Work to transform a historic 60-acre site at Silvertown in the heart of the Royal Docks reached another milestone today as it was confirmed that the structure of a building containing the first new homes on the site is complete. The six-storey building will provide 106 new affordable homes and remains on track for delivery by Autumn 2025.
The Silvertown regeneration will transform a strategic dockland site that has been derelict for around 40 years. It will create circa 6,500 new homes, including thousands of new affordable homes across London Affordable Rent, Social Rent, and Shared Ownership tenures. The plans also include the creation of new jobs, within the restoration of the iconic Millennium Mills; and across retail, leisure, cultural and community facilities and next generation workspaces.
The first residential building to ‘top out’ is a mansion block comprising one and two-bedroom homes and ground floor retail. The building will form the start of a new local high street spanning between North Woolwich Road and Millennium Mills. It will mark the gateway into the project and provide a benchmark of the quality that will be delivered in future years.
The building has been designed by Maccreanor Lavington Architects and Brydon Wood Structural and M&E Engineers, and constructed by John Sisk & Son. The design incorporates modern methods of construction including the use of steel framing and precast concrete panels that contribute towards a 36 per cent reduction in embodied carbon, shortened construction periods, and improved quality.
Live computer models have enabled components to be tracked through manufacture delivery and assembly stages and optimise construction performance. Lessons learnt from this pilot will inform design decisions on future plots at Silvertown.
Over 1,300 people are expected to be involved in the construction of Silvertown each year, over its construction program, with a significant number of these workers drawn from the London Borough of Newham.
The Silvertown Partnership, which includes Lendlease, a market-leading Australian integrated real estate group, is working alongside the Greater London Authority (GLA), Homes England and The Guinness Partnership to help Silvertown achieve its potential. Homes England has committed infrastructure loan funding totalling £233 million to the project, which will support the delivery of infrastructure required to unlock the potential of the site. The Guinness Partnership is the affordable housing provider for circa 720 affordable homes in phase one of the development.
Ed Mayes, Project Director for Silvertown, said: “Silvertown is being reimagined as the vibrant new heart for the Royal Docks—a bold place where people will live, work, and thrive. Delivering affordable housing for the local community is at the core of our vision, and with the first building now topping out, we’re one step closer to bringing these much-needed homes to the local community. In the current market it’s more important than ever to deliver these homes as early as possible, where they can make the greatest impact.”
Tom Copley, London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, said: “The Mayor and I are proud to be part of delivering the historic regeneration of Silvertown in the Royal Docks, transforming a site that has lain derelict for 40 years. Thousands of new low-cost homes are at the heart of our plans for the area, so I’m delighted to celebrate the topping out of these 106 genuinely affordable homes for Londoners, as we continue to build a fairer more prosperous London for everyone.”
Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, said: “The start of this first phase of the Silvertown regeneration scheme is another major milestone in the transformation of the historic Royal Docks in Newham. Bringing to life a brand new neighbourhood, there’ll be around 6,500 homes, vibrant community spaces, improved infrastructure and loads of job and training opportunities for local people.
“The Silvertown scheme is another example of how we are at the forefront of delivering high-quality, genuinely affordable homes in our borough and for our residents. As we bear the brunt of the UK housing crisis locally, we aren’t being complacent as the Silvertown scheme demonstrates the scale of our ambition to accelerate housebuilding in Newham. Working with valued partners including the Mayor of London, the GLA, Lendlease and Homes England, the Silvertown scheme will also contribute significantly to the national mission set by the new government to build 1.5 million homes over the lifetime of this Parliament.”
Julian Howarth, Construction Director at The Guinness Partnership said: “We are proud to be bringing the first 106 affordable homes to this ambitious new neighbourhood in Newham. These are part of the first phase of the new Silvertown development, where we will be delivering over 700 new affordable homes. We look forward to being part of the area and its future.”
Massimiliano Crea, Operations Director, John Sisk & Son said: “In partnership with Lendlease and our skilled supply chain partners, we have drawn on the expertise of our experienced London-based design and construction team to implement Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) techniques. This has allowed us to create a true ‘kit of parts’ frame, resulting in a 36% reduction in embodied carbon and delivering a more sustainable building for our client. We are excited to move forward with the next phase of the project, contributing to the development of a vibrant new neighbourhood and leaving a lasting legacy in East London.”
Dominic Milner, Senior Architect, Maccreanor Lavington said: “We’re delighted to be involved with the first residential building to be erected at Silvertown Quays. The process has been characterised throughout by positive collaboration across partners. This building stands out for its innovative use of Building Information Modelling, pushing construction standards to achieve quicker, more efficient, and safer builds with reduced raw material usage. We’re looking forward to seeing the building completed, occupied, and the surrounding Silvertown neighbourhood thriving, just as we’ve seen with Lendlease at Elephant Park.”