The redevelopment of Canning Town is one of the most exciting and ambitious projects in East London's history and the Hallsville Quarter is at the centre of it – both literally and figuratively. The scheme is already reaping dividends, as this long-neglected and overlooked community begins to experience the benefits of regeneration.
Businesses, residents and investors are recognising the potential of the area, with its transport connections to the city looking to be further improved by the completion of a new Crossrail station. The Hallsville Quarter will give Canning Town a centre to be proud of, creating a desirable living, working and leisure environment to match its future prestige.
Transforming the area
Part of a wider £3.7bn regeneration programme for Canning Town and Custom House, the Hallsville Quarter is a new £600m town centre for Canning Town being created in conjunction with Linkcity, Newham London Borough Council and other project partners. An ambitious and transformative project in its own right, it is hoped that the Hallsville Quarter will act as a catalyst for the positive transformation of the broader East London area.
Improved living
When the master plan for the Hallsville Quarter was first drawn up in 2007, Canning Town was suffering from poverty, low standards of education and poor health among its residents, the result of decades of neglect and the hangover from its origins as a Victorian slum district. It remained a vibrant, close-knit community of hard-working residents, but one that had failed to benefit from the multi-million-pound developments in the nearby Docklands area.
Begun in 2012, the regeneration set out to provide improved living with an expanded town centre, 10,000 new homes and fresh amenities. Better public services, improved security and accessibility, and the creation of new parks and open spaces were prioritised by the project.
Distinct identity
From the beginning, the intention was to create new residential and business areas with their own strong, unique identities. Phase one of the Hallsville Quarter was completed in 2015, with 179 new affordable private homes created around a podium-level shared garden, plus underground and surface parking for approximately 400 vehicles and 7,600 square metres of new retail space.
Phase two of five will see a further 349 homes created, alongside a 196-bedroom hotel on the new high street, that will also host shops, cafés and restaurants. The hotel will include outdoor café-style seating on a wide, comfortable street that will also include a new cinema and gym.
Creating communities
The Hallsville Quarter is all about strengthening the existing community while bringing in new adopters. A brand new pedestrianised town centre will improve sociability and access to shops, cafés and leisure facilities, while improving pedestrian and cycling links will keep the Hallsville Quarter pollution and congestion-free even as its popularity inevitably increases.
With Waterloo just 19 minutes away from Canning Town underground station on the edge of the quarter, this development looks set to create a lasting legacy for Canning Town as a place to live and spend time just outside of the city's heart. East London is the regenerative urban success story of the 21st century, and the Hallsville Quarter sees Canning Town take its rightful place on that journey at last.
