News

Green light for Ballymore 1,685 homes site

Ballymore has received planning consent from London Borough of Newham for the redevelopment of its Thames Road site which will contain 1,685 new homes.

 

 

Designed by Howells, the plans also include a new primary school, more than 13,500 sq m of light industrial and flexible workspace, a new riverside park, and a range of ground-floor retail and community spaces.

John Mulryan, Group Managing Director, Ballymore, said: “Securing consent for Thames Road is a significant milestone and a strong endorsement of the ambition and care that has shaped these proposals.

“Our commitment to the Royal Docks spans decades, and this approval allows us to build on the success of Royal Wharf while continuing to respond thoughtfully to the area’s evolving character and needs.

“Royal Wharf has demonstrated what high-quality brownfield regeneration can achieve, becoming an international benchmark for new town delivery since its completion in 2020. With planning now in place for Thames Road, we are excited to move forward and prepare to begin construction next year.”

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Iconic London meat and fish markets line up Royal Docks move

Traders at London’s iconic Billingsgate and Smithfield markets have agreed a preferred new home at the Royal Docks paving the way for massive development plans at the exisiting sites.

 

 

The City of London Corporation and GLA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to relocate both historic wholesale markets at Albert Island next to City Airport in Newham.

The ambitious plans now hinge on Parliamentary approval to formally end trading at the current sites in 2028 and planning consent from Newham Council.

Talks will now start with potential delivery partners to detail how both markets will be incorporated on the Royal Docks site, including funding, viability, construction sequencing at Albert Island.

The relocation unlocks two of London’s most sought-after redevelopment opportunities.

Subject to the Bill passing, the grade II-listed halls of the Smithfield meat market site in central London will be turned into an international cultural and commercial hub alongside the London Museum.

Billingsgate’s Canary Wharf-side fish market site will also be transformed, delivering around 4,000 new homes and a new pedestrian and cycle bridge.

Alongside developing these two London sites, the City Corporation is also working with Barking & Dagenham on future plans for the 42-acre Barking Reach site, previously earmarked for the combined markets.

The riverside location is seen as a prime logistics base with access to international supply chains via the Thames Estuary Gateway. Further details will be shared as discussions with developers progress.

The proposed Albert Island site has permission for around 750,000 sq ft of development and a new boatyard.

New Billingsgate and New Smithfield will also feature a major food school, offering accredited training for butchers, fishmongers, fruiterers and apprentices.

City of London Corporation policy chairman Chris Hayward said: “We are investing in London’s future. Redeveloping the current market sites will contribute billions of pounds in economic growth, thousands of new jobs and thousands of new homes.”

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London Mayor ends stalemate over Paddington student towers

Unite has won a long-running planning battle in Paddington after the London Mayor’s office stepped in to overturn Westminster Council and approve its 600-bed Baltic Wharf student towers project.

 

 

City Hall’s intervention draws a line under one of Westminster’s most fiercely contested student housing disputes and finally clears the way for construction to start.

The £147m scheme on a Travis Perkins builders’ merchant site had been repeatedly blocked by councillors who claimed the twin-tower block would cause unacceptable light loss and harm nearby conservation areas.

Labour and Tory members united to brand the plans “excessive”, warning the 20-storey massing would create a canyon effect across Paddington Basin.

But deputy mayor Jules Pipe ruled the now extensively redesigned project met the London Plan “when read as a whole”, arguing the student beds, canal-side upgrades and economic benefits outweigh the acknowledged design impacts.

City Hall also highlighted London’s surging demand for student housing, with at least 3,500 new beds needed every year to avoid piling more pressure on mainstream homes.

The green light allows Unite to demolish the current depot at 149–157 Harrow Road and deliver two linked towers containing 605 rooms above a reprovided Travis Perkins operation at ground and mezzanine level.

The scheme also brings a new public path along the Grand Union Canal, mooring improvements, canal-side landscaping, a walkway beneath Bishops Bridge Road and a retained historic gable end.

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Yoo Capital lodges plan for £1bn Camden Film Quarter

Plans have been lodged for a £1bn Camden Film Quarter project to be built at an industrial estate in Kentish Town, north London.

 

Camden-based architect SPPARC designed the film studios complex and wider masterplan
Camden-based architect SPPARC designed the film studios complex and wider masterplan

 

Backed by Yoo Capital, the plans includes a studio campus boasting visual-effects, animation and post-production facilities. A pair of major film schools – the National Film and Television School and the London Screen Academy – will also open new education hubs as part of the scheme.

If planning is granted, around 1,370 construction jobs will be created over the three-year build.

Partner social housing developer Places for People has also submitted its own application to deliver 485 homes next to the new studios.

PfP group managing director of developments Andrew Usher said the Camden Film Quarter would be a landmark project and the next step in its placemaking work.

Yoo Capital co-founder Lloyd Lee added that the aim was to build “a neighbourhood where world-class studios, 50% affordable homes and public spaces sit side by side to inspire the next generation”.

