Boris Johnson approves the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula

The £8.4 billion regeneration project will create "an entire new district formed of five neighbourhood zones" and will be located on the previously disused 150 acre gasworks site.  The revised masterplan proposes the building of 12,678 new homes and creation of 12,000 jobs.

There is provision for 2,928 affordable homes and a review mechanism has been included which could increase this by an additional 1,572 affordable homes. The affordable housing will be split between social rent and intermediate housing.

The site was previously granted planning permission in 2004 but works were stalled. Developer Knight Dragon has already started construction of a further 2,882 homes under the existing planning permission, 1,002 of which will be affordable. This brings the total number of new homes to 15,720.

The masterplan also includes proposals for 220 serviced apartments, a new bus station, 24,000 square metres of retail space, 60,000 sqm business space, 40,000 sqm film studio, two new schools and two hotels, visitor attraction and open space.

According to the mayor's office the Greenwich Peninsula regeneration project is a "key element to Boris Johnson's City in the East masterplan, which looks to deliver at least 200,000 homes in east London over the next 20 years".

Greenwich Counci's cabinet member for regeneration and transport Danny Thorpe said:  “The Council has long held a vision to make the most of the huge potential offered by the Greenwich Peninsula. The approval of this planning application makes it one of the most exciting developments in London, bringing huge long-term regeneration benefits to the Peninsula and cementing it as a new district for London."

“We are particularly proud that, at a time of critical housing shortage, this development will deliver so many affordable homes, of which more than two-thirds will be for social rent, at no more than 50% of market rent," he said.

Planning expert Victoria Lindsay of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said "The mayor's decision to grant the new masterplan is excellent news for the continued regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula. London needs this scheme to progress as this site has sat dormant for a long time. With the Silvertown Tunnel scheme also progressing, investment in and connectivity to the Peninsula area should accelerate and improve."