LONDON | Projects & Construction

[SO143]

127m Tall Tower Proposed for Elephant + Castle

A new planning application has been submitted for the redevelopment of Elephant and Castle Leisure Centre that features a new 127 metre tall residential tower.

The site, which sits on the western side of the southern roundabout at Elephant and Castle will have a 37-storey residential tower in the middle of the site. A shorter 4-storey L shaped building will stand between the main tower and the roadway providing some shelter for the new public space planned between the buildings.

Accommodation within the project will comprise of 284 apartments, none of which will be affordable, plus 700 square metres of commercial space including ground floor retail, restaurants and cafes, and a small amount of office space.

Replacing the old leisure centre will be a new £20 million one built on the western edge of the site offering the locals a more high-tech venue than the current dilapidated setting that has been designed by John McAslan. This leisure centre, which will include a swimming pool, is the entirety of the planning gain of the scheme meaning it is devoid of affordable housing.

Other tall buildings planned in the immediate area include the London Park Hotel 150 metres to the south, Oakmayne Plaza 250 metres to the east, and the redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle shopping mall 150 metres to the east. Strata, the sole high-rise built in the area in recent years, stands 150 metres to the south-east.

The project is being developed by Lendlease who are in the process of divesting themselves of their share in the Greenwich Peninsula development they were joint partners with Quintain Estates in. That deal has made the funds available for Lendlease to concentrate on their development of Elephant and Castle that had ground almost to a halt in recent years.

The project is dubbed St Mary's after a nearby church. If built the scheme will be the seventh tallest residential tower in the United Kingdom.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=3126

[SO143]

Willmott Dixon wins approval for ($389.32 million) mixed-use scheme in London



The approval has been granted by Tower Hamlet’s Council and London Thames Gateway Development Corporation. The project involves redevelopment of a seven acre Aberfeldy estate in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which will provide 1,176 homes, shops, healthcare and community facilities.

The regeneration of the Aberfeldy estate will replace the 1950s-built houses with new homes and better living environment for residents, which will be rendered by means of new shops and open, green spaces for recreation.

The project will be developed as a joint venture between Regen, a development arm of Willmott Dixon, and Poplar HARCA, a UK-based housing and community regeneration company. The project will be staged in six phases and will be completed in a time-frame of 12 years. The development will meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

The companies have secured detailed planning approval for phase I of the development, which will entail an investment of £40 million ($62.15 million) and has been designed by UK-based architectural practice Levitt Bernstein Associates.

The phase I involves development of 342 new homes, which will be a mix of private sale, shared ownership and affordable rental units. The phase I, which also involves development of retail spaces, will be developed at the eastern end of Aberfeldy.

http://home.worldinteriordesignnetwo...london_120717/

[SO143]

£9.4bn rail investment plans unveiled

The line, already electrified between London and Bedford, could be upgraded further north to Sheffield.

The Midland Main Line upgrade is the biggest single new project among a £9.4bn package of rail infrastructure work for 2014-19 in what is being called the biggest investment in rail since Victorian times. The cabinet will discuss the viability of the plan, called High Level Output Specification (or HLOS), when it meets today.

Much of the work includes ongoing projects, such as Crossrail and Thameslink and electrification between London and Cardiff, Manchester to Liverpool and Preston, and across the Pennines. These account for £5.2bn of projects already committed to during 2014-2019.

Previously announced plans to electrify the Great Western Main Line from London to Cardiff will now be extended to Swansea, while bottlenecks on the East Coast Main Line will also be removed.

An additional £4.2bn for public spending is proposed for additional schemes by 2019.

[...]

http://www.theconstructionindex.co.u...to-be-unveiled

[SO143]

queen elizebath olympic park (the largest urban park in europe)

[benchaney]

Great posts SO143 I love that they're doing something with the area after the olympics are over. Also good to see more highrise plans for London and who said th current ones where the end of an era

[SO143]

thx you, your comment is highly appreciated.

image hosted on flickr

Tower Bridge Olympic Rings - Take 2/3 by chanshuikay, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr

Tower Bridge Olympic Rings - Take 3/3 by chanshuikay, on Flickr

[SO143]

london is ready to welcome the world >>> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=3387



Government starts major projects with £40bn UK guarantee

LONDON: Chancellor George Osborne launched a package of measures yesterday to start stalled major infrastructure projects.

The central measure is a UK guarantee designed to underwrite financing for £40bn of stalled projects within the National Infrastructure Plan.

He also released £6bn in temporary Government loans to ensure around 30 public-private partnership infrastructure projects can go ahead.

The new UK loan guarantees and lending for big building projects follow months of criticism that the government has failed to generate jobs and growth.

The Government will now use its balance sheet to shoulder major project risk by offering guarantees for projects that are ready or nearly ready, with the first expected to be awarded in the autumn.

As well as infrastructure projects, the loans will also be available for housing, health and education projects.

http://www.buildersmerchantsnews.co....guarantee.html

[LCIII]

Thanks for all the posts SO143! I love all of the updates!!

[simplyrammy]

Great update!
are there any upcoming projects going on in south-west London?

[SE9]

^ Yes, several! For example:


New American Embassy ($1 billion) SW11

The new American Embassy in Nine Elms, Wandsworth.

