Canada Water

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Map of Surrey Commercial Docks, 1921. Canada Dock is at the bottom left of the map

Canada Water is a body of water and wildlife refuge in Rotherhithe in the Docklands in south-east London. Canada Water tube station can be found here, as well as the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre. The surrounding area is sometimes also known as Canada Water.

The lake is named after the former Canada Dock which was located on this site, and which was mainly used by ships from Canada. As with much of the Docklands, the Surrey Commercial Docks closed in the 1970s, leaving the area to decay over the next decade. During the 1980s, the London Docklands Development Corporation took over, and invested heavily in the redevelopment of Canada Water and the surrounding area. About half of Canada Dock was infilled and the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre built on top of it; the remainder was converted into a wildlife refuge.

Due to poor transport links, the area was initially not very popular, and most of the gentrification seen in Rotherhithe focused more on the areas closer to the river. This changed in 1999 when the newly opened Jubilee Line extension brought a much needed boost to the local transport infrastructure. With the opening of the new Canada Water tube station, the area is now well connected to the rest of London, with Canary Wharf one stop, Westminster less than 10 minutes, and Bond Street around 15 minutes away by underground train.

Much of the area is now going through a phase of rapid development, with a new shopping mall, residential developments and outdoor leisure facilities being built around the former dock.