It’s part of a plan to create the city’s largest floating destination in Royal Docks
Royal Victoria Dock has already been home to open water swimming, with a large lido opening over the summer last year, and now it’s been revealed that the western part of the dock is going to become a new water-based destination. The Vision for Royal Victoria Dock West includes London’s first large-scale floating park, the creation of a year-round floating wellness offering, and new residential moorings and floating homes.
Scott Derben, Managing Director of Royal Docks Waterways, said: “This Vision represents the biggest step change in the management and development of the Royal Docks since they were closed to commercial shipping at the end of 1981. Now, 45 years later, our goal is that the Docks that used to feed London will be used to nurture its inhabitants.”
The creation of a floating park, complete with landscaped green space, art installations and a cultural programme, will increase Newham’s publicly accessible open space by 5%. A focus on open water swimming will remain, with the addition of floating lido, sauna and spa experiences establishing the dock as a year-round wellbeing destination.
The plans for Royal Victoria Dock West also align with the Mayor of London’s Clean & Healthy Waterways strategy, a 10-year plan to improve the quality of and access to London’s waterways – an official bathing site has also been proposed for a stretch of the Thames in South West London.
Following public engagement, which is beginning in February and March, and the approval of the plans, construction on the first phases of the project could begin in 2030.
