London’s Royal Docks

London / UK

A plan for Albert Island and Gallions Reach Marina

CLIENT

The Royal Docks Management Authority Limited (RoDMA), working with The Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority.

We’re pleased to have helped London’s Royal Docks on their way to becoming a vibrant and exciting waterside destination.

OUR TASK

Built in the mid 19th century, London’s Royal Docks are a marvel of Victorian engineering. Covering an area the size of central London, the docks were once a thriving hub for trade – but with the development of containerised cargos meaning ships required much larger facilities, the docks fell into decline. They were closed as a commercial port in 1981.

This unique area is now being brought back to life in a spectacular way. Our challenge was to plan a sustainable and viable redevelopment of the Albert Island area of the docks estate.

MDL has been chosen to give expert advice for a commercial boatyard at Albert Island, and the redevelopment of Gallions Reach Marina, two essential elements in the overall plans.

OUR APPROACH

For both the commercial boatyard and the marina, we completed a full feasibility study covering market, technical and economic aspects of the project. We produced outline designs for the boat yard and the marina. A crucial objective of the study was to determine the demand for a commercial boatyard at this location. Our proposals for the Gallions Reach project included a complete redevelopment and reconfiguration of the pontoons and facilities, together with a new dry stack facility and a small leisure boatyard.

Having quantified both the commercial and leisure demand, we tested the technical and commercial feasibility of several options. We were looking for routes that were both practical and economically viable, making best use of the available sites.

THE RESULT

We’ve given RoDMA and the GLA a new vision for Albert Island, confirming and quantifying the market for boat maintenance and marina facilities at this location.

We have also shown that it’s practical to build a boat yard on this site to accommodate the size of vessels operating on the Thames, and we’ve demonstrated the economic viability of the scheme – as well as identifying constraints.

The site is now being brought to the market with a commercial boat yard at the heart of the development brief. The aim is to find a development partner to re-develop Albert Island.

Following this project, we have since been commissioned to assist with the procurement of the development partner.

If you’ve got a marina project or development in mind, let’s discuss how we can help.

consultancy@mdlmarinas.com

+44(0)23 8045 7155