Park in the Thames
Hutchison Whampoa Property is promising over £1 billion of new investment into Deptford as part of their ambitious plans to transform the Convoys Wharf site on the River Thames, opposite Canary Wharf. Hutchison have submitted their new masterplan, designed by Sir Terry Farrell, to the London Borough of Lewisham for planning consideration this summer.
The new masterplan will transform what is currently a derelict and inaccessible site, creating a new, vibrant waterfront for the people of Deptford, with cultural and commercial amenities, along with a high-quality living environment. Providing up to 3,500 new homes of which over 500 will be affordable, it will also include three new public parks totalling 3 acres, 120,000 sq.ft of shops, restaurants and cafes and 100,000 sq.ft of space for artistic and cultural usage. It will link to and enhance the existing High Street and historic town centre, create over 2,000 new jobs for local people with around £1m set aside for local training and employment initiatives.
After over 12 months of engagement with the local community, the masterplan has taken into account comments from local residents and groups. Preparation for the masterplan has included the largest ever pre-build archaeological exploration of a dockyard to ensure that the site’s historic past as a Royal Shipyard is preserved. Farrells have developed a masterplan which acknowledges this history: ancient slipways and dry docks are marked in the landscaping and public realm, whilst the Victorian, Grade II listed Olympia building is to be restored as major new cultural destination and the derelict jetty transformed into London’s first ‘island park’ in the Thames.
Opening up almost 50% of the waterfront of the entire Borough of Lewisham to public access, the plans will extend the Thames Path along the river and give Deptford new connections to Central and West London, Canary Wharf and Greenwich through the Thames Clipper service. As well as the new homes, parks and public spaces, the masterplan envisages a significant investment in community infrastructure with a new school, GP surgery, community spaces, affordable business space, and new bus routes.
Sir Terry Farrell said: “Convoys Wharf represents an important opportunity to regenerate this site in South East London that has been derelict and inaccessible for many years. This part of Deptford has an incredible history, more so than any project I have worked on in my career, and we feel we have a scheme that strikes the right balance between respecting and celebrating the cultural heritage and providing much needed new homes and jobs. It will reconnect local communities to almost 50% of the borough’s river frontage whilst providing London’s first public park that is open to the river.”
TFP Farrells