Investment Opportunities
Opportunity Areas
Area of Intensification
Central activity Zone
International or metropolitan
Major
District
Borough Boundary
Green Belt
Metropolitan open land / Other open spaces
Rail station
Railway track
Foreshore
Water
The regeneration of Charlton Riverside aims to create an exemplary new urban district of London. The area will become a mixed-use neighbourhood - a place where people live, work, and thrive.
The plans include enhancing the Thames pathway to connect Greenwich Peninsula to Woolwich town centre by improving the existing riverside route and creating new landscape opportunities along the route. Both Woolwich and the Peninsula have already undergone major change in recent years with further major developments planned or underway, including new homes and transport connections. This a timely opportunity to build on that momentum to benefit existing and new communities in and around Charlton Riverside. The vision includes high quality, mixed tenure residential development, integrated with other uses including industrial and employment, new community facilities for existing and future residents, upgraded infrastructure, and a revised network of streets and open spaces.
The Council have recently appointed an architect-led Design Team via the GLA’s A+U Framework to work with key partners and stakeholders to develop a Delivery Plan for this Opportunity Area. It is anticipated that this exercise will be completed in 2024 and will catalyse the regeneration of the area.
Thamesmead and Abbey Wood is one of the largest opportunity regeneration areas in London, well located for significant employment growth. Prepared jointly by the Mayor of London’s office, Transport for London, Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Bexley, the Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) supports and plans for the Mayor’s proposal to extend the DLR to Thamesmead and beyond. With transport improvements, including the DLR extension and upgrades to the bus network (Bus Rapid Transit and Super Loop), the OAPF identifies the potential for the area to provide over 15,000 new homes and 8,000 new jobs.
The Council owns two major industrial or mixed-use sites in Thamesmead and will be commissioning a new masterplan vison for Abbey Wood to identify development sites for housing and mixed use to complement connectivity that the Elizbeth Line has generated.
Identified in the London Plan 2021 for 17,000 new homes and 15,000 new jobs, there continues to be potential throughout this area. It offers a riverside location, spectacular views over Canary Wharf, proximity to a World Heritage site and 48 acres of green space. It is also home to the O2, one of the leading sports and entertainment venues in the world, providing 4,500 jobs; contributing £300 million GVA to the Greenwich economy. Other highlights include Tide, London’s first-ever elevated riverside linear park and the Design District, 16 buildings by eight pioneering architects which have established Greenwich as a new hub of innovation in London.
The Council will continue to work with major landowner to ensure the new developments to build on the destination experience that has evolved over the last 10 years, and consider how the areas public realm can create more greening andactive travel opportunities to better connect the Peninsula and retail zone.
Woolwich, with its extensive Thames frontage, listed buildings and bustling town centre is seeing a resurgence due to investment by its landowners, including the Royal Borough of Greenwich. In addition to its mainline rail and DLR stations and major bus interchange, Woolwich is now on the Elizabeth Line, and the first year after its opening saw almost 9 million passengers pass through the new station here. Woolwich Works has transformed a number of at risk listed buildings on the Royal Arsenal into a new creative destination for London, with theatres, concert venues, dance and recording studios, and flexible workspace.
The Council and its partners are investing over £140 million in improvements to Woolwich town centre due to complete by 2025. These include a new state-of-art leisure centre with 500 new homes adjacent; new affordable workspace in the heart of Woolwich through sensitively converting listed buildings into 42 new modern and flexible studios to support the boroughs creative industry; and large-scale public realm improvements to Woolwich’s main shopping street and market square.
The Council is also facilitating the delivery of a new town centre quarter with over 800 homes together with new leisure, retail and commercial uses. Elsewhere in Woolwich it is,working with its delivery partner to bring forward the revitalisation of its housing estates.
