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<h3>Join us in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall on Monday 12 October, 3–6pm. 
We will have a table and boards in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall with information about our design principles and early ideas for the Floating Residential project.</h3>
Building on our visioning work earlier this year, we want your help to understand which initial ideas offer the most benefit to the community and what the top priorities are for community facilities.
You are welcome to pop in just to have a chat with us about the latest information we have produced about the Floating Residential project for Royal Victoria Dock, or catch up on your way in or out if you&#8217;re coming to another session at the hall. We&#8217;ll be in the foyer with a couple of tables and some large printed boards, so you can&#8217;t miss us!
Britannia Village Hall &#8211; 65 Evelyn Rd, London E16 1TU

20260302 BVH during – banner

Monday 12 October 3-6pm – Britannia Village Hall foyer Community Drop-in

A few months ago, we asked the local community what they thought about the future of Royal Victoria Dock West. More than 400 people attended our events, filled in our surveys, and told us what they hoped for and what they were worried about.
We&#8217;ve been listening. Now we&#8217;re ready to show you how we have taken on board that feedback, specifically relating to the Floating Residential project.
Our design team, led by architects Haptic Architects and Gort Scott, have spent the summer developing early ideas for the Floating Residential project, building on earlier feedback. Things like:
<ul>
<li>Keeping buildings low so the open sky is preserved</li>
<li>Extending the dock edge so more people can get closer to the water</li>
<li>Creating community facilities that work for everyone who lives here, not just new residents</li>
<li>All-electric homes with no run-off into the dock water.</li>
</ul>
These aren&#8217;t final plans. They&#8217;re early ideas, and this is a good moment to tell us what you think, before we progress designs further.
So, this month, we&#8217;re coming back to the community. There are drop-in sessions at Britannia Village Hall, a return of the Thames Sailing Barge &#8220;Will&#8221; (which proved very popular last time), a community workshop and several themed sessions.
We’d love to see as many of you as possible. Every response genuinely helps shape what happens next. See the <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/events/">full events listing</a>
If you can&#8217;t make any of the events in person, the materials are <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/explore/royal-victoria-dock-west/projects/floating-residential/">available online</a> and a <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/have-your-say/">feedback form</a> will be open from 5–25 October. Please email us at <a href="mailto:rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com">rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com</a> if you have any questions.
Ted Maxwell, Development Lead, Royal Docks Waterways

engagement launch small

News

Starting today – the next opportunity to shape the future of the water of Royal Victoria Dock

<h3>Join us in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall on Thursday 8 October, 3–6pm. 
We will have a table and boards in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall with information about our design principles and early ideas for the Floating Residential project.</h3>
Building on our visioning work earlier this year, we want your help to understand which initial ideas offer the most benefit to the community and what the top priorities are for community facilities.
You are welcome to pop in just to have a chat with us about the latest information we have produced about the Floating Residential project for Royal Victoria Dock, or catch up on your way in or out if you&#8217;re coming to another session at the hall. We&#8217;ll be in the foyer with a couple of tables and some large printed boards, so you can&#8217;t miss us!
Britannia Village Hall &#8211; 65 Evelyn Rd, London E16 1TU

