Riverscape

Canada Water: Why 2024 is a significant year for British Land’s regeneration scheme

Developer’s joint venture with AustralianSuper is set to see a bridge and market hall open up

An artist’s impression of Asif Khan’s bridge across Canada Dock

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Large regeneration projects are a marathon, not a race.

Their benefits often appear incrementally – a crescendo building to something truly revolutionary for an area transforming the lives of those who live and work in it.   

So it is with British Land’s epic 12-year plan for 53 acres of Canada Water and 2024 is set to be the year where a number of the project’s key parts will arrive. 

As those who’ve already read this piece will know, the first of up to 3,000 homes to be delivered across the site are now on sale.

But this article is about more immediate, material changes that are coming.

Nearing completion, for example, are the luxurious red curves of Asif Khan’s boardwalk, dipping pond and pergola which form the centrepiece of a package of improvements to Canada Dock itself.

Those arriving at the station will be confronted by an enriched waterside habitat replete with reed beds, benches and steps down to the dock edge – all aimed at boosting biodiversity, water quality and access to the blue stuff.

But these installations aren’t just a pretty gimmick – they’re a practical statement of intent, guiding visitors more directly towards what will be the new town centre.

In the meantime, the bridge will also bring people to a new foodie destination that is expected to open up at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre.

“While we’re waiting to redevelop it, we’re in the process of taking back the unit that’s currently home to The Range,” said Emma Cariaga, joint head of Canada Water at British Land

“We’re going to convert that into a food, beverage and cultural space, which will start to be symbolic of the sort of programmes we’ll be running locally.

“That will be in place before Christmas and the bridge is set to open around September time. 

“Both should be open before we complete on our first buildings at the end of the year and will be a really good amenity for them.

British Land’s joint head of Canada Water, Emma Cariaga

“They too will have restaurants and cafés on the ground floor – overlooking the water at the front and spilling out into a courtyard at the back.

“What we consistently hear from residents locally is that they love Canada Water but what they need in the short term is more places to eat and drink.

Canada Water Cafe and Leadbelly’s are excellent and this new opening should be phenomenal.

“We also took back a Victorian building near The Engineering And Design Institute to the east of our site, which has now reopened as The Pacific Tavern pub – a grill and barbecue concept that’s doing really well.”

All this speaks to a key benefit of having a single developer involved with a project for a significant period of time. 

British Land, now backed by the financial muscle of pension fund AustralianSuper, knows it has to deliver a consistent, compelling pipeline of amenities and attractions with visitors as much as it is future residents. 

Fortunately it has both the time, money and imagination to do this, having already altered its scheme to include the retention and upgrading of Printworks London as a venue.

“We’ve worked really well with Broadwick, which has run the venue – it surpassed all our hopes and dreams of what it could become,” said Emma.

“It’s seen millions of people pass through its doors over the past six years and, while it’s become best known for electronic dance music, we’ve also had the Canadian Royal Ballet, Secret Cinema, the BBC Proms and a whole range of product launches, conferences and studios using it as a filming location.

“This diversity really gave us confidence that we wanted to keep it as part of the project.

“Ultimately people will come to Canada Water because they live here or work here – but the key to success is also to get them to visit because they enjoy what’s here.

“Printworks has done that – we’ve had visitors not only from across London and the UK but also internationally.

“It has that kind of reach. It will be a catalyst for the site’s ongoing development.”

In addition to housing, plans for Canada Water include some 2million sq ft of office space, 650,000sq ft of retail and leisure space and 12 acres of new public space.

“We’ll be delivering a really healthy mix – somewhere that people will want to live and work, but also great places to come out and enjoy themselves,” said Emma. 

“We have lots of open spaces all around us with Southwark Park on our western boundary and Russia Dock Woodland to the east.

“Then we’ve got our own spaces including the most significant which is a new public park of three-and-a-half-acres. 

How the first phase of Canada Water will look when exiting the Tube station

“That will be delivered alongside Printworks and we hope to start work before the end of the year once we’ve got planning permission.

“Construction will then take about two years.”

Alongside the cultural venue, Printworks is expected to house 158,000sq ft of flexible workspace, and boast 10,000sq ft of external terraces on its third and sixth floors with views across London. 

Also mooted is a full complement of food and drink establishments to keep both visitors and workers appropriately sated.

Coming sooner to the overall scheme will be The Dock Shed – one of the buildings delivered as part of phase one.

Located next to residential tower The Founding, and just a few seconds from the station, this combines 180,000sq ft of office space over five floors with a new leisure centre to be run by Southwark Council. 

This includes pools, sports courts and a gym spread over the basement and ground floor of the structure.

“We’re really pleased to have this facility, which includes an eight-lane, 25m pool because it will provide constant footfall,” said Emma.

