Extending the Docklands Light Railway to Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead

Bus transit scheme

In November 2023, we secured Government funding for a bus transit scheme, which is planned to run from Woolwich to Abbey Wood via Thamesmead. This would use dedicated bus priority lanes to provide quicker, more reliable journeys, and an affordable and accessible transport option with frequent connections to the Elizabeth Line and DLR services. It would also support the early phases of development at Thamesmead, ahead of the proposed DLR extension becoming operational. We are developing these proposals further, separate to the proposals for the extension of the DLR from Gallions Reach, and will consult you on our plans for a bus transit scheme at a later date.

Thames Gateway Bridge

Parts of the development sites at Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead Waterfront include land that has been safeguarded by Government as part of previous proposals for a possible Thames Gateway Bridge across the River Thames between Beckton and Thamesmead. Although there are now no plans to deliver a road crossing in this location, the land needed to build this bridge remains safeguarded by Government to stop other development taking place that would have prevented the future construction of the bridge. Safeguarding is a planning process which protects land required for infrastructure projects.

The safeguarding of this land conflicts with the vision for new homes, jobs and high-quality town centres in these areas, and could limit the transformational opportunity of the proposed DLR extension (which would itself provide a new cross-river link).

If we decide to continue with a DLR extension, following feedback to this consultation, we will explore the removal of the safeguarding with the Department for Transport and affected London Boroughs.

The population of London has grown rapidly over the past 20 to 30 years and is projected to rise by over a million people by 2041. East and southeast London have experienced a high share of this growth, however housing supply has not kept pace with the need and this shortfall is forecast to grow.

Newham Council and the Royal Borough of Greenwich are identified in the London Plan as two of the top three boroughs for housing need, with more than 50,000 households across both boroughs on waiting lists.

Thamesmead Waterfront and Beckton Riverside are two of the largest remaining brownfield sites in London. There is an opportunity to use this land to deliver two new residential communities, unlocking up to 25,000 to 30,000 homes and supporting up to 10,000 jobs. The sites are at the heart of the Thames Estuary Growth Corridor, a major area of economic priority for the Government.

Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead are also areas with high levels of deprivation and inequality. Housing pressures have contributed to this, alongside poor access to the rail network and poor connections to areas with greater employment opportunities. New public transport would help regenerate these areas and support new parks, schools and leisure facilities, benefitting both existing and new communities.

Thamesmead

Beckton Riverside

Local, regional and national policy

Thamesmead

Thamesmead is located on the south bank of the River Thames with a population of around 50,000. The town lies partly within the Royal Borough of Greenwich and partly within the London Borough of Bexley, and forms part of the Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Opportunity Area, as designated by the Mayor of London in the London Plan.

Development in Thamesmead is incomplete, with a large area of planned development around the town centre yet to be delivered, due in part to a lack of public transport connections to the wider area. Without a rail station in the main part of Thamesmead, the area is highly dependent on cars and buses. This has led to pockets of high deprivation and a low Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL). PTAL is a key indicator of whether high levels of development could be achieved.

The Thamesmead Waterfront development area is owned Peabody, who have partnered with Lendlease to develop the site.

Beckton Riverside

Beckton Riverside is on the northern bank of the River Thames, within the London Borough of Newham, and is part of the Royal Docks and Beckton Riverside Opportunity Area. It was part of the former Beckton Gas Works and now includes the Gallions Reach Retail Park and vacant sites to the south of Armada Way, within which the area’s industrial past remains visible. The area lies to the east of the established communities of Gallions Reach and Beckton, though connections between these areas are limited by the A1020 Royal Docks Road and surrounding industrial land uses.

abrdn and St William Homes (part of the Berkeley Group) are working with Newham Council to bring forward development proposals for the area, centred around the creation of a new town centre at Beckton Riverside.

Local, regional and national policy

Regeneration in Thamesmead and Beckton Riverside, made possible by delivering new, high quality public transport, is supported in local, regional and national planning policies.

