Plans for a £41m cycling and walking bridge to improve links between London’s biggest regeneration zone and the Elizabeth line have been put on hold.
Newham’s mayor Rokhsana Fiaz wants her cash-strapped council to contribute £13.2m towards the escalating costs of the “bendy” bridge, a radical snake-like steel design across the Royal Victoria Docks in east London.
The “RVD bridge” would link the Silvertown Quays redevelopment site – earmarked for 6,500 homes – with the ExCeL conference centre and Custom House station, which has Elizabeth line and DLR services.
But Labour-run Newham, which had to make £22m of cuts this year to help balance its books, would have to borrow the money – with interest charges costing it almost £1m a year for 50 years.
The council’s cabinet approved the £13.2m contribution to the area’s development consortium, the Silvertown Partnership, last month.
But the decision has been called in by the council’s overview and scrutiny committee, meaning it is “currently being reconsidered”. A final decision is not expected until the end of the summer.
Ms Fiaz said the RVD bridge – which would be built alongside a 24-year-old high-level footbridge that has been blighted by faulty lifts – was vital to encourage residents to walk, cycle and use public transport and would help to “animate” the Royal Docks.
But concerns have been raised about the future involvement of lead developer Lendlease in the consortium after it announced it was selling the construction side of its business and withdrawing from a number of UK projects.
A Lendlease spokesman said: “We’re committed to Silvertown and reimagining this iconic part of London as a vibrant new heart for the Royal Docks and a destination for Londoners.”
Land around the Royal Docks, much of it owned by the Greater London Authority, forms the capital’s biggest enterprise zone. The aim is for 36,000 new homes and 55,000 new jobs to be created over the next 20 years.
The proposals include transforming a landmark building, the derelict Millennium Mills, into commercial space including bars, shops and educational facilities.
The Silvertown tunnel is due to open nearby in the summer of 2025.
The cost of the RVD bridge increased from £28m after the council asked that it be widened to increase its capacity. Under the latest plans, it will be 19ft wide, extending to 28ft in places.
The new bridge will be step-free and will stretch 1,024 ft (312m), with a “double S-curve” design. There will be seating at the curves to allow views of the Victoria and Albert docks.
Lendlease’s project director for Silvertown, Ed Mayes, said: "This new bridge is key to unlocking the potential of the site.”
Under the terms of the grant, the developers would be required to build the bridge – due to be completed by summer 2027 - by a certain date.
The Silvertown Partnership would own and maintain the bridge, which would be able to “fold” open to allow large boats to access the western end of Royal Victoria Dock, which is adjacent to City Hall. The initial £28m would be funded from a £233m loan from Homes England.
Councillors were told “there is currently no alternative source of funding available” for the bridge and warned that it “may not be deliverable even with funding provided by Newham, if costs were to increase significantly”, with the cost of steel the biggest concern.
Previous plans to regenerate the area have failed in part because of the poor connectivity. The RVD bridge would form part of a “north-south” link between Custom House and Canning Town and Silvertown, West Silvertown and North Woolwich.
The existing Royal Victoria Dock Footbridge requires users to climb a 40ft staircase at either end or rely on lifts that suffer “frequent and long-standing maintenance issues”.
A council report said: “Considering the anticipated growth in the local population over the next decade, a new step free pedestrian and cyclist crossing over the dock is essential.”
