Reeves to announce Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead in plan to ‘unlock’ 25,000 homes

Rachel Reeves is set to announce an extension of London’s Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in a move that is being seen as a boost to a major regeneration project.

The Treasury told Building’s sister title Housing Today this morning that the chancellor is expected to confirm the extension of the DLR from Gallions Reach to Thamesmead, with a new station at Beckton in next week’s Budget.

A spokesperson said extending the line will unlock 25,000 homes in total, create up to 10,000 new jobs and “crowd in nearly £18bn of private investment” over 30 years.

The plan was welcomed by housing association Peabody, which is masterminding a long-term plan to regenerate the 1960s Thamesmead estate and the surrounding area.

It has a long-term ambition to build 20,000 new homes across South and West Thamesmead and Thamesmead Waterfront.

John Lewis, executive director of sustainable places at Peabody, said: “Thamesmead has huge potential to be a thriving new town, and government support for the DLR extension takes us one step further to unlocking this.”

Peabody is working through a seven-phase plan for south Thamesmead to deliver around 2,800 homes. It completed the first 534-home phase in 2022 and has formed a joint venture with Lovell Partnerships for the 329-home phase two. Phases three to seven are expected to deliver nearly 2,000 homes.

Thamesmead Waterfront, in the northern part of the site, is being developed by a Peabody/Lendlease joint venture, with the potential for 15,000 new homes. The 100ha brownfield site has been named by the government as a potential new town following the publication of the New Towns Taskforce report in September.

The DLR extension is expected to cut the time taken to travel from Thamesmead to the City of London from around an hour to 35 minutes.