames linking Rotherhithe with the Isle of Dogs. Like Tower Bridge to the west, it would open to allow large ships to pass through. Other development projects within the wider scope of the Area Action Plan seek to capitalise on the existing large water habitats and green spaces, many of which are already underway. They include L&Q’s Quebec Quarter, near Russia Dock, which will provide around 370 homes and 17,000 sq ft of commercial space over five acres, and Notting Hill Housing/Sellar Developments’ eight-acre scheme, which will deliver approximately 1,000 new homes, 50,000 sq ft of neighbourhood retail and a 100,000 sq ft UK flagship Decathlon store. CANADA WATER SE16 KEY STATISTICS C&W Evolutionary Status: UP & COMING C&W Location Ranking: 77 TfL travel zone: 2 Local authority: Southwark Distance from central London: 3 miles east Population: 322,000 (©GLA borough population projections 2018) Spotlight on 15 14 CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD  | EMERGING LONDON SPOTLIGHT ON CANADA WATER