DD2795 Royal Docks Marketing & Communications Programme 2026-2029

1.1.    The Royal Docks is one of London’s largest regeneration and investment opportunities. It is at the centre of an expanding east London region. Once the UK’s gateway to world trade, today the Royal Docks is re-emerging as a major new business and visitor destination, with approximately £5 billion worth of investment planned over the next 20 years. This will deliver up to 38,600 new homes; 55,000 new jobs; and up to 4 million square feet of commercial space. 

1.2.    The Mayors of London and Newham have jointly been delivering the regeneration of the area through its Enterprise Zone (EZ) status. This work is funded through the ringfencing of business-rate income collected within the EZ since its inception. The area’s designation as an EZ has helped unlock significant public-sector investment; and has led to a dedicated Royal Docks delivery team that is helping to coordinate the area’s comprehensive redevelopment. 

1.3.    In February 2024, the Mayor (under cover of Mayoral Decision (MD) 3230) approved spending up to £64.31 million for the next five-year Royal Docks Delivery Plan period (2024-25 to 2028-29). This will deliver programmes and projects designed to achieve three strategic outcomes: 
•    economic prosperity, growth and investment
•    environment, wellbeing, and community
•    culture, identity and perception.
MD3230 also delegated authority to the Executive Director of Housing and Land to approve (through Director’s Decision (DD) forms) the income and detailed spending proposals for each project being funded within this £64.31 million expenditure budget envelope.

1.4.    The period 2024-29 marks an exciting chapter in the Royal Docks’ extensive redevelopment. Thousands of new affordable homes and workspaces are being built; a major uplift to the area’s connectivity and public realm is taking place; Excel London’s significant expansion is completing; and unprecedented levels of regeneration and investment signal a step change in the area’s transformation. The Royal Docks Team (RDT) is working with stakeholders and residents to maximise these opportunities. This work will harness the area’s unique qualities, and planned investment, to transform it into an inclusive, sustainable and attractive place to live, work and visit. 

1.5.    The next phase of delivery (2026–2029) is focused on accelerating housing and commercial delivery, while ensuring that growth is supported by high-quality public realm, infrastructure and long-term place stewardship. To achieve this, the RDT is delivering a coordinated programme structured around five interrelated priority areas: Sector Development; Housing Delivery and Development Coordination; Public Realm and Cultural Placemaking (with a focus on Royal Victoria); Place Stewardship and Community Participation; and Marketing and Communications. These programmes are designed to operate collectively, with each contributing to the conditions required for successful development — including strengthening demand, improving place quality, supporting infrastructure delivery and enhancing the Royal Docks’ identity and investor proposition.

1.6.    The Royal Docks programme supports the Mayor’s programme of Housing: Building More Homes by contributing to the delivery of new housing across the Royal Docks. The RDT plays a critical enabling and coordination role, working closely with development partners to unlock and accelerate housing development, support affordable housing delivery and enable build-out across multiple sites. By working in partnership with the London Borough of Newham, developers and stakeholders, the programme helps ensure that new homes are delivered at scale and supported by the conditions required for successful, liveable and sustainable neighbourhoods.

1.7.    This DD sets out the case for the Royal Docks Marketing and Communications Programme, one of the five priority programmes described above. This will provide the coordinated place positioning, strategic communications and promotion needed as the area enters a more intensive phase of delivery. With major development, infrastructure and cultural milestones coming forward across multiple neighbourhoods between 2026 and 2029, the programme will play a critical enabling role: 
•    sustaining investor and occupier confidence
•    supporting commercial and residential take up
•    strengthening sector positioning 
•    ensuring that communities remain informed, engaged and represented throughout this period of transformation.

1.8.    This investment also directly supports the following Mayoral programmes: 
•    boosting London’s growth sectors
•    helping local economies to thrive.

1.9.    It indirectly supports the following programmes: 
•    making best use of land 
•    supporting Londoners to benefit from growth
•    supporting and inspiring young Londoners 
•    supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London
•    delivering a greener, more climate-resilient London.

1.10.    Working closely with developers, businesses, cultural organisations and public sector partners, the RDT will: 
•    promote the Royal Docks as a distinctive place to live, work and visit
•    strengthen investor confidence and sector positioning
•    showcase regeneration milestones and development opportunities
•    coordinate partner messaging and destination marketing.

1.11.    Marketing activity will: 
•    support flagship campaigns such as At the Docks and Royal Docks Originals
•    promote key regeneration milestones 
•    ensure the Royal Docks maintains visibility across industry, investor and visitor audiences.