20260302 BVH during-small

Thursday 8 October 3-6pm – Britannia Village Hall foyer Community Drop-in

<h3>After its popularity earlier this year, we&#8217;re bringing back the historic Thames Sailing Barge Will, a 100-year-old boat that has sailed the Thames throughout its life. Join us during a weekend of drop-in conversations about our design principles and early design ideas for the Floating Residential project.</h3>
The boat will be moored on the southern edge of Royal Victoria Dock West, next to Britannia Village at approximately E16 1SF, on 10 and 11 October (open 11am-4pm).
What is happening at the Community Drop-ins?
Building on our visioning work earlier this year, we want your help to understand which initial ideas provide most for the community and what are the top priorities for community facilities. There will be project information boards, lots of post-it notes and space for conversations about the past and future of the docks. You are welcome to pop by at any point 11am-4pm on Saturday 10 or Sunday 11 October.
What &#8216;walk-around&#8217; workshops are happening on Saturday?
&#8220;Dock stories and ecologies&#8221; &#8211; on Saturday 10 October 12 noon to 1pm, our architects from Gort Scott will be hosting a guided walk around the local area. We want to gather your stories and lived experience around special places, local heritage, dock identity and ecology which we will consider in our developing designs.
&#8220;Community infrastructure and belonging&#8221; &#8211; on Saturday 10 October 2-3pm, join our architects from Gort Scott for a focused walk and discussion about community facilities, capturing what is already here, what is missing and what facilities are most useful and important to you.
Both walks will start at SB Will, which will be moored at Royal Victoria Dock at approximately E16 1SF. There is no need to book, but if you have any questions in advance, please let us know on <a href="mailto:rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com">rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com</a>.
&nbsp;

thames sailing barge will – small

Saturday 10 October 11am-4pm – Community Drop-in event and ‘walk around’ workshops at SB “Will”

<h3>After its popularity earlier this year, we&#8217;re bringing back the historic Thames Sailing Barge Will, a 100-year-old boat that has sailed the Thames throughout its life. Join us during a weekend of drop-in conversations about our design principles and early design ideas for the Floating Residential project.</h3>
The boat will be moored on the southern edge of Royal Victoria Dock West, next to Britannia Village at approximately E16 1SF, on 10 and 11 October (open 11am-4pm).
What is happening at the Community Drop-ins?
Building on our visioning work earlier this year, we want your help to understand which initial ideas provide most for the community and what are the top priorities for community facilities. There will be project information boards, lots of post-it notes and space for conversations about the past and future of the docks. You are welcome to pop by at any point 11am-4pm on Saturday 10 or Sunday 11 October.
What &#8216;walk-around&#8217; workshop is happening on Sunday?
&#8220;Fair and inclusive dock access&#8221; &#8211; on Sunday 11 October 12 noon to 1pm, our architects from Haptic will be hosting a walk around the local area to help us understand priorities for fair and safe access to the water. The walk will start at SB Will, which will be moored at Royal Victoria Dock at approximately E16 1SF. There is no need to book, but if you have any questions in advance, please let us know on rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com.
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Sunday 11 October 11am-4pm – Community Drop-in event and ‘walk around’ workshop at SB “Will”

<h3>This is the session to come to if you have the time and interest to get into the details. Our design team will facilitate a workshop session in a room at Britannia Village Hall on Thursday 15 October 6-8pm. We will go through the full range of information available about our design principles and early design ideas for the Floating Residential project.</h3>
Building on our visioning work earlier this year, we are particularly keen to understand which of our initial ideas provide most for the community and what are your top priorities for community facilities.
Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing <a href="mailto:rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com">rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com</a>, so we can structure the session well. And if we have too many sign-ups then we may need to arrange an extra session on another date.
Britannia Village Hall &#8211; 65 Evelyn Rd, London E16 1TU

workshop

Thursday 15 October 6-8pm – Community workshop at Britannia Village Hall

<ul>
<li>Are you 16-25 and living or studying in Royal Victoria and the surrounding areas?</li>
<li>Are you interested in a career in design or architecture?</li>
<li>Would you like to get paid to help develop ideas for floating residential and community facilities?</li>
</ul>
<h3>APPLY FOR OUR YOUNG DESIGNERS PROGRAMME THIS HALF TERM!</h3>
Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October 2026; 2pm &#8211; 4pm both days 
The Britannia Village Hall, 65 Evelyn Rd, London E16 1TU
Participants will receive a £30 voucher per session!
This is a two-day programme. Please let us know when applying if you can only attend one day.
Note you must be over the age of 16 in order to take part.
<h3>How to apply</h3>
Visit <a href="https://wemakegood.typeform.com/to/NXgPsgTb">bit.ly/rvdyoungdesigners </a>to find out more and tell us why you want to get involved. The deadline for applying is 21 October 2026. Places are limited.
For more information contact: <a href="mailto:jasper@make-good.com">jasper@make-good.com</a>

