London needs more homes; on this most people agree. But where to put them all?
The new Draft London plan proposes that the capital gains 558,000 new homes by 2037, or around 50-60,000 per year. It’s an ambitious target, even with the raft of new measures to speed up home building.
We’ll leave the ‘how’ and ‘why’ to others. Here we want to take stock of all the large housing projects in the pipeline. This includes schemes that are still at proposal stage, through to those which are already under way. To keep things manageable, we’ve restricted entries to those with 2,000 new homes or more. We’ve probably missed a few, so let us know in the comments if you know of others we should add.
Aylesbury Estate
Borough: Southwark
Developers: Southwark Council and Notting Hill Genesis
Homes: 4,200
Completion: ~2035
Work to regenerate the estate has been rumbling on for years, with all kinds of complications and and delays. About a quarter of the new homes have been completed, as Southwark seek a new development partner to replace Notting Hill Genesis.
Barking Riverside
Borough: Barking & Dagenham
Developers: Barking Riverside Ltd, comprising L&Q and GLA Land and Property
Homes: 20,000
Completion: 2046
London’s single biggest housing development, Barking Riverside is now set to include some 20,000 new homes, around 4,000 of which will be designated as ‘affordable’. The mega-project began a few years ago on land once occupied by Barking Power Station. It was spurred on by completion of the Overground extension to the new Barking Riverside station. Outline planning permission was recently granted for the full 20,000, in what was the largest planning application for housing in the UK. It will take around two decades to complete, though phased occupation will roll out much sooner. More info: Barking Riverside website.
Beam Park
Borough: Barking and Dagenham, and Havering
Developers: London and Quadrant and Countryside Properties
Homes: ~4,000
Completion: 2030-2035
Taking advantage of land formerly occupied by the Ford motor works, this major development is already under way and aims to include 50% affordable housing and 25% suitable for families. The scheme will include a new railway station called Beam Park on the C2C line. More info: Beam Park website
Beckton Riverside
Borough: Newham
Developers: St William/Berkeley
Homes: ~10,000
Completion: ~2056
Outline planning consent was recently given for phase 1 of this major development, which will see almost 3,000 homes built on the former gasworks site. A second phase would bring 3,000 more homes, with the remaining 4,000 dependent on a new DLR station. More info: Architects’ Journal.
Brent Cross Town
Borough: Barnet
Developers: Related Argent/Barnet Council
Homes: 6,700
Completion: 2035
Anyone who’s traversed the northern suburbs on the Thameslink Bedford/St Albans line can’t have missed the huge construction works under way around Brent Cross. The numerous residential blocks are served by a new station, Brent Cross West, which opened in 2023. Besides thousands of homes, the scheme will deliver new office space, three new schools, eight public squares, sports facilities and 50 acres of green space. More info: Brent Cross Town website.
Billingsgate
Borough: Tower Hamlets
Developer: tbc
Homes: 10,000
Completion: tbc
After Billingsgate fish market moves out to the Royal Docks, Tower Hamlets council intends to redevelop the land for housing. With nearby plots at Poplar DLR depot and the New City College campus, some 10,000 new homes could be unlocked. This one is at a very early stage, with no planning permission or private sector partners.
Canada Water
Borough: Southwark
Developer: British Land, AustralianSuper and Southwark Council
Homes: 4,184
Completion: ~2035
This huge redevelopment of former docklands into residential is already in motion, with the landmark 39-storey tower The Founding already complete. In a familiar story, the promised 35% affordable housing has been ‘revised’ to 9% in the latest tweaks to the masterplan. Among other amenities, the development also includes that bright red bridge everyone got excited about a couple of years ago. More info: Canada Water website.
Charlton Riverside
Borough: Greenwich
Developer: Greenwich Council, TfL, GLA
Homes: 8,000
Completion: Unknown
Long earmarked for redevelopment, the former industrial lands between Greenwich Peninsula and Woolwich moved a step closer toward reality recently with the announcement of this public-sector-led partnership. This scheme is at the earliest of stages, with no start or completion date. More info.
