Greenwich Peninsula, the curved finger of land that juts out into the Thames, has been earmarked for change for a long time.
When the Millennium Dome opened in 1999, it aimed to transform the ex-industrial brownfield site. But the Dome, as we know, wasn’t exactly the money-spinning venture that was hoped.
In 2005, after years lying empty, the building was sold and renamed The O2, with the regeneration plans yet to come to fruition.
“When I moved in (in 2002), there were about 400 residents on the peninsula and we had hardly any facilities,” says events consultant Michael Aldridge, now 62.
Aldridge moved there to buy his first home: prices were affordable and he saw potential in the masterplan.
“The Millennium Dome had been mothballed since the millennium. We compared it to Chernobyl, because it was an empty site that needed redeveloping.”
Fast forward 20 years, and change is now well and truly underway. In 2013, Greenwich Peninsula was acquired by Hong Kong developers Knight Dragon, who aim to build 17,000 new homes by 2043, attracting some 34,000 new residents. So far, 2,250 have been constructed.
The cable car between Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks
The £10.8bn project is not just about homes, says Laura Flanagan, marketing director at Greenwich Peninsula. It aims to “champion new and emerging creatives” and establish the area as “the capital’s home for the creative industries”.
Ravensbourne University relocated to the peninsula in 2010, while the Design District, a purpose-built quarter for creatives, followed in 2021.
Now, there is a year-round events programme, including seasonal festivals and a weekly food and crafts market. But it cannot quite escape its association with the Dome.
“People think about it as just the O2,” says Mike Jelves, who runs weekly smartphone photography workshops with an organisation called Jet Black Squares in the area. “I think Greenwich Peninsula is incredibly underrated.”
People playing chess in the Design District
Daniel Lynch
Jelves chose the peninsula for his workshops because of its public art trail, which features work by artists like Damien Hirst (a former peninsula resident), Antony Gormley, Allen Jones and Morag Myerscough.
“The Mermaid statue is beautiful; there’s an incredibly imposing one called Demon with Bowl, which is an enormous headless sea creature. The scale of that is staggering.”
For Aldridge, the peninsula is no longer empty. “You’ve got lots going on.” There are outlet shops and independents, the electronic music venue Studio 338 and the O2 itself, of course, where Aldridge says it is often possible to bag last-minute tickets.
“There are more activities than you can shake a stick at: a climbing wall, bowling alley, 19-screen Cineworld, golf drive, skydiving centre, trampoline park, Disney on Ice.
The Design District has a year-round events programme, including seasonal festivals and a weekly food and crafts market
Daniel Lynch
As a result, the 400-strong community that existed when Aldridge moved in has ballooned. Residents are increasingly choosing to stay on the peninsula as housing options increase, says estate agent JLL. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in London now,” says Aldridge.
According to Flanagan, 93 per cent of the completed new build properties have been sold so far. The area is attracting a mix of students, creatives and young professionals, many of whom work in finance, since Canary Wharf is a stop away.
New schools, green spaces and amenities are increasingly bringing families in too, says Isobel Miles, lettings director at JLL Greenwich. “It’s a key location for younger families. Some will specifically move to the area for (Millennium) Primary School.”
Property in Greenwich Peninsula
Properties range from studios to three-bedroom townhouses. Prices range from around £375,000 for a one-bedroom apartment “up to the millions” for apartments in the most upmarket buildings, says Michael Chu, JLL’s assistant sales manager.
The penthouse in the Arora Tower, for example, sold for £7.25 million in 2021.Crucially, what stands now is not the finished product.
Most homes are yet to be constructed. “They’re still building,” says Chu. “The landscape is going to change massively.”
It’s an easy walk or cycle from the pensinsula to Greenwich along the Thames Path
Daniel Lynch
Properties towards the tip of the peninsula, near North Greenwich station and the O2 (“Upper Riverside”), command the highest prices.
First-time buyers tend to head to the Lower Riverside, or closer to the Ecology Park on the peninsula’s east side. “The property’s a lot more affordable round there,” says Chu.
“Typically, one-bedroom flats range from £375,000 up to £400,000. You’ll start touching on two-bedroom properties from £450,000 and upwards.”
