London Dock, Tower Hamlets
Regeneration Case Study

  • 15-acre brownfield site
  • 1,800  mixed-tenure homes, including 486 affordable homes
  • 40% public open space including a civic square
  • Secondary school 
  • Restored Grade II Listed Pennington Warehouse
  • Over 200,000 sq ft of commercial space
  • Creating 1,500 jobs and 65 apprenticeships 

In the 18th century, this 15-acre site lay at the heart of London’s docklands. In the 1980s it was transformed into “Fortress Wapping”, a highly secure headquarters and print works for the News International media group. 
Today, it is being transformed again, this time into an exciting new neighbourhood with 1,800 mixed-tenure homes and 7.5 acres of landscaped public spaces, including a new civic square and pedestrian street.

The Grade II Listed Pennington Street Warehouse has been sensitively restored to become the commercial and cultural heart of the community.

 

Long Term Brownfield Regeneration

An Aerial Shot of London Dock Before
The site before regeneration. Then known as News International’s “Fortress Wapping”
London Dock Gauge Square | Berkeley Group

Gauging Square, a new civic square with events for the local community

London Dock Green Public Space | Berkeley Group

More than 170 new trees across 7 acres of public space

London Dock Community Event | Berkeley Group

A community event supported by the London Dock Community Fund 

London Dock New Shops | Berkeley Group

New shops and eateries line the new public square 

London Dock Water Fountain | Berkeley Group

Water fountains are very popular with local families, and pay homage to the site’s maritime past 

Key Challenges

  • Restoration of the Grade II Listed Pennington Street Warehouse
  • Complex construction history, with subterranean walls, structures and a 300m sewer left behind
  • Specialist scaffolding required to demolish buildings, due to proximity to the Grade II Listed building
  • Reconnecting ‘Fortress Wapping’ with the surrounding community
  • Working within a Conservation Area, with protected views
 
London Dock Community Hub | Berkeley Group

A Community Hub

St George has designed London Dock with the local community in mind. Formerly a secure and closed off print works and office complex, it now offers vital amenities and welcoming spaces for the whole community to enjoy.

  • >480 affordable homes
  • 1,200 pupil secondary school | doctor’s surgery 
  • >7 acres of landscaped public space
  • shops | restaurants | cafés | office space
  • large public square | public artwork 
  • interactive water features 
  • over 200,000 sq ft of commercial space
  • 1,500 jobs and 65 apprenticeships 
  • London Dock Community Fund set up to provide funding to grassroots organisations supporting the local community
  • 65 apprenticeships on offer 
 
London Dock Historic Architecture | Berkeley Group

Reviving Dockland Heritage

The Grade II Listed Pennington Street Warehouse has been carefully restored – honouring the site’s past and giving a beautiful heritage building a sustainable and productive new lease of life. New buildings and public artworks have been designed to blend seamlessly with this heritage feature, and pay homage to local history. 

  • new access created to the warehouse for the first time in 200 years
  • new apartment buildings designed to mirror the structures originally built in the 19th Century dock masterplan
  • water gardens and canal added, in keeping with the site’s maritime history 
 
London Dock Community Hub | Berkeley Group

Opening Up the Site

With new pathways and sustainable transport infrastructure, the community can now access the site for the first time in decades. New routes make it easier to move around and access the wider area on foot or by bike. 

  • 300m quayside walkway 
  • new pedestrian promenade 
  • >2,300 cycle spaces 
 
London Dock Sustainable Design | Berkeley Group

Sustainable by Design

This neighbourhood has been designed with energy efficiency in mind. Nature-based solutions have been incorporated throughout – providing habitats for wildlife, and bringing wider benefits to air quality and water management. 

  • high fabric efficiency with reduced embodied carbon using modern methods of construction 
  • communal Heat and Power System 
  • all commercial units BREEAM ‘Very Good’
  • target biodiversity net gain of >430% 
  • >170 new trees  
  • green and brown roofs 
  • rainwater harvesting
  • RoSPA’s Safer by Design Gold Standard
  • bird, bat and insect boxes

Sustainable Travel Options

St George, London Dock, Walk, River Thames
St George, London Dock, Walk, St Katharine
St George, London Dock, Walk, Tower Bridge
St George, London Dock, Walk, Wapping Overground Station

Our Partners

Planning Authorities: Tower Hamlets Council | Greater London Authority

Architect: Patel Taylor

Landscape & Ecology: Outerspace

Housing Association: Peabody

Community & Voluntary Partner: East End Community Foundation

 
London Dock Partners | Berkeley Group