Colindale/Burnt Oak
Borough: Barnet/Brent
Developer: Various
Homes: 12,500
Completion: Unknown
The Colindale masterplan has been rumbling on for two decades, with numerous independent projects under one grand area plan. Much has already been built, turning the area into a forest of medium-rise blocks. The Tube station has been remodelled to cope with the increased footfall. More info.
Earls Court
Boroughs: Kensington & Chelsea, and Hammersmith & Fulham
Developer: Earls Court Development Company (Delancey/APG/TfL)
Homes: ~4,000
Completion: 2041
This complex brownfield development on the site of the old exhibition centres straddles rail lines and two boroughs. Planning permission has been approved, and the first construction work should begin in 2027. Besides around 4,000 homes, the car-free neighbourhood will see cultural venues, office space and new pedestrian connections between three Tube stations (West Brompton, West Kensington and Earl’s Court). In case you’re wondering, the development lacks an apostrophe (like Earls Court Road) while the Tube station has one. No idea why. More info: Earls Court Development Company, and our own explainer.
Grand Union, Alperton
Borough: Brent
Developer: Berkeley
Homes: 3,350
Completion: 2029
The first phase of the redevelopment of former industrial land along the Grand Union Canal is already complete, with a second in advanced progress. The development includes 1,000 affordable homes, including 115 council homes. More info: Berkeley website.
Greenwich Peninsula
Borough: Greenwich
Developer: Knight Dragon/various
Homes: ~25,500
Completion: ~2043
Every time we head to North Greenwich, there’s a new housing block under construction. It’s a mega-masterplan, which will take about a third of a century to complete. Our total includes many blocks that have already been delivered, though many sites have yet to begin construction. The excellent From the Murky Depths has a detailed breakdown of the different developments within the masterplan. More info: Greenwich Peninsula website.
Heron Wharf
Borough: Tower Hamlets
Developers: Berkeley
Homes: 2,900
Completion: 2029
The redevelopment of an old gasworks site is already happening. The project will include 223 new council homes, after Tower Hamlets bought some of the plots from Berkeley. More info: Berkeley website
Kensal Canalside
Borough: Kensington & Chelsea
Developers: Ballymore and Sainsbury’s
Homes: 2,500
Completion: Unknown
The former gasworks site will be heavily redeveloped in one of the borough’s largest housing projects in living memory. The scheme recently won council approval and now awaits a mayoral decision before going ahead.
Kidbrooke Village
Borough: Greenwich
Developers: Berkeley
Homes: 5,500
Completion: 2030s
Built initially to replace the Ferrier Estate, Kidbrooke Village is fast nearing completion with the fifth of six phases now under way. Smaller developments nearby will raise the total number of local homes beyond the total shown here.
Meridian Water
Borough: Enfield
Developers: Enfield Council
Homes: 10,000
Completion: ~2040
Work has commenced on this four-phase development alongside the Lea Valley. Led by the local council, the project has a high proportion of affordable homes. The development also hopes to nurture small and creative businesses at the site, which is served by the new-ish Meridian Water railway station. More info: Meridian Water website.
New Bermondsey
Borough: Lewisham
Developers: Renewal
Homes: 3,500
Completion: Unknown
Former industrial land around Millwall’s stadium will be transformed into a residential-led neighbourhood through a series of distinctive tower blocks. The plans will also see a new Windrush line station called Surrey Canal, serving the area and football ground. Planning permission is granted for the initial stages and work should begin in 2027. More info: New Bermondsey website.
Old Kent Road
Borough: Southwark
Developers: Various, with Southwark Council and the GLA
Homes: 20,000
Completion: ~2041
Old Kent Road is notoriously a cheap place to build houses, at least on the Monopoly board. That’s only part of the reason why this mega-housing project is going ahead, however. It hopes to tap into significant brownfield sites, and spur on construction of the Bakerloo line extension, which would run through the heart of the development with three new halts. The aim is to make about 35% of the new homes ‘affordable’, with some 5,000 homes on social rent. Work is now under way at several sites, with more in for planning. More info: Old Kent Road development site.