That’s something that, with all these plans progressing, is only set to increase in the years to come. 

key details

The Canada Water masterplan covers 53 acres of space on the Rotherhithe peninsula and will see a new high street and shopping destination created alongside 3,000 homes.

Find out more about the plans here

Read more: How Kircket is set to bring its Indian cuisine to Canary Wharf

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
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Canada Water: How The Founding offers homes with views across London’s skyline

British Land and AustralianSuper’s regeneration of Canada Water see first homes hit the market

An artist’s impression of The Founding

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Just over a month ago, something momentous happened in London’s property market.

British Land and its partner, AustralianSuper, celebrated the topping out of their first phase of development at Canada Water

Dominating that site is the steel-clad edifice of The Founding, the project’s first residential tower, and every inch of its 35 storeys a flagship structure.

While its neighbouring buildings will contain a leisure centre, workspace and places to eat and drink, apartments mean people in residence 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, a potent addition to an already thriving south-east London community.

The building boasts views of central London and Canary Wharf

Over 12 years, the wider 53-acre site will have much more to come but our focus here is on what The Founding will offer as a place to live.

“It contains 186 apartments and the views from every side are fantastic,” said Simon Capp, head of residential sales at British Land. 

“We’re super-lucky in that we’ve got low-rise geography locally overlooking Southwark Park to the west and Canada Dock to the east. 

“Architecturally, it’s special, designed by Allies And Morrison, who have a strong track record in large-scale towers.

“It has quite an industrial, urban aesthetic – appropriate for Canada Water, which historically has been a hard-working part of town dealing with shipping and cargo.

“It has a warehouse-like feel.”

A show home interior at The Founding

Head inside, though, and while there are some stylistic nods to industry, there’s also plenty of home comforts.

“All the interior architecture has been created by Conran And Partners, which has a really strong track record in luxury hotels and premium residential developments,” said Simon.

“We have two show flats – a one-bed and a two-bed – available for buyers to view at the marketing suite.

“The properties feature oak flooring and Crittall-style windows as well as concrete-style worktops, wooden kitchen cabinets and open-plan design.

“The building predominantly houses one and two-bedroom apartments, with around 15 three-beds on the upper floors with fabulous views and studios also available.”

Kitchens include Samsung appliances as standard

Residents can expect Samsung appliances as standard as well as underfloor heating and comfort cooling in one, two and three-beds.

Properties come with LED downlighters and track spotlights in the coffered ceiling areas of living rooms, sizeable bathrooms and balconies with views across London.

“Even for this first phase, we’ve got a very good level of enlivenment in the form of restaurants, cafes and bars,” said Simon.

“We’ve started work on the transformation of the courtyard, which will be completed late this summer.

“The Founding’s proximity to the station means it’s about a minute to get from the building’s lobby to the Tube and Overground services.

“As a residential offer, this is really one of a kind.”

With more than a decade of work taking place locally, The Founding is also well located to avoid much of the construction that is in the pipeline.

By the end of this year work to renovate Canada Dock will be complete meaning residents can move into The Founding safe in the knowledge that no significant building work on the project will take place on adjacent land.

The tower features three roof terraces

Instead they’ll be able to take advantage of Asif Khan’s bridge over the docks and a new food, drink and cultural destination that will be installed at Surrey Quays as regeneration takes place further to the south and east. 

“Canada Water is already a fully established place – a very nice neighbourhood,” said Simon.

“Our Canada Water project is more of a revitalisation  – stitching something really exciting into what is already a well-established community.

“We’ve taken what we’ve learnt from other large scale developments such as King’s Cross and putting that into action.

“There will be a great mix of residential and commercial space and, with the dock, we’re working to increase the biodiversity to make this an even better place to live – a fresh and lively district.”

The Founding itself includes three roof terraces for residents to use as well as communal spaces for work and relaxation.

Further perks include three years’ membership to a London cycle hire scheme as well as bike storage for each apartment.

Ideally located for public transport, buyers can be in Canary Wharf or London Bridge within minutes, with the Windrush Line offering rapid access to the likes of Whitechapel, Shoreditch and Dalston. 

Simon said: “Given that rents are currently high, people are looking to purchase.

“We’ve been getting interest from a mix of buyers including people who work in Canary Wharf, some of whom don’t want to live there and are looking for something a bit different.”

Studios, one-beds, two-beds and three-beds are all available

key details

Prices at The Founding start at £704,000 for studios and one-beds.

Two-beds start at £986,500, while three-beds are expected to start at around £2million. 

Properties come with a circa 500 year lease and an estimated service charge of £6.56 per sq ft. 

Find out more about The Founding here

Read more: How Kircket is set to bring its Indian cuisine to Canary Wharf

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Subscribe To Wharf Life