Howells has been appointed as the master planner for the construction of 1,400 residential homes on the former Crossrail site in East London.
Development partners — Ballymore and Transport for London (TfL) — have selected Howells as the lead architect for the Limmo Peninsula project near the Kennington area.
LDA Design has also joined the team as the landscape architect. The planning application is expected to be submitted next year after the full design team is assembled.
The 5-hectare vacant site, located between railway tracks and Bow Creek, was previously used for the construction of the Elizabeth line — where tunnel boring machines were lowered to dig the tunnels.
Nearby is the Howells-designed London City Island residential complex, consisting of 1,706 apartments across ten buildings on the peninsula at Bow Creek, completed in 2022. Also close by is the Orchard Wharf project — a proposed student accommodation with 1,365 beds, designed by Howells for developer Regal.
The Limmo Peninsula project will include connections to surrounding areas via a new bridge to Kennington and a riverside walkway near Kennington tube station. The site will also feature 600 meters of riverside frontage and a public park.
According to London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing Tom Copley, about 40% of the homes in this scheme will be “genuinely affordable” to residents.
TfL’s property division — Places for London — stated that the joint venture will also open up opportunities for Ballymore to develop additional sites in East London.
This week, Ballymore was officially confirmed as TfL’s partner for the project following a tender process involving four companies at the end of last year, with three submitting full bids.