Canary Wharf Group has withdrawn plans for a 3.7m sq ft Isle of Dogs mixed-use scheme at North Quay, following a spike in construction starts on residential towers in the area.
The proposal, submitted to Tower Hamlets Council planning authority last May, included a 1.7m sq ft, 47-storey office tower and three residential towers rising to 67, 60 and 30 storeys and comprising 1,423 units, with a mixture of private sale, private rent and affordable housing.
CWG withdrew the planning application on 27 December, and it has since been removed from Tower Hamlets’ planning portal, at the group’s request.
A CWG spokesman said: “Canary Wharf Group continues to review the mix of residential, office and retail which could be brought forward at North Quay but has not yet submitted a revised planning application.”
It comes after another high-profile Isle of Dogs scheme was put on hold. Earlier this month, construction was paused on Chinese developer Greenland’s Spire London, a 67-storey residential tower which if completed would be Europe’s tallest residential building.
An EG site visit found the building had its foundations capped and workers had vacated the construction site.
A Greenland spokesman said: “The first phase of pre-construction works have been completed as planned and the development is now ready to enter the second phase of the pre-construction services.
“In anticipation of this, and given the scale of the project and the iconic nature of the building, and in line with Greenland Group’s internal policy, Greenland Group now plans an assessment of all procedures and aspects of the project to ensure that the scheme provides the most up-to-date design specification and interiors.”
There are 17 towers of 20 storeys or higher currently under construction in the Isle of Dogs Opportunity Area, according to Radius Data Exchange. Nine residential towers, comprising around 4,000 units, started construction in 2016 alone – up from three towers the previous year.
The spike of construction activity, and resulting influx of space due to hit the residential market is likely to give developers pause for thought.
Developers are also having to factor in rising construction costs. Tender prices in London have inflated on average by 5% over the two years to Q1 2018, according to Arcadis.
Although Canary Wharf has traditionally been an office location, 74% of the area’s pipeline is residential. Deutsche Bank was in talks with Canary Wharf Group early last year to take around 500,000 sq ft pre-let on North Quay office, but subsequently agreed a deal with Landsec at 21 Moorfields, EC2.
To send feedback e-mail paul.wellman@egi.co.uk or tweet @paulwellman eg or @estatesgazette
