Consulting the Public on Phase 1 of Silvertown Quays

Silvertown Quays is a major regeneration project in East London that, once complete, will provide thousands of new homes and non-residential space including commercial, brand, retail, hotel and community use. The Silvertown Partnership, a joint venture between Lendlease and Starwood Capital, aims to create a place that is innovative and environmentally sustainable and will provide tangible benefits for the local community for the long-term. To deliver this, the partnership is committed to engaging local residents, the community and other key stakeholders throughout the development process.  

A public consultation was conducted over a seven-month period as part of the Reversed Matters Application for Phase 1 of the Original Planning Permission for the Silvertown development. The purpose of the consultation was to engage the local community on the Phase 1 development proposal and understand local views, priorities, uses and activities the community would like to see incorporated into the wider masterplan and reflect them in the design process wherever possible.   

Consultation and engagement with local stakeholders and the wider community comprised of a number of stages to maximise participation and reach. This included: 

• Public exhibitions and site tours to engage and understand local priorities, concerns and aspirations.  
• Community open day on the Silvertown site, local school engagement activity and a public exhibition aimed at presenting the draft proposals and overall vision for Phase 1. This includes the placemaking approach, building uses, initial plot designs and public space proposals.  
• Finally, a public exhibition was held, advertised to the local area to understand local views towards the final proposals following earlier consultation and feedback.  
• Alongside face-to-face engagement, a consultation website called Commonplace was used to reach a wider audience and capture feedback on the proposals.  

The consultation events were well attended by people living and working in the Royal Docks area with over 500 people taking part in the process. Over 440 individual pieces of feedback were collected through the consultation process, either at public events or via the Commonplace website. Overall, stakeholders have been largely supportive of the development’s objectives and intention of bringing the site into use again after years of being vacant and inaccessible. 

Plans for phase one of the scheme include circa. 1,000 new homes were submitted in October 2020 and signed off by the Borough of Newham in December 2020. The focus of The Silvertown Partnership will now be to work alongside the local community as they take the plans forward.