Multiplex working on first part of Bankside Yards project for developer Native Land

Native Land has been given planning for the next phase of its £1bn Bankside Yards redevelopment in London’s Blackfriars.

Known as Eastern Yards, this work will be built on the former site of Sampson House which has been torn down by McGee – the firm behind the demolition of Ludgate House which is making way for the first phase of the scheme called Western Yards.

Eastern Yards has been masterplanned by PLP with the firm behind four buildings, including homes, an office and hotel, with a further residential building designed by Make Architects.

The phase was approved by Southwark council on Monday night and will see nearly 350 homes built in this part of the job – 109 more than originally consented.

Multiplex beat Balfour Beatty before Christmas to land the first phase of the job which includes an 18-storey office block, called Arbor, as well as two residential buildings comprising 257 homes – a 49-storey tower and a smaller 13-storey block. These buildings have also been designed by PLP.

McGee completed demolition work on Ludgate House, opened in 1989 by former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, two years ago.

The Eastern Yards and Western Yards plots are split by the railway line that runs into and out of the nearby Blackfriars station

The scheme, which is being funded by a mixture of Malaysian and Singaporean investors, will also include revamping 14 railway arches in the area to make way for 50,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and cultural space.

CGI Bankside Yards - Eastern Yards

How part of the Eastern Yards scheme will look when finished