Construction activity

Upcoming Construction Liaison Forums  

We hold regular meetings to provide an opportunity to hear from and speak to our contractors about ongoing construction activity. Details of our upcoming meetings are as follows:  

Plots A1/A2 and the surrounding area    

Date: Tuesday 24 September  

Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm    

Location: Canada Water Library, 21 Surrey Quays Road, London, SE16 7AR (you’ll be directed to the room on arrival)   

Printworks and the surrounding area    

Date: Tuesday 1 October  

Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm    

Location: TEDI-London, 11 Quebec Way, London, SE16 7LG    

To register your attendance, please contact [email protected] or call 0800 470 4593 (freephone), noting which forum you would like to attend.  

Plot A1 and A2, Canada Dock, Surrey Quays Shopping Centre car park and surrounding area

Plot A1 

Plot A1 will provide a new 35-storey building which will provide residential homes, alongside retail and office space. Expected completion is in winter this year.  

Wates, the main contractor building Plot A1, is currently installing the façades to all the buildings’ cores. This includes unitised panels to the main residential tower and hand laid bricks to the commercial and office blocks. The works on the façade of the tower and office block are nearing completion. Internally, the fit out is well underway, and the main mechanical, electrical and plumbing works in the basement are progressing well. Wates has produced a helpful note which provides more detail on how we monitor and record construction activities on Plot A1.  

The working hours at Plot A1 allow an additional hour either side of standard working hours to enable the use of the two passenger hoists on the main tower. One hoist is located along the Deal Porters Way side and another along the Surrey Quays Road side, both are within the site boundary. This work has been approved by Southwark Council and the working hours of the hoist are as follows:

Monday to Friday: 7am to 7pm, with standard construction works only permitted from 8am to 6pm

Saturday: 8am to 3pm, with standard construction works only permitted from 9am to 2pm

The hoist will run no earlier than the agreed limit of 7am. During the additional time each day, only hoist related activities will take place. This will also include the required safety checks on each hoist. Wates will continue to monitor all site activities to ensure permittable noise threshold levels are not exceeded.

Plot A2 

Plot A2 will include Canada Water Leisure Centre at ground and basement level, retail and food outlets along the redesigned Deal Porters Way, and workspace at the upper levels. Expected completion is in autumn this year. 

Mace, the main contractor building Plot A2, has now completed the main structure of the building. The building is entering the final stages of construction ahead of a period of testing and commissioning that will make up the final period of the project. Work is ongoing on the roof levels, with minor works and finishings being completed to the cladding on the outside of the building. As part of the testing of the leisure centre facilities, Mace will soon begin filling the swimming pool for the first time.

Internally, the fit-out is underway and the electrical, water and control systems are now in place. Painting, decorating, and the installation of final finishes, such as architectural metalwork, are taking place. The protective sheeting that has covered the windows is also being removed.

As part of the wider public realm works, Mace will be repurposing and landscaping the existing haul road. This will involve breaking out the existing tarmac before resurfacing the area with concrete and granite. The breakout works began on Wednesday 21st August inside the site behind the entrance on Lower Road. The works will take around two to three weeks to complete and it will be a continuation of previous works closer to the entrance of the new leisure centre. The breaking out will not be continuous and will be intermittent with periods when the waste material is cleared away and loaded into lorries to be removed from site.

All work is carried out in accordance with industry standards and the levels set by Southwark Council’s environment team. Mace has produced a helpful note which provides more detail on how we monitor and record site impact and the limits we work within on Plot A2. 

Haul road and vehicle access

The entrance to the haul road is on Lower Road. Traffic marshals are located on Lower Road to ensure there is no traffic build up and to ensure safety for all. Mace vehicles exit site via Deal Porters Way, and Wates’ exit via the pit lane along Surrey Quays Road. On occasion, construction traffic will be required to exit onto Lower Road via the haul road. There will also be occasions where vehicles will need to reverse into the haul road due to safety reasons.

Canada Dock

The new 170-metre boardwalk and landscaping works are scheduled to complete later this year. Works in and around the dock include: 

• Construction of the boardwalk is underway and due to be completed later this year.

• Landscaping is taking place in phases as construction progresses. Reclaimed timber benches are being installed on the southern steps.

• The footpath width along the southern edge of the dock (by The Range) and in the southeastern corner on Maritime Street has been temporarily reduced to 2.2m. This is to allow Galldris to complete utility connection works along the southern edge of the dock and support the refurbishment of the southern dock edge. Pedestrian access will always be maintained, and we expect this footpath restriction to be in place until late autumn. 

• A small number of construction vehicles access the dock site from Surrey Quays Road. The entrance will be managed by gatesmen and low-level traffic barriers will be in place to ensure traffic is managed safely.  

Galldris is working closely with environmental specialists, including an Ecological Clerk of Works who visits the site daily, to make sure that the works cause minimal disturbances to the current environment and its inhabitants as possible. Monthly water quality testing is being carried out which has met the required standards.

From 14 September, Galldris will begin removing the silt curtain from the dock. This has been in place since the start of the dock’s revitalisation works to prevent the spread of water containing sediment.  

The curtain will be released slowly over 3-4 days to ensure that silt dispersal is kept to a minimum and with as little impact on aquatic life as possible. However, the water may appear murky for a few days as the silt settles. 

Galldris continue to work closely with environmental specialists, including their Ecological Clerk of Works, who undertakes regular water monitoring and visits the site daily, to ensure minimal disturbances to the dock environment.  