Architect Broadway Malyan is leading design work for the residential sites, with a brief to create an ambitious new quarter that reflects local character and delivers real social value.

Turner & Townsend has been appointed by Camden Council as client representative for the regeneration. The firm will develop the council’s requirements for replacement facilities on the site and oversee project management, cost monitoring and design assurance.

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JP Morgan unveils plan for £3bn London mega-tower

JP MorganChase has unveiled plans for a 3m sq ft tower in Canary Wharf that would become the biggest office building in London and a new HQ for up to 12,000 staff.

 

First glimpse of elevated riverside terrace on cylindrical tower
First glimpse of elevated riverside terrace on cylindrical tower

 

The banking giant wants to build the £3bn project on a riverside site, and is reported to be hoping the build will exceed the Shard in height although Canary Wharf building heights are capped to allow for safe flight paths to London City Airport.

Designed by Foster + Partners, the tower mirrors the firm’s ambition at its global HQ at 270 Park Avenue in New York.

The new European headquarters will be built on Riverside South, which JP Morgan bought in 2008, but shelved plans following that year’s global financial crisis.

This site already has foundations and basement levels in place, which bankers argue would shorten the construction timetable should the project proceed.

Designs are being kept under wraps until they are finalised, including the height.

Construction would take around six years, with Canary Wharf Group acting as co-developer and Sir George Iacobescu advising the bank.

While the new tower comes forward, the bank will refurbish its existing 25 Bank Street base.

A study commissioned by JP MorganChase estimates the combined building and refurbishment programme could pump £9.9bn into the UK economy and support more than 7,800 jobs across construction and the wider supply chain.

The scheme has been welcomed by the Chancellor, who called it a multi-billion-pound vote of confidence in the government’s growth plans, and by the Mayor of London, who said the decision underlines the capital’s global financial clout.

The building will feature trading floors, roof terraces, wellness facilities, cafés, cycling infrastructure and upgraded public realm. It forms part of a wider push by the bank, which recently committed up to £350m to expand its Bournemouth campus.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO of JPMorganChase, said: “London has been a trading and financial hub for more than a thousand years, and maintaining it as a vibrant place for finance and business is critical to the health of the UK economy.

“This building will represent our lasting commitment to the city, the UK, our clients and our people. The UK government’s priority of economic growth has been a critical factor in helping us make this decision.”

JPMorgan is also set to roll out its Security & Resiliency Initiative in the UK, part of a global $1.5tn 10-year programme to support investment in defence, energy, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing.

Once the new Riverside building is delivered, staff will be consolidated between the new HQ and 60 Victoria Embankment, with the bank set to review future options for 25 Bank Street.

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Council clears way for £10bn Earls Court district

The Earls Court Development Company has won planning for a key stage of its 7.5m sq ft masterplan to develop central London’s largest cleared development site. Last night Hammersmith & Fulham councillors approved hybrid plans to turn a 44-acre wasteland into 4,000-home innovation district.The decision unlocks the capital’s largest cleared development site that has sat empty since the demolition of the old Earls Court Exhibition Centres.

Developers now await a planning decision from an upcoming meeting of councillors at the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea as the £10bn scheme straddles both London boroughs.

If both boroughs sign off, enabling works begin next year with first residents targeted for 2030 and full build-out running through to 2041.

Phase one will consist of up to 1,300 homes, public realm and the first cultural venue.

The wider scheme promises thousands of more homes, three cultural venues and 20 acres of parks and public realm.

The masterplan includes 2.5m sq ft of workspace aimed at climate-innovation firms and will run on a zero-carbon energy network.

Earls Court Masterplan

ECDC chief executive Rob Heasman said the approval marked a major milestone after years of co-design with residents: “This is a long-underused, centrally located site with exceptional connectivity to deliver new homes, jobs and public space at scale. Earls Court will be a new district in West London.”

Once complete, research by Arup suggests the redevelopment will pump £3bn a year into the UK economy and support 23,500 jobs nationwide.

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Autumn Budget: Property taxes

Key takeaways

  • New ‘mansion tax’ in the form of a Council Tax High Value Supplement for homes over £2m. This is estimated to cover 0.5% of UK homes, with 85% in London and the South East.
  • No change on stamp duty means many buyers in lower value housing markets will continue to only pay modest amounts of stamp duty. However, the price bands for stamp duty were set a decade ago and average home buyers are paying more over time.
  • Tax rates for property income will increase by 2%, piling further pressure on landlords and the rental sector.

New property tax on the highest value homes

The Government is going to charge a Council Tax High Value Supplement on homes worth £2m or more in England. The Chancellor reported an annual additional cost of around £2,500 a year for homes worth £2m, rising to £7,500 a year for homes over £5m. For a £2m home, this is less than double the average council tax today and is less than many feared.

The impact on those homes worth around the £2m price band remains to be seen and will depend on how this new scheme is rolled out.

