Regal bags Thames Clipper as plans submitted for Orchard Wharf

Regal has submitted plans to transform Orchard Wharf in Tower Hamlets, E14, into a beds and sheds scheme. The 6.8-acre site will be turned into an 81,000 sq ft logistics centre plus 208 affordable homes and a 1,365-bed student housing scheme. A cafe and community hub will also be delivered alongside some 80,000 sq ft of open space. Thames Clippers Logistics has already signed up to operate the proposed warehouse at the site as part of its wider strategy to develop a high-speed light river freight logistics service. Orchard Wharf will form part of Thames Clippers’ wider future plans to operate a point-to-point service from logistics hubs along the Thames Gateway into the local area, Canary Wharf and central London. Steve Harrington, planning director at Regal, said the project, for which plans were revised in late 2023, had been a “real labour of love” for Regal and that the scheme would “deliver a new riverside neighbourhood with significant student and affordable housing, relieving the pressures on the housing stock in Tower Hamlets – all alongside a reactivated working wharf”.  Geoff Symonds, chief operating officer at Thames Clipper Logistics, added: “This project will do much in revitalising the Thames as a clean and efficient transport route into the capital to meet the demands of a growing city and remove more vehicles from its congested roads.” Regal is working with architects firm Howells on masterplanning, SpaceHub on landscaping, and Aukett Swanke on wharf architecture. Montagu Evans is working on planning and Beckett Rankine on marine engineering. Planning permission is expected to be secured in early 2025. Image from Regal London