National policy recognises the potential for development along the Thames Estuary, and the Thamesmead Waterfront and Beckton Riverside sites sit at the heart of this. This project aligns with the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission, set up by Government, and is supported by the principles of the National Planning Policy Framework. The proposal to improve public transport and reduce car dependency in these areas also supports the Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan.

Both areas are designated as Opportunity Areas in the Mayor of London’s London Plan, which are areas of London identified as having the potential for transformational growth. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy also recognises the need to improve public transport in these areas, and commits to investigating the possibility of an extension of the DLR.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Newham have been working on the renewal of their Local Plans. The development of these areas is included in Newham’s 2018 Local Plan, and as part of Greenwich’s 2021 Royal Greenwich Local Plan Review.

More information about the wider proposals for enhancing Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead Waterfront can be found on the councils’ websites [links to websites]. Here you can also find information about the Opportunity Area Planning Framework documents for Royal Docks & Beckton Riverside, and for Thamesmead & Abbey Wood.

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We believe that an extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) from Gallions Reach to Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead is the right long-term solution to better connect existing communities and enable the development of these areas.

We looked at a number of other options before coming to our preferred option, and these are set out below.

Click on map for a larger version

Enhanced bus services

Tram

London Overground

Alternative DLR options

Enhanced bus services

We explored options to increase the number and frequency of bus services in Thamesmead and Beckton Riverside, without a new rail service. Although this would improve links to local town centres and the rail network, this option alone would not provide the level of connectivity or capacity needed to enable the 25,000 to 30,000 planned new homes in the area.

Tram

We looked at options to deliver a new tram service between Abbey Wood, Thamesmead, and potentially across the river. This would be similar to existing tram services which operate in South London. Whilst this option would provide a high-quality local service, it would offer a lower level of capacity than our preferred option. A cross-river connection would serve Beckton Riverside and provide greater connectivity, but the cost of building a tram tunnel would likely be similar to our preferred option of a DLR extension, without the benefit of providing a direct link into key employment areas.

London Overground extension options

We assessed a range of options to extend the London Overground from Barking Riverside to Thamesmead and beyond. This would open up new rail connections between parts of north and southeast London and create an outer orbital link across the River Thames. In doing so, these options would connect Thamesmead to National Rail and London Underground services at Barking, and potentially Elizabeth Line and National Rail services in southeast London.

However, services would only operate at around four trains per hour compared with the potential for up to 15 trains per hour in the peak with a DLR extension. This level of service would be less attractive for Thamesmead, whilst Beckton Riverside would not be served at all, and therefore these options would be significantly less effective in supporting new homes. In addition, these services would not connect communities to big employment centres and this benefit is therefore lost. A London Overground extension would also be significantly higher cost than a DLR extension.

Alternative DLR extension options

We assessed alternative DLR extension options, including a shorter extension to Beckton Riverside, onward extensions from Thamesmead to other parts of southeast London, and an alternative route to Thamesmead via the existing Woolwich branch.

Although a DLR extension from Gallions Reach to Beckton Riverside only would be lower cost than an extension across the River Thames, it would not serve Thamesmead. Existing residents of Thamesmead would remain isolated from the rail network, and the delivery of thousands of homes in Thamesmead Waterfront would not take place, given its limited connectivity to the public transport network. There would also not be the wider benefit of a new cross-river connection in east London and the opportunities this would bring.

We also considered potential onward extensions of the DLR from Thamesmead to locations in Bexley, including Belvedere. While beneficial, these longer routes would add significant costs, without delivering significant amounts of additional housing or journey time improvements. This is because these areas are already served by the existing rail network, which provides them with faster routes into central London. Whilst we are not progressing this option at this time, we could design our preferred option so that the line could be extended at a later date.

We also assessed an alternative DLR route to Thamesmead that would extend the Woolwich branch, from either King George V or Woolwich Arsenal stations. This option was not taken forward because it would not support the delivery of new homes at Beckton Riverside. It would also likely cost a similar amount to build as the preferred option, due to the need to build a tunnel to connect to the existing DLR route in Woolwich. This option would also add passengers to a busier part of the DLR network, and potentially reduce services to Woolwich Arsenal.

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