ROYAL ALBERT DOCK:LATEST UPDATE ON THE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS

HOUSE OF LORDS:ABP backs Healthy Living Initiatives

OPINION:Does London badly need an urban transformation team?

IN THIS ISSUE

MIPIM SPECIAL EDITIONWE ARE ABP THIS IS RAD

W W W . N E W B U S I N E S S H E A R T . L O N D O N

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Mayor of Newham and London & Partners visiting the RAD siteMayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales along with other senior Newham Council officials, and representatives from London & Partners have been getting a behind the scenes look at the Royal Albert Dock construction.

During the tour hosted by ABP, CITIC and Multiplex they saw close-up how the Phase 1 buildings are taking shape.

The tour was a perfect opportunity for delegates to learn about the work involved in transforming Royal Albert Dock into London’s next business district.

Following the visit, the London & Partners group were also given a detailed presentation about the project and the next stages as we approach the completion of Phase 1 in March 2019.

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Speaking at the Building London WeekABP participated as one of the main sponsors in the Building London Week 2018 featuring London Property Summit and London Housing Summit at Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster. The event, organised by London First, brought

together some 400 delegates and speakers from local government, and the planning and development sectors.

At the summit, John Miu, COO of ABP and Neil Robinson, Director of Global Communications of ABP spoke at the panels focusing on overseas investments into London from China and plans for the regeneration of East London.

Patrick Hurley, Senior Sales and Leasing Manager also gave a presentation on the Royal Albert Dock project to hundreds of delegates at the networking lunch and led a guided tour later to the Royal Albert Dock site. Delegates from Landsec, Lloyds Banking Group, Savills and Farrells joined the tour.

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ABP supports the Chinese National Healthy Living CentreABP participated in the Chinese National Healthy Living Centre Information Session at the House of Lords as one of the main sponsors, marking the 30 years of the centre’s works serving the needy from the Chinese community.

John Miu, COO of ABP London said: “It has always been my mission to do more for the Chinese community in UK and support charitable organisations that are meaningful and purposeful. We see our involvement as a way to give back as a socially responsible company.”

The centre was founded in 1987 and is the only one in the UK that specifically provides support to Chinese people in the UK to overcome language and cultural barriers to help them access NHS services and social care.

Other supporters at the event included Lord Andrew Mawson, Mr Hai Tian Li, Counsellor from the Chinese Embassy and several members of the Houses of Parliament.

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Welcoming the Royal Docks TeamThe only task force of its kind operating in London - The GLA Royal Docks Delivery Team - visited ABP Royal Albert Dock to outline their approach to enhance and to promote the area in the years ahead.

Newly established by the Mayor of London with the support from Newham Council, the 16-strong team is now based at Royal Victoria Dock and responsible for improving infrastructure and engage

the public and businesses through a cultural and events programme and to promote the Royal Docks locally, nationally and internationally.

The Royal Docks Delivery Team was given a construction site tour where they met the representatives of the general contractor CITIC Construction and the principal sub-contractor Multiplex. They saw the construction work being undertaken by more than 350 on-site workers and they took an overview of the project from the viewing platform on top of the on-site office. During the tour they

saw the progress made since the “golden spades” dig into the ground at the 2017 ground-breaking ceremony.

Leaders of ABP London met the Royal Docks Delivery Team and joint presentations were given including the concept of building London’s newest business hub from Masterplan to final completion and a presentation on GLA objectives and activities.

As one of the highest profile and largest regeneration projects in Europe, London’s Royal Docks will enjoy hundreds of millions public funding and investment with the new Royal Docks Delivery Team committed to working with ABP alongside other stakeholders to determine the best way to utilise the public spend and make Royal Docks an innovative and vibrant place to work, live and play.

The Royal Docks is the only Enterprise Zone in London and South East England and it has now been agreed that first £380 million of business rates generated in the Zone should be ring-fenced and spent in or to the benefit of the Zone.

During discussions the Royal Docks Delivery Team stressed they are keen to help new and existing enterprises to succeed through public funding benefits and that the Mayors of London and Newham have set out a joint vision to develop the Royal Docks.

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What matters nowThe world seems an unusually uncertain place for everyone at present; and nowhere is this more immediate than in London as we prepare for Brexit.

London has long proved highly attractive to business, capital and people from across the globe. As – arguably – the world’s international business capital, getting Brexit right really matters, and there is certainly no shortage of commentators on this rather volatile – at the time of writing – subject. But tackling some of the challenges London faces as a function of its success as a growing world city also matters. These challenges will be familiar to many other cities at a time of rapid urbanisation, and they are challenges which, unlike Brexit, are within our own control.

London’s population peaked in 1939, at 8.6 million, and then declined following the Second World War, partly as a result of deliberate public policy – slum clearance, new towns and measures to move jobs out of London – reaching a low of 6.7 million in 1988. The city’s population has grown every year since 1988; in the past decade London grew at the rate of nearly 100,000 people per annum, passing the 1939 peak a few years ago.