London forum thread: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=728176

[lachoonline]

welcome! london2012

[simplyrammy]

Originally Posted by SE9

^ Yes, several! For example:


New American Embassy ($1 billion) SW11

The new American Embassy in Nine Elms, Wandsworth.

London forum thread: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=728176

That is quite the embassy

[aleochi]

This is, for sure, the best P&C thread in this forum. London is definitely the most vibrant and avant-garde city in the world!

[SO143]

detail of the vauxhall cluster

image hosted on flickr

(by gothicform)

[SO143]

CEO Of London’s Tech City Project Departs, As Global Tech Race Heats Up

Eric van der Kleij is to depart his post as CEO of the UK’s Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO) after his two year contract comes to an end this Summer. The TCIO was set up by the UK government to promote East London’s pre-existing cluster of technology startups and is just one of hundreds of similar initiatives around the world where a city is promoted as a ‘tech city’. It’s a natural course to take, given that tech is one of the few economic areas growing during a downturn in developed economies. Even tech-obsessed San Francisco itself is thinking that way.

A TCIO spokesperson told us it plans to advertise the positions “in the next couple of weeks”. Mr. van der Kleij will go part-time from the end of July and steps down formally in September. In a statement he said: “The TCIO work has been some of the most exciting I have ever done, and I promise to let you know what I am up to as soon as I can.”

TCIO now plans to split his role into two, a CEO and a Deputy CEO. Both positions have yet to be filled. The CEO will be external-facing, promoting the East London hub, while their Deputy will organise events and promote the tech community on the ground in London. Sources told us Mr. van der Kleij had been too stretched trying to fulfil both roles.

A TCIO spokesperson told us: “Eric’s always been clear that he would run TCIO for a maximum of two years. The feedback we had from the community around the Impact Report and the Town Hall meeting has fed into the recruitment strategy and the type of person we’re looking for.”

The strategy for the organization also appears to be more or less unchanged. TCIO will continue to focus on East London.

[...]

http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/28/ceo...race-heats-up/

[SO143]

London cycle route safety upgrade plan details unveiled

Transport for London (TfL) has published a list of the top 100 junctions it has prioritised for cycling safety improvements.

It said 50 of the junctions would see improvements in the next 18 months.

Improvements will include widened junctions, more segregated cycle lanes and more safety mirrors.

Priority junctions include the Lambeth Bridge northern roundabout, the Waterloo roundabout and the junction of Mile End Road and Burdett Road.

London Assembly Green Party member Darren Johnson said: "The key measure of the success of the mayor's safety improvements is whether an unaccompanied 12-year-old can cycle through them afterwards.

"London's roads have become less safe for cyclists in recent years and I feel that the mayor's policy of smoothing traffic flow is partly to blame.

"I therefore hope that none of the improvements at these junctions, suggested by safety campaigners, will be rejected on the grounds that the mayor is worried that they would create traffic jams."

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I am 100% committed to making London's roads safer for cyclists."

Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of Surface Transport, said: "Our junction review programme has allowed us to relook at key junctions on our road network and identify a range of innovative improvements which, when delivered, will greatly benefit all road users across London."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18933911

[SO143]

Hilton London Wembley opens just in time for the Olympic Games

The Hilton London Wembley officially opened its doors to the public on July 18, just days before the start of the Olympic Games.
The hotel is located next to the Wembley Stadium and Arena in Wembley City, a redevelopment area with more than one million square feet of construction underway. One of the main projects in the area is the London Designer Outlet, a retail mall with high street designer brands and restaurants.

The 361-room hotel was designed by The Manser Practice and includes a two-floor wall depicting important events at the Wembley Stadium and a hand-painted installation illustrating the River Thames. The design has a British theme, with Union Jack rugs decorating the lobby.

The hotel's facilities include 18 suites, a 660-capacity ballroom, 10 meeting rooms, a business center, 200 on-site parking spaces and a ninth floor bar, SkyBar 9, with a view of Wembley Stadium. The Living Well Health Club offers a 12-meter pool, sauna, steam room and 24-hour gym for guests. The hotel restaurant has a capacity for 280 guests. With this addition, the Hilton chain now has 32 hotels in London, one of the most visted cities in the world.

image hosted on flickr

Wembley Hilton Hotel by (Mick Baker)rooster, on Flickr

[SO143]

New Brent Civic Centre in North West London






under construction!

image hosted on flickr

Brent Civic Centre by (Mick Baker)rooster, on Flickr

[SO143]

new cores are rising in the heart of both the city and canary wharf financial districts.

image hosted on flickr

London Panorama by david.bank (www.david-bank.com), on Flickr

[SO143]

Go-ahead for Peabody £120m Clapham deal

Social landlord Peabody has gained planning permission for 639 homes in west London.

The London Borough of Wandsworth has given the go-ahead for the regeneration of Peabody’s St John’s Hill estate, adjacent to Clapham Junction station in Wandsworth.

This £120m project involves building 527 homes, 278 of which will be affordable and the rest for private sale.

There will also be a 530 sq m community centre and 569 sq m of commercial units.

Peabody’s chief executive, Stephen Howlett, said: “The development will have wide-reaching, hugely beneficial effects on Peabody’s estate as well as on the wider community, and will make a real difference to the lives of a very large number of people into the future.”

The landlord has also this week gained planning permission in Kensington and Chelsea to build 112 mixed-tenure homes at the Silchester Garages site, north Kensington.

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/news/go-ahea...633363.article