Regeneration game on the table for Canada Water

Anna White takes a tour of the Zone 2 area on the brink of a 15-year transformation

Walking around the shops, restaurants and swanky offices (including the new Google HQ) in King’s

Cross today, you’d have little inkling that 20 years ago the area was predominantly industrial and railway backlands with a reputation for drug dealing and sex work. Now, the man who oversaw that transformation has set his sights further east, on the former docklands of Canada Water.

Roger Madelin is leading listed property developer British Land’s project to turn the quiet, residential area in the shadow of Canary Wharf — currently dominated by old industrial docks, post-war housing, a shopping centre and a car park — into London’s newest town centre.

Work has started on the 15-year masterplan for a 53-acre urban hub, built in the nook of the river. British Land will deliver 3,000 new homes on the site. A 35-storey tower of 186 apartments will be built first, overlooking the central quay called Canada Water Dock (canadawater.co.uk/ homes). These will be launched in the autumn with prices expected to start almost 20 per cent below the £791,141 average for a new build in Zone 2.