This population growth has been driven by London’s economic success. London has experienced the fastest growth of any city-region in the UK over the past twenty years, and London’s economy

now represents nearly a quarter of the UK total. Londoners accounts for 13% of the UK’s population, and the capital is home to around 17% of UK jobs, reflecting its substantial number of commuters.

This creates a number of interlinked challenges. In particular, we need to build more commercial buildings to enable growing business to thrive; to build better transport links to enable people to get into the city and move around it when here; and we need to build more homes, to accommodate the growing population.

This was the context for London First establishing, in 2017, the London Urban Transformation Commission (LUTC). The LUTC comprised experienced built-environment practitioners and was tasked with the challenge of determining how we could make the most of London’s large, underutilised areas of land – termed Opportunity Areas in our regional plan, but perhaps more appropriately described, in many cases, as Lack of Opportunity Areas, since development and regeneration has passed them by, often for decades.

London’s spatial development strategy – the London Plan – was first published in 2004 and initially identified 28 Opportunity Areas as having the potential to support considerable employment and development, with capacity for at least 5,000 new jobs or 2,500 homes or a blend of both per Area. Over the years, further locations have gained Opportunity Area status, and now, with the publication of the

draft London Plan in November 2017, the number of Opportunity Areas has risen to 47; this equates to 19,000 hectares – that’s a staggering near 20% of Greater London’s total land area – and the potential for hundreds of thousands of jobs and homes. Yet to date actual progress on transformation has been patchy and slow.

The LUTC conducted nearly sixty semi-structured interviews with key figures across built-environment specialisms and with politicians to find out what simply wasn’t working in the current system of planning and development, and to explore how land could be successfully unlocked, at speed. Interviews were non-attributable, enabling consultees to speak frankly from their direct experiences about the issues that mattered most to them. The interviews were supplemented by a small number of evidence-gathering panels to test the LUTC’s top-line findings from interviews.

Perhaps one of the most compelling aspects of the consultation process was the degree to which interviewees largely held a shared view on the barriers to regeneration. Four major, clear themes emerged.

First, and perhaps no surprise to anyone experienced in development in London, a shortfall in urgency, vision and leadership, especially among politicians and public agencies, was seen as a key factor in the failure of schemes to get off the ground or as a significant contributor to their stagnation or even failure. Where transformation

John DickieDirector of Strategy and Policy at London First

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was judged to be working well, powerful leadership was viewed as an indispensable component – as was long-game political bravery and the compelling articulation of a positive vision.

Second, a large number of our consultees felt that there were flawed expectations of the respective roles of the public and private sectors. Many thought public sector demands unrealistic. Over recent decades, the UK public sector has come to be very reliant – often over-reliant -- on private development to fund public goods, particularly social and physical infrastructure and social housing. Despite some successes, an overall shared vision and the ability – and willingness – to compromise in order to promote a high level of delivery acceleration across London are frequently absent.

Third, planning processes are simply too complex. Decision-making is often too slow. And the viability assessment approach – assessing if a particular scheme can generate enough profit for a developer to build, while taking into account the local authority’s requirements of the developer, such as the delivery of affordable housing and of social and physical infrastructure – was, in the words of one interviewee, ‘a science and industry in itself.’ Magic might, in many cases, be a better description of the process.

Fourth and finally, many consultees remarked upon a lack of both the necessary skills and financial resource required to drive forward regeneration. Large-scale regeneration demands a particular set of skills and experience very often absent in sufficient amounts in many London boroughs; interviewees also noted the problem of the brain drain of talent from the public sector into the more lucrative private sector. The skills problem was aggravated by cuts to the public sector: local government in London and the UK has seen substantial reductions in its resources over the years following the financial crisis and, in many cases, planning departments have not been

considered a priority.

In response to these findings, the LUTC Commissioners identified their four recommendations for change in their report, Seizing the Opportunities.

1. The creation of an Opportunity Area Delivery Board by the GLA The Opportunity Area Delivery Board, chaired by the Mayor and comprising non-executives from the public and private sectors, would drive delivery, ensuring sustained focus on problematic sites, sharing experiences, deploying expertise, reforming process, and having the powers to propose public sector investment in selected Opportunity Areas.

2. The formation of a properly resourced Urban Transformation Team within the GLA to implement the actions of the Opportunity Area Delivery BoardA properly resourced Urban Transformation Team would leverage access to talent across the Mayor’s agencies, including Transport for London, Mayoral Development Corporations, and other urban initiatives, such as the Mayor’s Design Advocates. It would also function as an extension of existing GLA capabilities, including, for example, with regard to compulsory purchase orders: streamlining processes and ensuring tighter timeframes for decision-making in order to reduce uncertainty and speed up successful land assembly.

