Floating homes alongside a new lido and a buoyant park.
They're calling it Royal Victoria Dock West. It's the area around the cable car and City Hall. Vicky Dock (as we're calling it) has changed a lot in the past 15 years, and it's going to change a whole lot more if a new vision goes ahead.
The plans propose a trio of new facilities in the water itself: a floating park, floating residential space and the slightly awkwardly named 'floating wellness', essentially a small lido and spa.
This is the vision of Royal Docks Waterways, a new name for the organisation which has a long lease on "the water within the docks and some small parcels of land at key points". It used to be called the Royal Docks Management Authority.
The headline grabber is the new floating park "comprising landscaped floating green space, art installations and cultural programming, with capacity for future expansion". Its final configuration has not yet been determined, but we can get a feel for it from this somewhat unusual artist's impression:
The "floating wellness", meanwhile, combines a "floating lido, sauna and spa experiences, along with expanded support for open-water swimming and an aspiration for increased seasonal free access to the water".
Vicky Dock has indeed built up a reputation as an easily accessible place to go open-air swimming in London. The floating lido idea is an old one, first undertaken by the Victorians on the Thames itself.
Finally, the 'floating residential' section would see a bevy of new mooring points for house boats and floating homes. "This will bring additional communal infrastructure for both the existing land-based and new water-based residents," we're assured.
It's important to stress that these ideas are a 'vision' and a starting point for discussion rather than fully scoped and costed proposals. Royal Docks Waterways will hold a series of consultations to get local feedback, and will tweak the plans accordingly.
The Royal Docks have enjoyed plenty of attention in recent years. The arrival of City Hall and the Elizabeth line in 2022, followed by the Silvertown Tunnel last year have brought a new focus to the area. Meanwhile, Newham Council recently approved a humongous 7,000+ home development to the south of the docks (and a new bridge across the Royal Victoria Dock). News that Billingsgate and Smithfield markets now intend to move to the eastern extremity is yet another twist in the tale. On the downside, a £1 billion, Chinese-led redevelopment of the Albert Dock recently fell through, while only partially built. We await new plans for that calamity.
This vision for the western end of the docks is small fry by comparison but, if done well, could add a certain human-scale appeal to an area that still feels in flux.
Want to give feedback on the 'vision'? A number of sessions are planned, and one of them sounds particularly tempting. On 7-8 March, the 100-year-old Thames Sailing Barge 'SB Will' will be moored in Vicky Dock and open 10am-3pm. Hop onboard to see the plans and give comments. Dates and times of further consultations should appear on Royal Docks Waterways' website.