1.12.    This DD seeks approval to spend up to £935,000 revenue expenditure to deliver the Royal Docks Marketing and Communications Programme between 2026 and 2029.
 

2.1.    The Royal Docks Marketing and Communications Programme will provide strategic place marketing, communications and promotion activity to strengthen the Royal Docks’ reputation as a major investment location and destination.
2.2.    The programme supports all three Royal Docks Delivery Plan strategic outcomes: 
•    prosperity, growth and investment
•    sustainability, wellbeing and community
•    culture, identity and perception. 
It will do so by strengthening the area’s visibility; promoting development opportunities; and engaging audiences including investors, businesses, residents and visitors.
2.3.    As an enabling programme, Marketing and Communications plays a cross cutting role in supporting delivery across all neighbourhoods, development sites and sector priorities in the Royal Docks.
2.4.    The programme will deliver activity across three core workstreams:
•    place reputation and identity
•    investment and business attraction 
•    audience development and destination marketing.
Place reputation and identity
2.5.    Over the past two years, RDT has significantly strengthened how the Royal Docks is understood and experienced. The place narrative is clearer; partner coordination has improved; and the area’s visibility across London has grown. Development milestones, Excel’s expansion and continued waterfront activation have showcased the Royal Docks’ potential as a distinctive mixed-use district. This has contributed to increased media coverage; stronger investor and audience engagement; and growing confidence among stakeholders and communities.
2.6.    In a competitive and challenging market, however, maintaining this momentum requires sustained focus. As multiple projects advance across several neighbourhoods, the Royal Docks must continue positioning itself clearly and consistently. The next phase presents an opportunity to sharpen our story, align partners more visibly behind a shared narrative and communicate progress in a coordinated, confident way. By aligning development, infrastructure, sector growth and cultural activity, we can ensure this period of change further strengthens the Royal Docks’ reputation and long-term credibility.
2.7.    Activities will include the following:
•    Royal Docks place narrative refresh and stewardship – RDT will refine the Royal Docks place narrative to reflect the pace and scale of change, clearly articulating its growing economic, cultural and strategic role. This is not a rebrand but an update that sharpens messaging pillars, sector-proof points and shared language for use across partners. This work will ensure the area’s evolving identity is expressed consistently across neighbourhoods, channels and stakeholders.
•    Royal Victoria Dock identity and coordination – As the most visible part of the Royal Docks, Royal Victoria Dock requires clearer identity leadership. With major improvements coming forward – Royal Victoria Square upgrades, corridor works, waterfront activation and enhancements around City Hall and the Corniche – the RDT will coordinate partners and communities to shape a coherent vision and strengthen Royal Victoria’s identity and sense of place.
•    Royal Docks campaign platforms (Royal Docks Originals and At the Docks) – RDT will continue to develop our two flagship campaigns as the primary platforms for showcasing cultural activity, waterfront experiences and sector strengths, particularly in Royal Victoria Dock. Over the next three years, these campaigns will focus more on audience growth – converting high volume footfall from Excel, hotels and City Hall; and supporting Newham’s emerging Visitor Economy Strategy.
•    Royal Docks brand and identity management – The Royal Docks visual identity remains a key tool in shaping perception. We will continue to invest in and steward the brand to ensure clarity and impact – including extending it visibly into the public realm through wayfinding and legibility work. New hero assets (high-impact marketing assets) – including a refreshed film, updated materials and core templates – will support high quality, consistent representation across partners.
•    Strategic communications, PR and thought leadership – With major development and infrastructure milestones ahead, the coming years present an opportunity to build sustained media visibility. We will adopt a planned, long term approach – aligning partners around key moments, sequencing communications and strengthening thought leadership and targeted media engagement – to maintain a steady presence that reinforces credibility and supports a long term shift in perception.
Investment and business attraction
2.8.    As developments move from planning into delivery, the Royal Docks’ economic role within London is becoming clearer. The area is emerging as a mixed use growth district with distinct competitive strengths across three priority sectors: 
•    culture, creative industries and the experiential economy (centred on Royal Victoria Dock, Excel’s waterfront expansion, Immerse LDN and a growing cultural programme)
•    frontier innovation (clean and green technologies, sustainability led enterprises, and circular economy activity linked to the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability and Mass Challenge)
•    food, beverage and hospitality (with growth across Royal Victoria and the potential relocation of the wholesale markets at Albert Island).
2.9.    Over the next three years, Marketing and Communications will help attract investment, anchors and commercial take up. It will do so by ensuring these sector strengths and development opportunities are clearly positioned and highly visible.
2.10.    Activities will include:
•    Sector led investment propositions and proof points – We will develop clear, sector specific propositions for priority clusters and key sites. These will combine a strong narrative with robust evidence – including infrastructure investment, sector growth trends, development milestones and anchor institutions – to demonstrate why the Royal Docks is a compelling, commercially viable location. This will help agents and partners present opportunities with greater clarity; and align individual sites with wider sector momentum.
•    Engaging key partners and intermediaries – We will take a more structured approach to engaging developers, agents, brokers and sector advisers through regular briefings, roundtables and updates. Stronger coordination with Opportunity London, London & Partners and development partners will ensure aligned messaging, better targeting and shared market intelligence. This will enable integrated campaigns and communications that reinforce the Royal Docks’ competitive position.
•    Industry events and thought leadership – We will take a more structured and strategic approach to how the Royal Docks is positioned across industry platforms. This includes mapping and prioritising key events where the Royal Docks should have a presence – maintaining visibility at core real estate forums such as MIPIM (Marché International des Professionnels de l'Immobilier - International Market for Property Professionals), UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), and the London Real Estate Forum (LREF), while expanding into wider sector events that reflect our maturing economic offer. Alongside this, we will adopt a more proactive approach to securing speaking opportunities and thought leadership platforms, working closely with the GLA colleagues, the London Borough of Newham (LBN) and key stakeholders to ensure messaging is aligned.