3. Reforms to enable London government to invest in the infrastructure that the Opportunity Areas needInvestment in upfront infrastructure alongside affordable housing and social amenities, is key in unlocking the potential of Opportunity Areas. To

do this properly, London government needs greater control over locally generated taxes, particularly property taxes, as recommended by the London Finance Commission. Another helpful move – also recommended by the London Finance Commission – would be to give greater powers to London government to capture some of the value-add created by investment in infrastructure, which in turn leads to an increase in land prices.

4. Investing in the Opportunity Areas to meet London’s social, as well as economic, needsToo often local communities fear that development will leave them behind – further burdening existing social infrastructure and effectively pricing them out of their own neighbourhood. With greater fiscal devolution accorded to London, the state would be able to play a transformative role in funding social goods and supporting mixed communities; alternatively, central government needs to provide the resources required to create and sustain the social and physical infrastructure for Londoners.

In these especially turbulent times, we can’t determine a future course; indeed we can’t even determine the nature of Brexit (although we will do our best – that requires a separate article); but we can tackle the physical challenges which are holding London back now.

Unlocking the enormous potential of Opportunity Areas should now be a top priority for London.

A copy of the LUTC report can be found on the London First website: https://goo.gl/7HNRDy

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Construction UpdateAlmost halfway there!The first phase of development works at Royal Albert Docks is already 45% complete, with the final completion date set for March 2019. This first phase of development sitting on 8 acres, will deliver approximately 635,000 sq ft GIA of commercial office space in two general design typologies, with accompanying retail space and a high quality urban realm.

The principal contractor CITIC Construction and principal sub-contractor Multiplex Construction Europe have utilised a

number of off-site fabrication methods to ensure the on-site construction sequencing and works progress as quickly as possible. We have developed a strong relationship with a number of key trade contractors such as the piling works, groundworks, concrete framing and pre-cast concrete façade panel specialists, which we hope to maintain and utilise going forwards into Phase 2.

Following an extensive unexploded ordnance survey by BacTec across the

first phase, the Continuous Flight Auger piling was completed with minimal obstructions found. This permitted the groundworks and superstructure to progress without a hitch. The pre-cast concrete panels then arrived following an early manufacturing sequence, and with the use of eight mobile cranes are being installed including barge cranes located in the dock, with completion set for this summer. Tower cranes cannot be adopted at Royal Albert

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Dock due to the proximity of London City Airport and its restricted exclusion zone, so careful planning and logistic support has been a key and positive element that Multiplex have overseen, via their supply chain.

The first fix mechanical installation is also well underway throughout all 21 buildings on site. Fan coil units, pipework, ductwork and cable trays are evident throughout, and the recent commencement of the lift installation also means that externally mounted goods hoists

will soon be removed, allowing the external facades to be completed. Progress also continues to the Temporary Energy Centre, which will soon be weathertight, allowing the installation and commissioning of plant and equipment necessary for the centralised heating and cooling provision to the new offices. The nearby Estate Management and Cycle Facility will soon be delivered and installed, to manage all site-wide functions as soon as the new offices become occupied.

CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE

Overall, the project due to complete on schedule in March 2019

Roof work and external façade work completing during the 2nd to 3rd quarter in 2018

Early 2018 barge-mounted cranes will be lifting the façade wall panels from dockside

Structural works will be completed in March 2018

Development OverviewThe £1.7 billion ABP Royal Albert Dock development presents a rare opportunity for companies to purchase or lease high-quality office buildings in a newly regenerated area within easy reach of the centre of London. It is cost-effective compared to other parts of the city, and yet it is incredibly well connected to local and international destinations.

Site Details

Site Area

Gross Development Area

Local Authority

Long Leaseholder

Planning Permission

35 acres

4.7m sq ft (Office, residential, retail)

London Borough of Newham

ABP (London) Investment Ltd

Phase 1 detailed (Ref: 14/00618/OUT)

Progression of the mechanical installation within one of our office buildings.

ABP LONDONPatrick Hurley

Senior Sales & Leasing Manager+44 (0)20 3818 8540

patrick.hurley@abp-london.co.uk

SAVILLS LONDONPiers Nickalls

Director+44 (0) 20 7409 8704pnickalls@savills.com

ABP Royal Albert Dock has tremendous international connectivity and is a

fantastic place to live, work and enjoy.

This high profile location is close to London City Airport and the ExCeL

International Exhibition Centre with a Crossrail Station opening in 2018.

The 35 acre mixed use scheme will comprise waterfront offices, cafés and

restaurants, a bustling business main street suitable for major enterprises

and SMEs, high quality retail space and public open squares.

www.newbusinessheart.london

Get in touch and find out more about this exciting opportunity.

4 . 7 M I L L I O N S Q F T / O F F I C E / R E S I D E N T I A L / R E T A I L / L E I S U R E

London’s Unmissable Commercial Opportunity

@ABP_London