Canary Wharf Group to develop Wood Wharf site

13th December 2013

The development of a Silicon Valley-style hub at Canary Wharf continues apace, with the Group’s submission earlier this week of a revised planning application for the 4.8m sq ft Wood Wharf riverside site.

The semi-derelict site on the Isle of Dogs is to host a group of pre-dominantly low-rise offices, similar to the area of the South Bank behind Tate Modern. It will include 884 residential units spread across three buildings designed by Herzog and de Meuron. There will be 100 new shops, restaurants and cafes, along with a sports hall, healthcare centre, primary school and two new hotels. Wood Wharf project director Robert Maguire said the site would be “a natural hub” for companies in the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sectors, adding that “With all the recent development around Shoreditch [in East London], there is not a lot of space on the City’s fringe for growth”. In March, the Canary Wharf Group opened space in Canada Square for TMT start-ups; that space is now fully occupied. If permission is granted, construction is set to begin in late 2014, to be completed by 2018, in time for the arrival of Crossrail.

Source:   The Times  11/12/2013