Around the Area

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Around the Village

In 1994 the Peabody Trust took the first steps towards what would later be called Britannia Village by starting 85 homes for rent on the four-acre site off Fort Street. The following year the LDDC sold 28 acres of land to Wimpey Homes to build 777 private dwellings and six shops. At the same time land was allocated by LDDC and Newham Council for 140 social homes to be built by the Peabody Trust and East Thames Housing Group at six integrated locations throughout the village. And the LDDC also spent £3.9 million on the Royal Victoria Dock Footbridge. Some of the area's original pre-war housing remains in Mill Street and in small pockets elsewhere thoughout the Village. [More about the Village]

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Around Lyle Park

Accessed from Bradfield Road this well established riverside park is a refreshing oasis in what is still an industrial area. It was provided originally by the sugar refiners Abram Lyle & Sons who, following a merger in 1921, became part of Tate and Lyle. [More on Tate and Lyle]. The park is cared for now by the London Brough of Newham. 

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Around the Thames Barrier Park

This 22 acre park, a legacy of the London Docklands Development Corporation, was officially opened by the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone in November 2000. Key features are a sunken landscaped garden (called the Green Dock), a riverside promenade and a children’s play area. It occupies what was once Prince Regents Wharf, a petroleum and chemical works. The park is now run by the London Development Agency.  The park is overlooked by the Barrier Point and Tradewinds residential developments.  [More about the Barrier Park]

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The new DLR

This new branch of the Docklands Light Railway, which opened on 2nd December 2005, runs from Canning Town to London City Airport and North Woolwich (King George V). Here are some pictures taken during the construction of the railway and immediately after it's opening.

Ironically along North Woolwich Road the new line runs on a viaduct along the same alignment as the old Silvertown Tramway which for many decades provided a rail connection to the riverside industries. Approval to extend this new line from North Woolwich under the Thames to Woolwich Arsenal was given by the Government in February 2004 and work is now under way to build the Tunnel under the Thames. [More Details of new DLR]