BGY YD – Creativity Heritage & Identity -17 – small

Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October – Young Designers Workshops

<h4><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4828 size-full" src="https://cms-live.royaldockswaterways.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/coming-soon-floating-residential-public-engagement-news-royal-docks-waterways-feature.jpg" alt="Dock cranes lined along the side of a dock." width="740" height="533" /></h4>
<h4>We have appointed a consultant team for “Floating Residential” and we’re close to deciding on our preferred bidder for “Floating Wellness”.</h4>
The next phase of the Royal Victoria Dock West Vision is underway: Haptic Architects, Gort Scott, Stace and Oakridge are leading a nine-month feasibility study about the Residential concept, and we are close to deciding on our preferred bidder for the Wellness project.
In July we appointed a multidisciplinary consultant team to lead the next phase of work on the “Floating Residential” element of the Vision for Royal Victoria Dock West. The consortium is led by Haptic Architects with Gort Scott, with Stace and Oakridge responsible for the business case element.
Over nine months, the consultant team will work on design ideas and a business case. This will include two periods of public engagement and pre-application meetings with Newham Council’s planners. Royal Docks Waterways will remain responsible for delivering community and stakeholder engagement on the project, providing continuity for the public while benefiting from the consultant team’s expertise.
Scott Derben, Managing Director of Royal Docks Waterways, said:
<blockquote>We were impressed by the way Haptic Architects, Gort Scott and the wider team approached this project. They are well placed to help us to understand whether and how to take forward a first phase of Floating Residential. And they’ve also identified how this project is a catalyst for the holistic improvement of all of Royal Victoria Dock West – carefully balancing public good with private investment to deliver London’s most welcoming, open and vibrant water-place. We’re looking forward to working with the team over the coming months to bring that thinking to life.</blockquote>
Scott Grady, Director of Haptic Architects, said:
<blockquote>This is a genuinely unique commission, and we’re excited to be taking it forward with Royal Docks Waterways, the Royal Docks Team, and an exceptional group of consultants. Royal Victoria Dock is a remarkable place with a long and layered history that we are building on. Our job is to bring new life to the water here thoughtfully, with proper care for the dock, its heritage, and its community, designing a place that enables more people to access and enjoy the benefits of being near London’s waterways.</blockquote>
<h3>Floating Residential</h3>
What is it about? The Floating Residential project is seeking to create a new waterside community for Royal Victoria Dock West through residential moorings and floating homes, with additional communal infrastructure for both existing land-based and new water-based residents. It is intended to bring year-round life and activity to the area, responding to growing interest in blue-space urbanism and recognising the role water plays in health, identity, ecology and quality of life.
How does public engagement fit in? Public engagement is an important part of the feasibility study, to ensure that the work is informed by and benefiting the local community. Local public engagement experts make:good are guiding our strategy. The first period of public engagement will happen in early October, with the second in January or February next year. We will look to build on what we learned from the hundreds of local people who took part in the engagement process earlier this year. This time the sessions will be more focused on the Floating Residential concept.
What’s the focus of the October engagement? In the first instance we will be looking to understand which initial ideas offer the most benefit to the community and what the top priorities for community facilities are. We are inviting everyone to come along to meet the design team and feed into the assessment of initial ideas within the feasibility study.
What events are happening? As with earlier this year, there will be a range of options for finding out more and contributing your views:
<ul>
<li>Drop-in sessions in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall</li>
<li>A return for the very popular Thames Sailing Barge “Will”</li>
<li>An online form for sharing your views</li>
</ul>
This time we are expanding our programme by including a community workshop and dedicated sessions:
<ul>
<li>Young designers’ programme</li>
<li>Fair and inclusive blue access</li>
<li>Youth futures – climate career mentoring</li>
<li>Community infrastructure and belonging</li>
<li>Dock stories and ecologies walk</li>
</ul>
Find out more soon, including the full schedule, on this website.
<h3>The wider Vision</h3>
The Vision for Royal Victoria Dock West, a 12-hectare stretch of water set to become one of London’s most significant new public spaces and the capital’s first large-scale floating destination, was published in February 2026. The Vision comprises three elements:
<ul>
<li>Floating Residential (see above)</li>
<li>Floating Wellness – A year-round wellbeing destination combining floating lido, sauna and spa experiences, alongside expanded support for open-water swimming and increased safe, seasonal and free access to the water. Royal Docks Waterways plans to select its preferred developer-operator for the Floating Wellness project by the end of September. After entering into contract, public engagement will be the responsibility of the developer, with Royal Docks Waterways coordinating across all the projects.</li>
<li>Floating Park – A new floating park for Newham comprising landscaped green space, art installations and cultural programming, addressing the borough’s shortage of accessible public green space and contributing to wider climate-resilience objectives. The concept for the Floating Park will continue to be developed within the Residential and Wellness projects as they progress.</li>
</ul>
The Vision is targeting early phases of delivery in three to five years, supporting the Mayor of London’s wider regeneration of the Royal Docks, delivered in partnership with the Mayor of Newham and backed by £5 billion of investment over the next 20 years.
Following the original announcement in February, nearly 400 local people took part in ten public engagement sessions, generating findings that have shaped the procurement processes for both Floating Wellness and Floating Residential. The full Early Stage Engagement Report is available to download in the <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/explore/royal-victoria-dock-west/#resources">Resources section.</a>
Royal Victoria Dock West is well placed to be among the first waterscapes in London to benefit from the Mayor’s recently published <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/climate-change/climate-adaptation/cleaning-londons-waterways" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clean Rivers and Waterways Plan</a>, a ten-year plan to improve water quality, expand public access and restore London’s waterways as essential environmental assets. Biodiversity improvements, climate resilience and enhanced water quality remain central to the Vision, as shown in the Environmental Strategy, also available in the <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/explore/royal-victoria-dock-west/#resources">Resources section.</a>
The full Vision for Royal Victoria Dock West can be read <a href="https://cms-live.royaldockswaterways.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Vision-for-Royal-Victoria-Dock-West-Full-Report.pdf">here</a>.

