TfL: 'Theoretical' 300-home planning application submitted for land near Blackwall Tunnel

Transport for London (TfL) has submitted a "theoretical" planning application for 300 homes across three tower blocks near the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, as it looks to "conclude agreements" with the site's former landowner.

The application, filed with Greenwich Council by Adams Hendry Consulting on behalf of TfL, is specifically requesting a Certificate of Alternative Appropriate Development (CAAD). The CAAD is required if the former gasworks is to be used for anything other than industrial purposes, such as commercial or residential.

As part of its application, Adams Hendry Consulting details a scheme drawn up as an example of an appropriate development if the certificate is granted by the council. A TfL spokesperson has confirmed it "does not represent a planning application for the actual construction of a development".

According to the submission, the hypothetical plans would involve constructing almost 33,000sqm of residential development, 2,268sqm of flexible commercial floorspace, and 2,300 sqm of children’s play space.

Located between the A102 and Millennium Way, the applications notes the land was covered by a gas holder until the late 1970s, at which point it was demolished. It was then used for temporary open storage from the 1990s until 2019/20.

TfL bought the land from a subsidiary of the National Grid via a compulsory purchase order after being granted development consent for the Silvertown Tunnel in 2018, a crossing due to open in 2025 connecting the Greenwich peninsula with the Royal Docks in Newham.

The Alternative Appropriate Scheme (AAD) suggested in TfL’s application would consist of 300 homes across three blocks, 50% of which would be affordable, and more than half of which would be three- or four-bed flats.

The tallest of the blocks would reach 62 metres, or 20 floors, with the other two 53m (17 floors) and 38m (12 floors). All of the commercial floorspace is proposed for the smallest block, which the applicant wrote would provide ‘transitional development’ to the industrial area south-west of the site, and “as a design-response to the higher noise levels along the A102 corridor as commercial floorspace”.

A TfL spokesperson said: "This application has been submitted solely to help us conclude agreements with the previous land owner after the land was purchased for the construction of the Silvertown Tunnel. It does not represent a planning application for the actual construction of a development.”

The spokesperson added the development is purely "theoretical", and needed to be filed to obtain a CAAD in accordance with the provisions of the Land Compensation Act.

View the application in full on Greenwich Council’s planning portal, using the reference 23/3447/CAAD.