Royal Albert Docks Site
The Royal Albert Docks is a 4.7 million sq foot development site in East London of the site of the former industrial docks. The Royal Docks today is owned by the Greater London Authority who are seeking to redevelop the area.
Land Use and Neighbourhood Structure
As shown in the masterplan, land use and neighbourhoods will generally follow a mixed tenure approach. Employment and housing will be spread across the whole site, with particular focusses on employment quarters in the west and centre of the site (near DLR stations) and education along the east.
The employment zones in the centre will be more commercially focussed as this is where the majority of the footfall will be due to the park, Beckton station and listed buildings. Office units will be built above the commercial buildings closer to the waterfront due to aircraft noise with the residential upper floors being further away.
Educational buildings will be built along the eastern end of the site to support the university and existing college within the site boundaries. A primary school and public library will be built to cater for the influx of new residents to the area. The public library will be in the district centre as that is where the most footfall will be making it more accessible to local people.
Integration to the rest of the area
Currently the Royal Albert Way severs the docks from connecting to the rest of Newham. To avoid a regeneration cliff edge, the masterplan seeks to connect to two areas as much as possible.
The masterplan includes:
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Multiple new road and pedestrian underpasses to the rest of Newham
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Road connections to the ExCeL centre and the university
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Junction remodelled to allow direct access to the station for pedestrians by removing road connection onto the roundabout
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Underpasses connect directly to a bus route and to the DLR.
Public realm
The site currently has the advantage of having a large waterfront however it does lack greenspace. Close by on the other side of the Royal Albert Way there is Beckon Park which is a large open greenspace.
The masterplan includes:
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Green space at the exit of the DLR stations
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District centre greenspace enhancing the listed buildings and making them more visible
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Natural sound barrier created by greenspace surrounding the round forming a green network that links to Beckton Park