Dock cranes lined along the side of a dock.

Coming soon: Floating Residential public engagement | News | Royal Docks Waterways

Coming soon: Floating Residential public engagement

<h3>INFORMATION NOTE ON RVD FOOTBRIDGE — May 2026</h3>
<ol>
<li>The Royal Victoria Dock (RVD) Footbridge is a high-level bridge which bisects RVD and provides a route from Excel (close to the DLR Custom House Station) over to Britannia Village. It had two lifts that were installed at each end of the bridge. These lifts were poorly designed for the situation. The top of the lifts is open to the elements and should have been fully enclosed. This has caused numerous issues over the years. The lifts are now beyond their economic/operational life and have real reliability issues, regardless of the sums of money which are spent on them. All attempts to get these lifts going have now ceased and metal covers have been placed over the doors to prevent access, prevent further vandalism and risk to the general public.</li>
<li>Royal Docks Waterways (RDW) are responsible for the maintenance, refurbishment and replacement of the RVD Footbridge. In 2014 it was announced that the developer for the Silvertown Quays (Millennium Mills) had included in their design a new bridge at dock level to cross RVD from the same location on the Excel side to link up with the new development and provide direct access from the planned Crossrail Station. The intention was to have an opening (swing bridge) mechanism to allow vessels to pass into the western end of RVD. The plan was that the high-level bridge would then be removed. At this point it was decided that no further options would be considered for replacement of the lifts and that their life would be extended until the new bridge was constructed. This was delayed when the investor pulled out of the development but was recommenced by the new developer, Lendlease, in 2018.</li>
<li>A decision was made by the GLA to retain the high-level bridge and in the bridge agreement Lendlease became responsible for all the refurbishment works specified by RDW required of the existing bridge to make it fully operational. This included the lifts. There was no timeline included in the bridge agreement, so this has been on hold while Lendlease have been securing the S106 agreement for the new bridge. Now this is in place, Lendlease will turn to rectification of the lifts. This will need to be in place before the new bridge commences construction. Meanwhile, RDW have continued to refurbish the wooden decking and supporting structure as required.</li>
<li>We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause the people which live and work around the area, but we are in the hands of Lendlease.</li>
</ol>