But there are apartments in Upper Riverside which are geared towards first-time buyers too, says Flanagan. Peninsula Riverfront, for example, has a rent-to-buy scheme in place which allows buyers to spread the cost of a deposit.
Likewise, upsizers can get more space for their money by heading further out towards the “older-style new builds” like the Lighterman and Waterman buildings, which were both completed in 2017. This area is quieter and closer to schools, supermarkets and parks, says Miles.
The new Prime Point development, opposite Central Park, is close to schools like the newly opened St Mary Magdalene Church of England all-through school. It is set to be completed in 2027, with prices starting at £410,000.
The cable car offers spectacular river and skyline views
Daniel Lynch
Finance industry types and international students tend to head for pricier apartments around Cutter Lane, near the O2. Here, apartments feature more luxurious amenities: concierges, gyms, roof terraces, swimming pools, co-working facilities.
The Arora Tower, which stands at the tip of the peninsula, is one of its most prime developments, with access to the five-star facilities at the InterContinental Hotel next door. Chu rented some of the tower’s apartments out to players from nearby Charlton Football Club. “It’s the closest premium new build development to the football ground.”
Many of the peninsula’s prime offerings are yet to be built, though. According to Chu, these are earmarked for the west side, where they will receive most sun and river views.
Renting in Greenwich Peninsula
According to Miles, rents for a one-bedroom apartment in the “older part” of Greenwich Peninsula cost around £1,750 to £1,800pcm. Near Cutter Lane, these rise to between £2,350 and £2,400.
Flanagan says that there are currently 45 new apartments on the market at Greenwich Peninsula, which range from £1,800pcm for a studio to £3,500 for a three-bed.
For 24-year-old Mariya Nadeem, who is planning to move from her houseshare to a new apartment on the peninsula, its green spaces are part of the draw. The Ecology Park, which opened in 2002, has trails, wetlands and a wildflower garden.
“It’s one of my favourite places to go when I need some nature or peace and quiet,” she says. “It really doesn’t feel like London.”
From smartphone photographer Jelves’s home in Plumstead, it is possible to walk all the way to Greenwich Peninsula along the Thames River Path, which continues all the way to the Cotswolds.
“The river views and the skylines you get when you look back to North Greenwich are spectacular.”
So far, 2,250 homes have been constructed on Greenwich Peninsula
Daniel Lynch
Bureau Restaurant, in the Design District, comes highly recommended. “It has the best hot chocolate and coffee I’ve ever tasted,” says Nadeem. “They also do great pastries and lunch items.”
The same goes for Canteen, a food hall in a building which looks like a cross between the Eden Project and “a jelly mould of a human brain”, as Jelves puts it. The food stalls rotate, so there’s often something new to try.
There’s a weekly farmer’s market, where Nadeem buys her bread. Less glamorous — but very practical — are the megastores on nearby Bugsby’s Way: Asda, M&S, Sainsbury’s and Aldi.
A 1.6-mile public art trail runs along the Thames, there are also public exhibitions at Now Gallery and the Design District
Daniel Lynch
Few other London areas boast such a wide variety of transport options. There’s the Jubilee line at North Greenwich, buses, the new Silvertown Tunnel, the river boat and, of course, the cable car, which runs to the Royal Docks. City Airport is also nearby — but Greenwich Peninsula, thankfully, is not under the flight path.
There’s the 1.6-mile public art trail which runs along the Thames, public exhibitions at Now Gallery and the Design District. Hirst’s Hydra & Kali and Mermaid sculptures are found in The Tide park, while The Jetty is an urban river garden using plants repurposed from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2016.
Held annually, the fete features creative workshops (think pottery, aromatherapy, bamboo basket weaving), talks, family activities, sample sales and DJs.
Initially forecast to take 25 years, Greenwich Peninsula’s regeneration has now been pushed back to 30. For residents, that’s an extra five years of construction. “It’s taken a lot longer to build than I was anticipating,” says Aldridge. “That’s the most frustrating thing about the area.”
“The traffic is hell. There’s no other way to put it,” says Nadeem. “I live near the main road and need to keep my window shut most times because it’s so loud.”
Major events at the O2 will unleash some 20,000 people onto the streets of Greenwich Peninsula, slowing down traffic, causing queues for the Tube and making it harder to access shops. At peak times, locals tend to give it a wide berth.