News

Asda unpacks £400m East End plan

News

Noella Pio Kivlehan

22 November 2010

Leisure, Residential, Retail

London

Asda has unveiled plans for a massive £400m redevelopment of Crossharbour in the Isle of Dogs, E14.

The Central Park scheme will see the supermarket giant’s 54,000 sq ft store at East Ferry Road and surrounding land transformed into a scheme comprising 1,000 homes, plus shops and leisure. It will be among the first major urban regeneration projects to be restarted since the beginning of the downturn.

Asda has had a store in the area since the early 1980s, and in 2005 teamed up with Ashbourne Beech, the development arm of Town & Beach, to work up plans for a major redevelopment. However, the plans stalled.

The pair are now ready to dust off the plans and will submit their proposals for the 12-acre site to Tower Hamlets council next summer.

Richard Frank, co-founder of Town & Beach, said: “A downturn is a good time to secure planning permissions for these large schemes. We are confident that the market will return and, with a secured planning permission, this would allow us to choose our start date for construction and be ahead of the game.

“We do not want to be in a lengthy planning process when the market returns, as experience tells us that, once you are ready to go, you may have already missed the boat.”

Asda said: “We have a long-term aspiration to improve our store for local people and to deliver an exemplar scheme in London which will contribute to the regeneration of the area.”

Tower Hamlets is keen to see a major redevelopment of the Crossharbour area and believes that “securing additional homes through redevelopment could significantly improve the economic sustainability and vitality of the town centre”.

The council says that the area is currently underused as a district centre, but that it occupies a key strategic position, given its proximity to the Millennium Quarter and Canary Wharf.

Jones Lang LaSalle is advising on planning; Broadway Malyan is designing Central Park.

np.kivlehan@estatesgazette.com

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Asda has unveiled plans for a massive £400m redevelopment of Crossharbour in the Isle of Dogs, E14. The Central Park scheme will see the supermarket giant’s 54,000 sq ft store at East Ferry Road and surrounding land transformed into a scheme comprising 1,000 homes, plus shops and leisure. It will be among the first major urban regeneration projects to be restarted since the beginning of the downturn. Asda has had a store in the area since the early 1980s, and in 2005 teamed up with Ashbourne Beech, the development arm of Town & Beach, to work up plans for a major redevelopment. However, the plans stalled. The pair are now ready to dust off the plans and will submit their proposals for the 12-acre site to Tower Hamlets council next summer. Richard Frank, co-founder of Town & Beach, said: “A downturn is a good time to secure planning permissions for these large schemes. We are confident that the market will return and, with a secured planning permission, this would allow us to choose our start date for construction and be ahead of the game. “We do not want to be in a lengthy planning process when the market returns, as experience tells us that, once you are ready to go, you may have already missed the boat.” Asda said: “We have a long-term aspiration to improve our store for local people and to deliver an exemplar scheme in London which will contribute to the regeneration of the area.” Tower Hamlets is keen to see a major redevelopment of the Crossharbour area and believes that “securing additional homes through redevelopment could significantly improve the economic sustainability and vitality of the town centre”. The council says that the area is currently underused as a district centre, but that it occupies a key strategic position, given its proximity to the Millennium Quarter and Canary Wharf. Jones Lang LaSalle is advising on planning; Broadway Malyan is designing Central Park. np.kivlehan@estatesgazette.com To access all EGi and EuroProperty news stories and commercial property data sign up for a free trial today, or visit the subscription options page to find out more.