A £1.7bn business district is to be constructed around the Royal Albert Dock in East London following the green light from the Greater London Authority for the 4.7m sq ft scheme.


The development will be brought to life by Chinese developer ABP and will be designed to bring more Asian businesses to the heart of the UK’s capital.


It’s anticipated work will commence on the project, which will require a huge amount of construction jobs and building supplies, will commence later this year, bringing yet more hard hats and hi viz vests into the heart of London. The first phase of the project will be completed in 2018 at the same time that London’s high-speed rail link, Crossrail, opens nearby.


The development on the 35 acre site is being billed as London’s next financial business district after the City of London and Canary Wharf.


It’s believed it’s taken months of detailed planning work the London Borough of Newham, Transport for London, and the Greater London Authority before an agreement was eventually found and it’s thought ABP will eventually be required to redevelop the Docklands Light Railway stations and buses that connect the site directly. In addition it may be necessary to upgrade the closest Crossrail station which has 45 minute journeys to Heathrow Airport, for additional capacity.


ABP’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, John Miu, said: “I can confirm that the Greater London Authority have granted their approval for ABP to proceed and obviously we are delighted.


“There is tremendous interest from across Asia from companies wanting to locate in the Royal Albert Dock business district development.


“Now we have the full planning approval, we look forward to making further exciting announcements in the months ahead.”

 

Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, said: “The ABP development will bring further investment in to east London, including thousands of jobs and opportunities for Newham residents within high-tech businesses as well as construction industries from at home and abroad.

 

“ABP is a significant part of the Royal Docks transformation which will see the revival of the waterfront and reinstate the docks as the heart of London’s industry.”

 

It's believed that the development will create 20,000 new positions in the capital and will be worth around £6bn per years to the London economy when the construction phase finishes.