“London’s next social gateway”: First phase of Thameside West at Royal Docks submitted for planning

P lans have been submitted for phase 1 of Thameside West, a £2.5bn regeneration project at the Royal Docks which will ultimately deliver 5,000 homes. 

 

Phase 1 will deliver a 7-acre public park with 1,000 new trees and a variety of play spaces and 1,500 new homes across six buildings, the first two of which are 100% affordable and include three-to-four-bedroom family homes. The "landscape-led" development also includes a Riverside Walk extension of the Thames Path and eventually, a new DLR station. 

 

Arada, UAE private developer, bought an 80% majority stake in Thameside West from developer Keystone in 2025: “We have the ambition to create more than a new residential district. Thameside West is planned as a neighbourhood within the city, not an enclave at its edge: A new piece of East London where the quality of everyday London life comes first,” said Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada.

 

"Tackling London’s housing crisis is the Mayor’s top priority and Thameside West will help deliver the new homes Londoners deserve, including much needed social rent and family housing,” said Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development.

 

The 47-acre site forms part of the wider Royal Docks Opportunity Area and Beckton Riverside Opportunity Area. Over the next 20 years, investment into the wider 1,200-hectare Royal Docks site is expected to provide 36,000 new homes and 55,000 jobs through major mixed-use developments. 

 

The docks operated from 1855 until 1981 before their closure to commercial traffic. Home to London City Airport and major exhibition centre ExCel London, the intention is to transform the area into a live, work and play neighbourhood, supported by the opening of the Elizabeth Line and Silvertown Tunnel.

 

The renewal of the area was first mooted by then London Mayor Boris Johnson, who opened its cable car connection in 2012 and announced a £1bn deal to create a business hub with China, partnering with developer Advanced Business Parks. The resulting development was ridiculed as a ’ghost town’. 

 

In 2018, publication of the Royal Docks 10-Year Plan set the stage for a reboot, funded by The Mayor of London and Mayor of Newham. In 2022, The Greater London Authority removed Advanced Business Parks from the project due to missed deadlines in 2022.

 

That same year, the Greater London Authority itself became a catalyst for change in relocating City Hall from London Bridge to the Royal Docks into what was previously known as the Crystal building.