SQ
LOCATION
Silvertown Quays is located in East London within the Borough of Newham. This area of London drove the country's prosperity throughout the 19th Century however due to economic decline and a lack of investment throughout the 20th Century, this area now represents the largest development opportunity within the capital.
Although investment is now flowing into Newham, the Silvertown Quays area has yet to fully benefit. A combination of an impermeable streetscape, poor connections and insular developments mean that current residents face difficulty when trying to access facilities within the wider area and this is a problem that the Silvertown Quays site must address.
Wider London location map.
Site perspective.
TRANSPORT CONNECTIONS
TRANSPORT CONNECTIONS WITHIN THE SILVERTOWN QUAYS AREA
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Roads - The A1020 is a busy arterial road that circles the wider site and connects the north side of the Royal Victoria Dock with the south. The section that runs alongside the boundary of the development site is a dual carriageway which creates a number of constraints including noise and air population along with safety concerns for pedestrians and a physical barrier to services on the opposite side.
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Public Transport - The Pontoon Dock DLR station will be most likely to service new residents as it is the closest to the site. However, improvements to the current A1020 pedestrian crossing will need to be made to increase safety and consider the increase in daily users. Three bus stops currently service the southern boundary of the site however more will be needed on the eastern boundary to accommodate the large new residential development. Local bus connections are just as vital, if not more so, than those connecting to central London as community consultation has shown that residents currently find it difficult to travel within the borough due to an insufficient bus network.
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Walkability - Currently, a majority of facilities including convenience stores, heath services and green spaces are located to the south of the A1020 and a lack of safe pedestrian crossings limit opportunities for residents. The new development must integrate into old pedestrian routes such as those emanating from Britannia Village and the dock footbridge as well as creating new ones to increase permeability throughout the wider area.
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Green Network - The green network is currently extremely limited and is again difficult to access due to the physical barrier created by the A1020. Newham is one of London's fastest developing boroughs and therefore it is important to provide easy access to an abundance of outdoor space to maintain a high quality of life and respond to post-pandemic city living. It is also important that these spaces are not exclusive to certain developments, such as the case in neighbouring Royal Wharf, as the green network should be equitable and accessible to all.
Blue Network - The site boats approximately 1.8km of water frontage which is rare in such a central location. This feature should be maximised to not only create a unique and liveable urban quarter for residents but to reflect the site's rich maritime heritage. The large inlet measures 105 meters at its mouth meaning that connections such as bridges and pontoons must be considered to allow for permeability between the east and west sections of the site.
The A1020 looking westbound - an unsafe crossing and physical barrier.
The main crossing connecting the site and the Pontoon Dock DLR station.
The site is currently unconnected to neighboring Brittania Village.
A majority of the current green network is situated within private development.
Extensive water frontage created by the Royal Victoria Dock.
SERVICES CONNECTIONS
PROXIMITY TO SERVICES WITHIN THE SILVERTOWN QUAYS AREA
A majority of services are located to the opposite of the busy A1020 and as has already been discussed, a lack of suitable crossings render the road unsafe to cross. As their names suggest, a large majority of these services have been built to service the residents of the exclusive Royal Wharf development and many, such as the primary school, are already over subscribed. The new Silvertown Quays development must be less insular with facilities benefiting the wider public as oppose to solely the residents as this is the only way to address the deprivation levels within Newham.
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The convenience stores are also too far from the north east tip of the site where the largest concentration of residential development will be and also too small and expensive to cater for the average family weekly shop. This was a point raised in community consultation and therefore a larger, budget store must be provided. The ExCel Centre hosts over 400 events and welcomes over 4 million people annually with its events driving 25% of London’s inbound business tourists (excel.london, 2021). Silvertown Quays' close proximity to such an international destination must be harnessed of in order to capture some of this value, especially with the hospitality and retail sectors.
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