Information Note RVD Footbridge – May 2026

Since publishing the Vision in February, we have undertaken a <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/news-events/what-weve-learned-from-our-early-engagement-in-february-and-march/">period of public engagement</a>, published an <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/explore/royal-victoria-dock-west/#resources">environmental strategy</a>, and kicked off procurement processes for the Residential and Wellness projects.
Today, we are happy to share the names of the organisations that have made it to the shortlists for those projects.
<h3>Floating Residential</h3>
We received 28 expressions of interest from teams of consultants seeking to work with us on a feasibility study for <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/explore/royal-victoria-dock-west/opportunities/floating-residential/">Floating Residential</a>. The vast majority of the bids were very strong, so it was a challenging process to decide who to shortlist. After review by Royal Docks Waterways and the Royal Docks Team, we have invited a shortlist of four bidders to progress to the detailed proposals phase.
In alphabetical order, the shortlist comprises: <a href="https://adamkhan.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adam Khan Architects</a>; <a href="https://hapticarchitects.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haptic Architects with Gort Scott</a>; <a href="https://www.howells.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Howells</a>; <a href="https://www.innercircleconsulting.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inner Circle Consulting</a>.
Next steps: the shortlisted bidders have until 31 May to review more detailed materials, and submit their proposals. After a period of decision-making in June, the target is for the appointed consultant team to start work in July.
<h3>Floating Wellness</h3>
We received five expressions of interest from potential development partners for the <a href="https://royaldockswaterways.com/opportunities/floating-wellness/">Floating Wellness</a> opportunity. After review by Royal Docks Waterways and the Royal Docks Team, we have invited a shortlist of three bidders to progress to the detailed proposals phase.
In alphabetical order, the shortlist comprises: <a href="https://www.loylyhelsinki.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Löyly Finland</a>, <a href="https://www.nordicurban.fi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nordic Urban</a>, <a href="https://www.sealanesbrighton.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sea Lanes</a>. (None of the links show the proposals for Royal Victoria Dock West, which will be bespoke, however they show the track records of the organisations.)
Next steps: the shortlisted bidders have until 19 July to review more detailed materials, meet with us to discuss their bids, and submit their proposals. After a period of decision-making in July and August, the target is to decide on a preferred bidder in September.
<h3>Ongoing engagement</h3>
We are committed to continuing our open and transparent approach. We engaged extensively with local stakeholders on the Vision in 2025 and we had a very useful period of public engagement in February and March 2026 (the fruits of which are captured in this <a href="https://cms-live.royaldockswaterways.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/3.-RVDW-Early-Engagement-Report_RevB-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Early Engagement Report</a>). The next round of engagement is likely to relate to Floating Residential and we will share more details once we are in contract with the consultant team and have a firm programme of activities.
Any questions in the meantime, please contact <a href="mailto:admin@londonsroyaldocks.com">admin@londonsroyaldocks.com</a>

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Events

Monday 12 October 3-6pm – Britannia Village Hall foyer Community Drop-in

Join us in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall on Monday 12 October, 3–6pm. We will have a table and boards in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall with information about our design principles and early ideas for the Floating Residential project.

Related Events

Thursday 8 October 3-6pm – Britannia Village Hall foyer Community Drop-in

Saturday 10 October 11am-4pm – Community Drop-in event and ‘walk around’ workshops at SB “Will”

Sunday 11 October 11am-4pm – Community Drop-in event and ‘walk around’ workshop at SB “Will”

Join us in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall on Monday 12 October, 3–6pm.
We will have a table and boards in the foyer of Britannia Village Hall with information about our design principles and early ideas for the Floating Residential project.