Royal Wharf is a residential and commercial development in

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

, London located on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. It is built on the former site of ''Minoco Wharf'' and is near the

Thames Barrier The Thames Barrier is a retractable barrier system built to protect the floodplain of most of Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When needed, it is c ...

, west of Thames Barrier Park, and close to both West Silvertown and Pontoon Dock DLR stations. The development is a joint venture between

Ballymore Group Ballymore Group is an Ireland-based international property development company. The majority of the company's employees and business activities are located in the UK. History Ballymore Group was founded in 1982 by Sean Mulryan, who is the c ...

and Singapore listed Oxley Holdings. It includes 3,385 residential units and 10,000 square metres of retail and commercial space.

History

The site was originally developed as an industrial works at the end of the nineteenth century and was also used for the manufacture of TNT during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Following this, the site was used by Shell UK for a period as an oil storage and refining site. This came to an end in the 1990s, when the site was left vacant. SilvertownExplosionMemorialInItsNewLocation

Silvertown explosion

Royal Wharf sits on the site of the

Silvertown explosion The Silvertown explosion occurred in Silvertown in County Borough of West Ham, West Ham, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Newham) on Friday 19 January 1917 at 6:52 p.m. The blast occurred at a munitions factory that was manufacturi ...

, a large explosion at a munitions factory on 19 January 1917 which killed 73 people and injured more than 400, and caused substantial damage to the local area. As part of the development, the

Silvertown War Memorial Silvertown War Memorial, also known as Silvertown Explosion Memorial, is a war memorial in Silvertown, in East London. It serves as a memorial for the workers at the Brunner Mond chemical plant who were killed on active service during the Fi ...

was relocated to Royal Wharf Gardens, in the centre of the development.

Development

In 2012, following a comprehensive consultation process with

Newham Council Newham London Borough Council also known as Newham Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority co ...

officers, the Thames Gateway Development Corporation and local community stakeholders (including local groups and individual residents), planning permission was granted to redevelop the site with a mixed-use scheme, delivering 3,385 new homes, a new primary school, leisure facilities and retail and commercial office space. , the development is nearly completed, with two blocks remaining. The Uber Boat by Thames Clippers riverboat pier and Royal Wharf Primary School opened in 2020. The estimated number of occupants once the development is fully complete is around 10,000. Ballymore is also developing the adjacent riverfront site to the west, Riverscape, to provide 769 homes.

Transport

West Silvertown and Pontoon Dock are the nearest stations on the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated medium-capacity rail system, light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financi ...

. London bus route 241 serves the housing development. The site is served by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers catamaran services from a new pier designed by Nex Architects. The service started on 18 October 2019 and of February 2020 is only served during peak hours.

References

External links

Royal Wharf Official Site

Lines

{{adjacent stations, system=London River Services, line1=RB1, left1=North Greenwich Pier, right1=Woolwich (Royal Arsenal) Pier , line2=RB6, left2=North Greenwich Pier, right2=, to-right3=Royal Wharf Pier Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Newham Redevelopment projects in London Silvertown