Greenwich Peninsula
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Greenwich Peninsula, sometimes known as the Blackwall Peninsula or Bugsby Marshes, in the London Borough of Greenwich, is bounded on its northern perimeter by the River Thames. Landmarks include the The O2 (previously the Millennium Dome) and the southern end of the Blackwall Tunnel, but the area is being substantially redeveloped.
[edit] History
The Peninsula was drained by Dutch engineers in the 16th century, allowing it to be used as pasture land. In the 17th century, Blackwall Point (the northern tip of the Peninsula) gained notoriety as a location where pirates' corpses were hung in cages (as a deterrent to other would-be pirates). The Peninsula was steadily industrialised from the early 1800s onwards. A large area was occupied by a vast gasworks, the largest in Europe until the discovery of natural gas reserves in the North Sea rendered much of the complex obsolete.
Closure of the gasworks and nearby docks and wharves in the late 20th century left much of the Greenwich Peninsula a barren wasteland. British Gas retained a small presence on the western side of the peninsula. Other industrial use included a food processing plant between the river and the A102 Blackwall Tunnel southern approach road.
[edit] Redevelopment since early 1990s
However, public and private investment since the early 1990s has brought about some dramatic changes in the Peninsula's topography. In addition to the construction of the Millennium Dome, the eastern side of the Peninsula has received an entirely new road infrastructure in anticipation of new developments. New riverside walkways, cycle paths and public artworks were also created. The first phase of Greenwich Millennium Village was an extensive residential development, which also included the Millennium Primary School and medical centre, and a nature reserve and associated education centre. A Holiday Inn hotel was also built nearby, and Greenwich Yacht Club was relocated to a new site east of the Dome.
Despite being initially sparsely populated, the Peninsula has emerged as a hub for public transport in South East London. It is served by North Greenwich tube station, opened in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension project. The station is one of the largest on the London Underground network and is co-located with North Greenwich bus station, which acts as a hub for services in the South-East of the capital.
In 2004 outline planning permission was granted for further large-scale redevelopment of the site, including over 10,000 further homes, several million square feet of office space and the conversion of the Millennium Dome into an indoor arena, renamed The O2. Just south of The O2, a new public square is being constructed, adjacent to a large temporary building housing the David Beckham Academy football school. Slightly further south is the Pilot Inn public house, one of the oldest remaining buildings on the Peninsula.
The southern edge of the Peninsula area features a large retail and leisure park, including a Sainsbury's supermarket, an electrical retailer (Comet) and a B&Q DIY warehouse, an Odeon multiplex cinema and three restaurants (in February 2007, one of these was vacant, McDonald's having quit the site in December 2006).
[edit] Future development
The south of the peninsula is now being developed into housing (the latest phase in the construction of the Greenwich Millennium Village), and the Dome will be a London 2012 venue. The redevelopment is meant to be completed in a 28-year time period. While there is much debate about the prospects for commercial regeneration brought about by the reopening of the Dome, the new-found proximity of the Peninsula to Canary Wharf and central London brought about by the Jubilee Line extension makes continued regeneration as a residential district a likely prospect.
 |
This London location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
