Approval Granted for 2,900-Home Masterplan at Beckton Riverside

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On 7 September, Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Regeneration at London City Hall, approved the Beckton Riverside development plan following a public hearing. The project is being advanced by St William, part of the Berkeley Group, on the former Beckton Gasworks site on the north bank of the Thames in the London Borough of Newham. The residential component comprises approximately 2,900 homes, alongside waterfront public space, commercial and community facilities. The application had previously been recommended for approval by Newham Council, and the Mayor of London called it in for direct City Hall consideration on 27 April 2026; this approval constitutes a new planning decision milestone for the project.

The project covers approximately 30 acres of former gasworks industrial land, which has remained vacant since the gasworks closed in the 1960s. In addition to approximately 2,900 homes, the development includes approximately 5 acres of waterfront park and approximately 5,000 square metres of commercial and community space. Buildings in the first phase will be up to approximately 15 storeys. The project team includes masterplanning and architectural design practice JTP, landscape design practice HTA, planning consultant Quod, transport consultant Vectos, and daylight consultant GIA.

The project proposals comprise two interrelated applications. In October 2025, Newham's Strategic Development Committee granted outline approval in principle for the residential-led mixed-use development and approved a package of site preparation and contamination remediation works required prior to residential construction; the residential element takes the form of outline planning permission, while the site preparation and remediation works take the form of full planning permission. The relevant application references are 24/00989/OUT and 24/00990/FUL.

The housing scheme currently provides 8.1% affordable housing on a habitable rooms basis; should housing grant funding subsequently be secured, the affordable housing proportion could increase to as much as 20%. The residential development will be delivered in phases, with the specific scale of construction subject to subsequent detailed planning, agreements and implementation conditions.

Beckton Riverside also lies within the London Royal Docks and Beckton Riverside Opportunity Area. The project site directly connects with the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension scheme being progressed by Transport for London, which would extend from Gallions Reach via Beckton Riverside across the Thames to Thamesmead, with two new stations planned at Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead. Transport for London plans to apply in early 2027 for the Transport and Works Act powers required to construct and operate the line; subject to approvals and government funding, construction could begin as early as 2029, with operations commencing in the early 2030s.

The planning application for the Beckton Riverside residential project was formally received by Newham Council on 25 October 2024, and the Council's Strategic Development Committee reached a resolution to approve on 23 October 2025. On 27 April 2026, the Mayor of London called in both applications for City Hall consideration, and a Representation Hearing was held on 7 September, at which this approval decision was made, moving the planning process from borough-level consideration to the London City Hall approval stage.