Rise to property income tax rates for landlords

Landlords will face increased property tax rates from April 2027. The basic, higher and additional rates of income tax for property income will each increase by 2%, taking them to 22%, 42% and 47% respectively.

This comes on top of tighter regulations from the recent Renters’ Rights Act, as well as new energy efficiency regulations and higher stamp duty on the purchase of additional homes (from 3% to 5%) in last year’s Budget.

No changes to stamp duty rates or thresholds

The stamp duty price thresholds for existing home owners were set in 2014. The cost of buying is growing for average home buyers in towns across the south of England and many argue the case for the abolition of stamp duty as part of wider property reforms remains a strong one.

.. well at least it has now been announced and so the volume of speculation is behind us

 

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Dubai developer acquires £2.5bn Royal Docks site

Dubai based developer Arada has acquired an 80% stake in the planned £2.5bn Thameside West scheme in London’s Royal Docks.

 

 

The Foster + Partners designed project will deliver at least 5,000 homes, with half of the 47-acre site dedicated to green space and a kilometre of active waterfront.

It occupies central London’s longest stretch of undeveloped riverfront, with views across Canary Wharf and Greenwich Peninsula.

Already awarded consent, Thameside West will see 1,000 homes delivered in the first stage of the project, with construction set to begin in 2027.

The acquisition from private developer Keystone represents follows Arada’s purchase of local developer Regal in September.

Arada will work alongside the London Borough of Newham, Greater London Authority and Transport for London to transform this former industrial site into a new neighbourhood.

His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Arada, said: “Our entry into this market was grounded in our unwavering faith in London and its attractiveness as one of the world’s leading capital cities.

“At the time of the Regal acquisition, we articulated our ambition to scale our London residential pipeline to 30,000 units over the next three years, and we have swiftly delivered on growing that pipeline. Thameside West represents a unique opportunity to create a landmark riverside development, and we look forward to working with our partners and utilising our long-standing track record in large-scale, amenity rich residential schemes to unlock the delivery of new housing for London.”

The acquisition of Thameside West increases Arada’s London development pipeline to 15,000 homes.

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Mount Anvil JV secures approval for Isle of Dogs estate rebuild

Mount Anvil and social landlord Riverside have won planning for a 411-home rebuild of the Tiller Road Estate on the Isle of Dogs in East London.

 

Tower Hamlets’ approval clears the way for a full rebuild delivering 137 affordable homes with the balance made up of a mix of private, and shared ownership homes.

Designed by PRP Architects, three existing blocks of 72 homes will be replaced with two towers of 21 and 25 storeys and two mid-rise blocks of 6 and 9 storeys.

The scheme includes a courtyard play area, a community garden and two new indoor community hubs

Tiller Road is the latest project in the expanding Riverside–Mount Anvil partnership, which also includes Bellamy Close and Byng Street, Friars Close in Southwark, and 262 affordable homes at Royal Eden Docks.

Marcus Bate, partnerships, planning, communities and sustainability director at Mount Anvil, said: “With this planning success, we have over 1,000 homes under development with our joint venture partners Riverside across four London sites.

“The transformation of the Tiller Road Estate is going to deliver long-lasting positive impact for residents.”

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No-fault evictions to be banned in England from May 2026

Source: BBC.co.uk

No-fault evictions will be outlawed in England from 1 May, the government confirmed, as it set out the timeline for sweeping renters’ reforms.

The changes also see the end of fixed-term tenancy contracts, as renters move onto so-called “rolling” agreements, as well as an end to “bidding wars” and clearer rules on having pets.

Landlords have said the reforms would increase the screening of prospective tenants and have spoken of nervousness around what happens when tenancies go wrong.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the government was “calling time” on “rogue landlords” by initiating a raft of measures in the Renters’ Rights Act.

“We’re now on a countdown of just months to that law coming in – so good landlords can get ready and bad landlords should clean up their act,” he added.

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly said the reforms “will drive landlords from the market, reduce supply and send prices up for tenants”.

He said that, “with a start date of May 2026, we are now set for a six-month fire sale with tenants forced out at short notice”.

Approximately 4.4 million households in England rented from a private landlord between 2021 to 2023. The new rules will affect more than 11 million people.

The Renters’ Rights Act – described as the biggest shake-up to renting in England for more than 30 years – was formally approved at the end of October.

While many renters welcomed the introduction of the timeline, some landlords expressed concern about the speed of the changes.

Deadline to implement changes is ‘not enough’

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said the deadline alone to implement the changes is “not enough”.

He added: “We have argued consistently that landlords and property businesses need at least six months from the publication of regulations to ensure the sector is properly prepared for the biggest changes it has faced for over 40 years.”

From May, properties will be rented on a “periodic” or rolling basis, rather than under a fixed 12 or 24-month contract.

Tenants who want to leave can give two months’ notice, which the government says will prevent tenants paying rent for substandard properties.

Landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants for complaining about poor conditions.

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