TfL are undertaking upgrades to Surrey Quays station including the construction of a new station entrance, featuring a spacious ticket hall and gateline expected to welcome 60 per cent of customers using the station. The upgrades will provide step-free access for the first time to both platforms via two new lifts and longer platforms to reduce current overcrowding at peak times and provide station capacity for expected future demand. The improvements are due to complete by 2026 and are part of a larger scheme to improve the East London Line.

Quebec Way and surrounding areas 

Below ground substation (Zone L) and work being undertaken by UK Power Networks 

The new below ground substation, located at the rear of the Printworks, on Quebec Way, will supply power to the Canada Water development as well as the wider community.  

UK Power Networks and its Alliance Partners who run the electricity network delivering power to the area, have begun work installing state of the art electrical equipment in the newly built substation. These works will continue until late 2025. The site will reach full operation in late 2025 and will supply power to the development as well as the wider community.

UK Power Networks began cable installation works within Southwark last year. These cables will supply the new substation from the nearby New Cross Substation where upgrade works are underway. 

UK Power Networks have begun installing underground electricity cables along Surrey Quays Road. To facilitate the work, there is traffic management in place along Surrey Quays Road, from the junction of Lower Road to Needleman Street. This is expected to be in place until the autumn. The work involves excavating the ground to create short trenches, followed by cabling works. 

These works are not expected to impact the electricity supply, however there may be some noise from the digging activities during these works. UK Power Networks apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused and will aim to minimise disruption as far as possible. 

Zone H

Enabling works for Printworks Street and Reel Street (working names)

In the Printworks area, construction of new access roads is underway. This includes drainage and service installation works as well as asphalting for around three months. The roads remain the construction site boundary and will be resurfaced before opening to the public upon completion of the main works to the Printworks building. 

The Printworks building

Works to the existing Printworks building are ongoing. Under the conditions of British Land’s 2022 Reserved Matters Application (RMA), planning permission was granted by Southwark Council to begin these enabling works on the Printworks building. This work will help make way for the new public routes and destinations, including the 3.5-acre Park. The works will continue until autumn this year and are outlined below. 

• Wates continue to remove cladding and roofing, with completion expected over the next few months. Towards the end of the year, Wates will break out the ground floor slabs and erect steelwork. You may notice the presence of larger machinery, including two mobile tower cranes on site to facilitate this. 
• Increased vehicle movement within the site compound to deliver materials to site.
• Part of the building’s existing structural frame will be kept for the construction stage. 

We are conscious of the impact of construction works on our site neighbours. As well as implementing stringent mitigation measures, Wates carefully monitor noise, dust, and vibration to ensure they’re operating safely and within the limits set by Southwark Council. Wates’ working methods include dust suppression during demolition activities using a variety of hoses and misters at source and at the site boundary. When necessary, excessively noisy works will take place for 2 hours, and then pause for 2 hours, to minimise disruption. During the 2-hour break, other less noisy construction activity may still take place.

Local road network 

Over the coming months, a number of works are expected to take place on the local road network. These are to support enabling works for the next stage of the development. The latest information can be found below.

Any work on the public highway involves many months of discussion and review before permits are granted by Southwark Council. Regular internal forums are also held with all those operating in the area (including British Land) to co-ordinate work and identify efficiencies. This includes discussing impacts on those using local roads. It’s this level of coordination that has resulted in the agreed sequencing and timing of the works in the local area.

We appreciate that there will be disruption while this work is carried out and thank you for your ongoing patience. 

Deal Porters Way 

The northern end of Deal Porters Way is temporarily closed to traffic. This is to allow for further work that can’t be completed with a single  lane closure. Whilst the full road closure is in place, vehicles accessing Surrey Quays Shopping Centre car park will need to enter and exit via the Tesco end of the car park. Pedestrian access along Deal Porters Way will always be maintained as the works are conducted. We expect the full road closure to be in place until early September. 

The work will create a new public space along Deal Porters Way that the community can enjoy alongside the revitalised dock and the new buildings. We would like to apologise for any disruption as part of the work. This has been planned in line with other work in the area to try and minimise disruption as far as possible.

Surrey Quays Road and Redriff Road

Southern Gas Networks (SGN) are undertaking utility diversion works along Surrey Quays Road and will move along to Redriff Road in early October. The works are required to increase the capacity of gas pipes to accommodate new infrastructure in the area and will be completed in two overlapping phases. Both phases of work are planned to be completed by early December.

Temporary multi-way lights will be installed along Surrey Quays Road from the junction of Maritime Street to the junction of Redriff Road and expect to complete this work in approximately ten weeks.

In early October, SGN expect to start works along Redriff Road for approximately eight weeks. They will be working from the junction at Surrey Quays Road to the junction of Quebec Way and temporary two-way traffic lights will be in place.  To facilitate the works, bus stop suspensions will be required along Surrey Quays Road and Redriff Road, including Surrey Quays Leisure Park (Stop G) and Brunswick Quay, with pedestrians directed to the closest alternative stop.    

Quebec Way 

From Monday 2 September, UK Power Networks expect to begin cable installation works in the carriageway along Quebec Way. Two-way temporary traffic lights will be in place in phases along Quebec Way for approximately nine weeks. UK Power Networks will aim to minimise disruption as far as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused

In the autumn, contractor Galldris plan to carry out works to the pavement closest to TEDI London. This will last for around two months and include the suspension of a small number of parking spaces in phases as traffic will be reduced to a single lane. Traffic lights will be in place to control movement of traffic. 

Ecological Monitoring 

Specialist Environmental Consultants Greengage are conducting ecological monitoring for bats and invertebrates around the development until the autumn. This will help us understand what wildlife is currently supported and to identify new opportunities for local wildlife, including supporting protected species.