Developers confirm major overhaul of Tiller Road’s Barkantine Estate
Development power players plan to deliver 300 new homes to E14, but anticipate a lengthy construction process displacing current residents.
The regeneration of the Barkantine Estate is set to go ahead after development firm Mount Anvil confirmed it would partner with Riverside Housing to deliver the proposal. They have dubbed this the Tiller Road Estate project.
The planned overhaul of the 72-home council estate would see new flats replace the residents’ existing homes in Kedge House, Starboard Way and Winch House, alongside the construction of up to 300 new private homes.
Kedge House is a tall, forbidding housing block in the centre of the Isle of Dogs but its height is nothing compared with the crop of skyscrapers creeping towards the peninsula’s once-marshy middle. These are not office blocks, but new developments like the one proposed for Tiller Road.
The developers of the Tiller Road project have said:
‘There will be full re-provision of affordable homes for the existing residents […] All tenants have the right to return to a newly built home within the new development if they wish.’
They have not specified the number of units that will be affordable, loosely defined as 20 per cent below market rate. The impact on tenants paying social rent, which is around 50 per cent below average, is yet to be determined.
An uptick in concern over estate building maintenance in 2017 led to an independent review of the estate’s condition. It suggested the Tiller Road buildings would benefit from regeneration. In 2021, residents were polled about potential changes to the estate. Ninety four per cent of the estate’s tenants submitted a ballot, with 88 per cent voting in favour of redevelopment.
Riverside and Mount Anvil say they will collaborate with residents on the planning application, which they hope to submit by December. Construction will not begin before late 2025, with the first homes set for completion in 2028. The development team says it is prioritising alternative accommodation in the local area for residents who wish to leave during construction.
We asked Leanne Ward, who chairs the Residents’ Steering Group, how the plans were communicated to existing tenants. She told us:
‘We have regular residents’ open days where we can see plans, and give our input into what we like and don’t like. Current tenants wishing to return will return on their current tenancy rights.’
The proposal marks Mount Anvil and Riverside’s second collaboration in E14. They have partnered to redevelop the Bellamy Close and Byng Street Estate, a 10-minute walk from Tiller Road. Construction of the Bellamy is only set to conclude in 2026, though units are already advertised for sale on Mount Anvil’s website, with a 1-bedroom home costing an average of £600,000.
Mount Anvil is a London construction giant with numerous luxury developments under its belt, including the Silk District in Whitechapel and Three Waters in Bow. One Housing, a subsidiary of the Riverside Group, currently manages Barkantine Estate. The pair collaborated on Newham’s Royal Docks West, whose marketing highlighted affordable units.
They have also supported community organisations like Cubitt Town Girls Group, The Happy Hub and the Island Advice Centre.
The Isle of Dogs is prime terrain for highly publicised regeneration projects. But delays and proposal changes have also become par for the course. Last September, One Housing apologised in a newsletter to residents for possible delays.
Riverside’s partnership with Mount Anvil accompanies the appointment of new Finance directors, Joanna Bonnett and Matthew Blake, who took over on 1 June.
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