TfL scouting for development partner for 1,500-home Newham scheme

Transport for London (TfL) has started the search for a development partner to help bring forward a 1,500-home scheme in Newham.

Places for London, TfL’s wholly owned commercial development firm, will form a joint venture with the selected partner for the Limmo Peninsula development.

The deal could also involve other sites on TfL-owned land in the future.

Limmo Peninsula is a vacant 5ha plot of land just south of Canning Town station wedged between train lines and Bow Creek, the mouth of the Lea river where it joins the Thames.

The site, which was used for Crossrail’s eastbound boring machines up to 2018, has long been earmarked for housing by London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Places for London said the area could also include commercial space, large areas of publicly accessible open space and connectivity improvements such as a new cycle and pedestrian bridge and a new river walkway.

It would also be almost completely car-free, aside from some parking spaces for blue badge holders.

Places for London’s head of property development Ben Tate said the deal would be a “unique opportunity for a partner to help us transform this site into a sustainable development that will benefit the local community.”

“This partnership will form part of our wider programme, which seeks to build the homes and commercial spaces the city needs, while also generating vital revenue that can then be reinvested into the transport network,” he said.

Places for London Ltd became financially independent of TfL in April 2022, taking forward TfL’s commercial property activity without diverting funding from transport.

Operating profits from recurring revenues are returned to TfL as a dividend to reinvest into the transport network, helping to reduce its reliance on fares revenue.