Old Oak and Park Royal
Boroughs: Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham
Developers: Mayor of London’s statutory Mayoral Development Corporation (private sector partners yet to be appointed)
Homes: 8,000
Completion: ~2050
This complicated project will see thousands of homes built in phases across brownfield land. The development is anchored on the new Old Oak Common station, currently under construction for HS2 and the Elizabeth line. The £10 billion scheme was kickstarted in 2015 by Mayor Boris Johnson. More than a decade on, and the private sector partners are yet to be appointed (though tendering is under way). More info: Old Oak Common website.
Royal Arsenal Riverside
Borough: Greenwich
Developer: Berkeley
Homes: 5,000
Completion: 2032
At time of writing, some four-fifths of these new homes have been completed, on historic dockyard land close to the Elizabeth line. Although many of the apartments are new-build, the development also converted many Grade I and Grade-I-listed buildings for residential use. More info: Berkeley Homes website.
Silvertown
Borough: Newham
Developers: Silvertown Partnership (GLA Land and Property/Lendlease)
Homes: 7,000
Completion: ~2030s
This part of the Royal Docks has remained derelict for decades, used only for photo shoots and Hollywood movies. At its heart is the Millennium Mills building, a vast flour mill that has stood empty since the 1980s, but which would make a striking centrepiece for any regeneration. Now it looks like happening, with a Mayor-backed ‘Singapore style’ development that will see the first 1,000 homes under construction by 2028. The scheme will also see a new curvy bridge across the dock to Excel. More info: Silvertown website
Stratford Cross
Borough: Newham
Developers: Lendlease/The Crown Estate
Homes: 2,000
Completion: ~2031
Another major housing development on the edge of the Olympic Park. This one mixes affordable and market-rate homes with student accommodation and co-living flats in the land between Westfield and the Olympic Park (and therefore beside the East Bank cultural hub). Planning permission is pending. It’s part of a wider, national effort by Lendlease and Crown Estates to develop 9,000 new homes. More info: Stratford Cross website.
Thameside West
Borough: Newham
Developers: Regal
Homes: 5,000+
Completion: 2037
Master-plannned by Foster + Partners, this huge development will fill a large section of riverside opposite the O2, and close to the Dangleway station and City Hall. This was the former site of the Carlsberg and Tetley brewery, though it’s long been vacant. The project received planning permission as far back as 2021, but now looks set to start after a Dubai cash injection. A new DLR station will also be part of the mix. More info: Thameside West website.
Thamesmead Waterfront
Borough: Greenwich
Developers: Peabody/Lendlease
Homes: ~15,000
Completion: Post-2040
First conceived in 2019, this huge development has since been cast as one of the Government’s ‘new towns‘ (and the only one in London, now that the Crews Hill site has withdrawn). The land has been earmarked for housing for years, always let down by a lack of public transport. The recent approval of the new DLR link to Thamesmead will now help unlock this housing project. More info: Thamesmead Waterfront website.
TwelveTrees Park, West Ham
Borough: Newham
Developers: Berkeley
Homes: ~4,700
Completion: ~2045
This major development could scarcely be more convenient for the Tube, with a new entrance direct into West Ham station. Construction on the first phase is already complete, with more to begin soon. A new school will be part of the development, on brownfield land that previously held a Parcelforce depot. More info: Berkeley website.
Wembley Park
Borough: Brent
Developers: Quintain
Homes: 8,500
Completion: 2027
Wembley Park has been under development for two decades now, and Quintain has already delivered around 6,000 of the promised 8,500 new homes on this site. Around a third of these properties are deemed affordable, and the wider development will be the UK’s largest single-site Build to Rent development when it completes.