Woolwich was identified as an Opportunity Area in the London Plan 2021 with potential for 5,000 new homes and 2,500 jobs by 2041. The Council wants to facilitate the diversification of the town centre to provide a greater range of business types beyond just retail and the public sector. This strategy aims to generate interest and drive future inward investment to create a multi-faceted and better curated place for existing and new residents and businesses. To support this and guide future decisions, the Council is progressing a masterplan for the town centre that will identify the sites it intends to develop over the next 10 years, as well as identifying sites other ownerships that should be redeveloped or reimagined with the ambition of making Woolwich a major economic hub for South East London.
Plumstead is a priority regeneration area for the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead High Street is one of the borough's key district centres with a traditional high street environment dominated by independent, small businesses. Substantial resources are being focussed from both the public and private sector to bring forward positive change in the area. Supported by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund (GGF), the Council has delivered new shopfronts, greening and public space improvements along Plumstead High Street.
Plumstead Power station is another significant Grade II listed building that is being bought back into use and transformed into a new digital and virtual production hub for London. The site will also be home to incubator space supporting new media technology start-up businesses.
To the north of Plumstead High Street, the Lombard Square housing development is a 17-acre site being delivered by Peabody Housing and Berkeley Homes. Falling within the Abbey Wood, Thamesmead and Plumstead Housing Zone, this development will deliver over 1,900 homes and will act as an important catalyst to unlocking wider regeneration in the area - attracting future investment and setting the benchmark for further development.
Plumsted has a large amount of Strategic Industrial Land (SIL) and as part of the Council’s masterplan vision we will be exploring how better utilisation of these sites could bring forward an industrial intensification, including the sectors it should support to create a new ‘industrial zone’ for the borough.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich is a diverse place to live and work. Located 10 minutes from central London, it's renowned for its rich royal and naval history, including Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site, its green spaces and as one of the London's emerging creative industry hubs.
This dynamic and vibrant area is undergoing rapid transformation as a result of some of the largest regeneration schemes in the capital. It has seen over £1.3bn investment made in the last 10 years, and with a further £1.8bn planned over the next decade, Royal Greenwich continues to offer a wealth of opportunity for new developments. With a strong and resilient business network and vibrant historic town centres the borough is known for its entrepreneurial talent and innovative micro and small businesses across a broad range of sectors from food to specialist engineering. Four higher education institutions provide access to skills and talent with the University of Greenwich ranked within the top 7% of higher education institutions globally.
Our vision for Royal Greenwich is to have a flourishing economy that creates investment opportunities for businesses and communities to grow in an inclusive and sustainable way. Our approach to creating multi-faceted and integrated places and attract inward investment is reflected in our 10-year regeneration plan and housing delivery strategy. We are currently exploring future investment opportunities across Greenwich and we are looking for partnerships to support us in bringing these forward for the benefit of the borough and its residents.
Population 2021 (ONS) 289,100
Population projections 2050 (GLA) 336,730
London Plan new homes (2019-2029 target) 28,240
Building council homes for Londoners (four-year programme) 588
“There’s never been a more exciting time to live, work or study in Royal Greenwich. Its hundreds of beautiful green spaces, access to the river Thames and mix of communities and cultures – along with a rich heritage and history – make it one of London’s greatest places to be. This is reflected in the 20 million visitors that come to the borough each year, a tourism industry that supports 17,000 jobs and generates £1.5 billion to our economy.
Woolwich town centre, Charlton Riverside, Kidbrooke, Greenwich Peninsula, Plumstead, Abbey Wood and Thamesmead are all key regeneration and priority areas for us that have the potential to provide employment opportunities alongside new homes. Our focus over the next 10 years is to work closely with existing and new partners, investors and local stakeholders to curate these great places for our communities, helping to grow businesses and attract more visitors to enjoy everything our borough has to offer.
Whether it’s supporting our creative districts and innovation hubs or identifying ways to improve our town centres, we want to ensure that our residents and businesses can take advantage of the opportunities arising from regeneration and feel the benefits of change.”
