The Indian billionaire behind the surprise bid for the development of Silvertown Quays, E16, says his plans are being blocked by the Greater London Authority.
Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra offered in April to take the stalled Royal Docks site – which has plans for 3,500 homes and 2m sq ft of commercial space – off the Silvertown Partnership, a consortium of Chelsfield Properties, First Base and Macquarie Capital.
But in a statement today he said: “The challenges that Essel Group has encountered in bringing this investment to London have come as a surprise to me.
“Sir Stuart Lipton, of The Silvertown Partnership, has given his full support to the centre, describing it as ‘an extremely special place’, and has stated the decision is in the hands of the GLA. The GLA, while also privately praising our plan, says it cannot formally present it to the mayor without the authority of the Silvertown Partnership.
“This defies logic because Silvertown is publicly owned land and this approach suggests that the commercial interests of the developers are being put ahead of what is best for London.”
At the heart of Essel’s proposals is a £1bn cultural centre, which is how it began discussions with the Silvertown Partnership.
Essel said that in early 2018 Lipton was in discussion with the group on the construction of the centre and the talks progressed to include Essel buying the development rights for the entire district, subject to GLA approval.
Essel said it had been told this proposal had been shared with the GLA.
However, Essel said that on 17 April, GLA executive director for housing and land David Lunts said the Silvertown Partnership had not submitted its proposal and that because of its contractual position, the GLA could not engage with any other parties.
Chandra said: “The Silvertown Partnership requires the approval of the GLA before they can proceed with a rival offer from another party to develop Silvertown.
“For common sense to prevail, the GLA must seize this opportunity to consider credible alternatives. As such, we remain hopeful that the British government and the mayor will not allow this important investment into London to be lost.”
A City Hall spokesperson said: “The Mayor is committed to ensuring regeneration of the Silvertown Quays site, which has the potential to deliver thousands of much-needed new homes, as part of the wider redevelopment of the Royal Docks. The Greater London Authority has a contract with The Silvertown Partnership (TSP) to develop the site and, under its terms, is unable to consider alternative proposals unless asked to by TSP.”
What’s going on at the Docks?
See also: Indian conglomerate piles into Silvertown bidding war
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