Royal Albert Dock | |
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![]() University of East London Docklands Campus, on the Royal Albert Dock | |
Location | London |
Coordinates | 51°30′24″N0°03′15″E / 51.5066°N 0.0542°E |
Built | 1880 |
Architect | Sir Alexander Rendel |
The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal Group of Docks of East London in the United Kingdom.
The dock, which was designed by Sir Alexander Rendel as an extension to the Victoria Dock, was constructed by Lucas and Aird and completed in 1880. [1] Two dry docks and machine shops were established to the south at the western end for ship repairs by R & H Green & Silley Weir (later River Thames Shiprepairs Ltd). [2]
From the 1960s onwards, the Royal Albert Dock experienced a steady decline – as did all of London's other docks – as the shipping industry adopted containerisation, which effectively moved traffic downstream to Tilbury. It finally closed to commercial traffic along with the other Royal Docks in 1981. [3]
Redevelopment in the late 20th century included the construction of London City Airport which was built on the south bank of the dock with a single runway and completed in 1987. [4] At the eastern end of the north bank the University of East London Docklands Campus opened in 1999. [5] [6] Redevelopment also included the London Regatta Centre which was built at the western end of the north bank and opened in 2000. [7] In the early 20th century 'Building 1000' was built on the north bank of the dock at a cost of £70 million and was completed in 2004. [4]
In May 2013, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced a development of the Royal Albert Dock, claimed to be worth £6 billion to the capital's economy and creating over 20,000 jobs. [8] The developer was to be Shanghai-based ABP (Advanced Business Park), with CITIC Construction assigned as main contractor, and Multiplex assigned as principal sub-contractor. Boris Johnson promised that the development would be the "next Canary Wharf", serving as a gateway for Asian and Chinese businesses, creating 20,000 jobs and adding £6 billion to the UK economy. [9] Johnson named the main road serving the development "Mandarin Street" to attract Chinese businesses. [10]
Construction officially began in June 2017. [11] [12] Phase 1 of the project was completed in the first quarter of 2018, consisting of 21 buildings with 460,000 sq ft of office space and 140,000 sq ft of retail and public realm. [13] Phase 2 was designed to begin late 2020, consisting of further office and retail spaces, along with residential units and membership clubs. [14]
However, in February 2022, unable to live up to Boris Johnson's promises, the business park was instead described as a half finished, abandoned and mostly empty "ghost town" and white elephant with less than 10% of units ever being occupied. [15] It has become a favoured filming location "because there are never any people around". [10]
The Financial Times suggested in early 2022 that, "the Albert Dock development owned by Beijing-based Advanced Business Park, is on the brink of collapse after creditors appointed administrators to recover unpaid debts". [16]
In July 2022, PwC was appointed as liquidator to 23 companies within the ABP Group and the development was subsequently sold to property firm DPK led by armature jockey David Maxwell. [17] In February 2024, it was revealed that two of the blocks would be converted into student accommodation, with the remaining blocks being repurposed for office, research, healthcare and educational uses. Thirty acres of derelict land adjacent to the scheme remains in GLA ownership. [9] [18]
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of London. First opened on 31 August 1987, the DLR has been extended multiple times, giving a total route length of 38 km. Lines now reach north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal. An extension to Thamesmead is currently being proposed.
London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port of London, at one time the world's largest port. After the docks closed, the area had become derelict and poverty-ridden by the 1980s. The Docklands' regeneration began later that decade; it has been redeveloped principally for commercial and residential use. The name "London Docklands" was used for the first time in a government report on redevelopment plans in 1971 and has since been almost universally adopted. The redevelopment created wealth, but also led to some conflict between the new and old communities in the area.
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The Docklands Light Railway extension to Dagenham Dock was a proposed extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Dagenham Dock in East London, to serve the Barking Riverside development and the wider London Riverside part of the Thames Gateway.
Thames Wharf is a planned Docklands Light Railway station in the Royal Docks, East London. The station name was previously proposed for another station in the area.
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The Millennium Mills is a derelict turn of the 20th century flour mill in West Silvertown on the south side of the Royal Victoria Dock, between the Thames Barrier and the ExCeL London exhibition centre alongside the newly built Britannia village, in Newham, London, England. The Mills are currently undergoing a major renovation as part of a £3.5billion redevelopment of Silvertown.
City Hall, in the London Borough of Newham in east London, is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA), the regional government for Greater London. It replaced the previous City Hall, in Southwark in 2022. The building opened in 2012 and was previously an exhibition centre for sustainable architecture, known as The Crystal. Built and opened by Siemens, it was the first building in the world to reach the highest sustainable award level. It was bought by the GLA in 2019 for the docklands redevelopment project.
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