•    Transparent pipeline communications – RDT will maintain a regularly updated view of live opportunities, procurement timelines and development phasing. A new, dedicated section of the Royal Docks website will act as a clear and accessible source of investor information. This will provide up-to-date information about procurement-ready sites, sector-relevant workspace and forthcoming opportunities. This work will be supported by consistent alignment and messaging with development partners. Communications will clearly distinguish between approved schemes, live opportunities and longer-term strategic projects, helping investors and intermediaries engage with confidence.
•    Investor tours and use of Compressor House – Compressor House and the Royal Docks model will act as the primary showcase for the area. We will host investor tours and international delegations to demonstrate scale, phasing and long term ambition. Working with the University of East London UTC students and development partners, we will also update and maintain the model to reflect live delivery; and ensure it remains an effective engagement and educational tool.
•    Digital targeting and sector visibility – In recent years, Royal Docks digital channels have primarily focused on B2C audiences, supporting destination marketing and cultural placemaking. As our priority growth sectors become clearer, we will rebalance our content and channel strategy to place greater emphasis on B2B, investor and occupier audiences. This will mean allocating more resource to place-led and sector-focused content and investment updates; and clearer promotion of commercial activity. We will: 
o    strengthen our presence on LinkedIn and other professional platforms
o    enhance the investment and pipeline sections of the website
o    deliver more targeted campaigns aligned to live development phases. 
This shift will ensure our digital presence reflects both the economic offer and the wider strengths of the Royal Docks as a place to locate, grow and invest.
Audience development and destination marketing
2.11.    Over the past two years, cultural placemaking and destination marketing have brought new energy to the Royal Docks and significantly raised its profile across London. Royal Victoria Dock, as the most visible and active neighbourhood, now attracts substantial footfall driven by Excel, City Hall, the cable car and major events. However, this activity remains largely seasonal and event-led. This means that, outside peak moments, the area can feel quieter.
2.12.    The next phase will focus on building a stronger year-round offer that reflects the area’s full potential. As waterfront development and public-realm improvements around Royal Victoria Square, and the Corniche and City Hall are delivered, the quality and range of activity will expand. The emerging water vision – including a lido, floating gardens and residential moorings – provides further impetus to reposition Royal Victoria Dock into one of London’s most distinctive and active waterfronts. 
2.13.    The Royal Docks Placemaking and Promotion Partnership, established in 2024, will be a key enabler of this next phase. It brings together senior marketing, placemaking and visitor-economy leads from anchor organisations, cultural partners and major stakeholders across the Royal Docks. The Partnership provides a structured mechanism for aligning programming; coordinating promotion; and collectively shaping the area’s evolving identity. Through shared visions and joint planning, it will ensure that investment, placemaking and marketing reinforce one another, supporting the creation of a more vibrant and well-used waterfront district.
2.14.    At the same time, the wider East London waterfront is evolving, with new attractions at Canada Water and Greenwich Peninsula. This presents both competition and opportunity. Through the Partnership, we will explore complementary programming and cross-promotion, positioning the Royal Docks within a broader waterfront corridor. As the offer matures, marketing will focus on attracting new audiences while increasing repeat visits, dwell time and exploration across the area.
2.15.    Activities will include:
•    Flagship destination campaigns – RDT will continue to deliver and evolve our two signature marketing campaigns, Royal Docks Originals and At the Docks, as anchor moments within London’s and Newham’s visitor calendar. Through coordinated promotion, these campaigns will showcase the Royal Docks’ distinctive waterfront setting – where floating hotels, water-based activity, major events, City Hall and the cable car sit side by side. Activity will amplify cultural, leisure and sporting experiences, with particular emphasis on work created by Royal Docks-based cultural and creative organisations. Alongside attracting new audiences, these campaigns will reinforce the Royal Docks’ growing reputation as one of London’s most exciting and inviting waterfront destinations.
•    Always-on promotion of the everyday offer – Alongside these signature campaigns, we will strengthen promotion of year-round amenities such as food and beverage, waterfront activity, public realm, markets and local events. This will help shift perceptions of the Royal Docks as an ‘events-led’ destination, to an active mixed-use district with an everyday offer that encourages repeat visits and longer dwell time. 
•    Audience capture and conversion – RDT will take a more coordinated approach to engaging high-volume audiences, particularly Excel delegates, hotel guests and City Hall visitors. Working closely with partners through the Placemaking and Promotion Partnership, we will align messaging, improve on-site and digital prompts, and strengthen wayfinding to encourage visitors to explore beyond single venues. The aim is to make it easier and more intuitive for people already in the area to discover more of what the Royal Docks has to offer. 
•    Visitor insight, segmentation and targeting – RDT will develop stronger audience insight to inform targeting, content and partnership activity. This will include clearer segmentation of priority groups, behavioural analysis and improved use of digital performance data to direct resources to audiences most likely to generate repeat visits and local spend, while supporting priority sectors such as culture, experiential activity and hospitality.
•    Partner amplification and sub-regional positioning – We will work closely with Excel, City Hall, LBN, hotels, cultural organisations and local businesses to align messaging and extend reach across partner channels. We will explore sub-regional positioning opportunities – including cross-promotion with Greenwich Peninsula, City Island and East Bank. By positioning the Royal Docks as part of a broader East London waterfront corridor, we can strengthen overall visibility while clearly differentiating the Royal Docks’ distinctive offer.
2.16.    Following this approval, the RDT will start full due diligence for the proposed projects. This will ensure that services are properly procured, and contracts are distributed fairly and transparently, in accordance with the GLA’s equality policy and subsidy control principles; and in a manner that affords value for money, in accordance with the GLA Contracts and Funding Code. This will be done in conjunction with TfL Procurement and TfL Legal. 
Expected outcomes 
2.17.    The Marketing and Communications Programme will strengthen the Royal Docks’ visibility and reputation as a destination for investment, culture and community life.
2.18.    Expected outcomes by 2029 include:
•    increased investor and occupier confidence in the Royal Docks
•    stronger recognition of the Royal Docks as a distinctive London destination
•    improved coordination of communications across partners
•    increased visitor activity and audience engagement.
Expected outputs
2.19.    The expected outputs are listed in the table below:

3.1.    Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act) provides that, in the exercise of their functions, public authorities must have due regard to the need to:
•    eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 
•    advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
•    foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. 

3.2.    Protected characteristics under the Equality Act are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only). 

3.3.    An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) was prepared in 2023 to support the development of this new Royal Docks Delivery Plan. The 2024-29 Delivery Plan was developed to continue the Royal Docks programme. As such, the EqIA sets out how the proposed programme of activity might impact different groups, including those who share protected characteristics. 

3.4.    The EqIA makes recommendations for how any potential adverse equality effects may be mitigated, and any potentially positive equality effects enhanced. These recommendations were used to inform the 2024-29 Delivery Plan, with further detail about how they may be actioned and monitored. Since the project is part of this plan, it is not felt necessary to prepare another EqIA report.

3.5.    Strategic projects relating to the Royal Docks Delivery Plan will directly contribute to the Mayor of London’s key strategies and policies. These policies and strategies are underpinned by a clear commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and are central to the RDT’s ambitions for the Royal Docks to become a sustainable, liveable and cohesive place that prioritises the wellbeing and prosperity of all its communities.

3.6.    Inclusive marketing, communications and engagement activity will ensure that messaging about the Royal Docks reaches a diverse range of audiences and reflects the area’s rich cultural diversity. Communications will seek to ensure that information about regeneration, opportunities and activities is accessible to all communities. The programme will also proactively address barriers to participation for under represented groups, ensuring Royal Docks activities, opportunities and communications are accessible, representative and inclusive.

3.7.    Marketing campaigns and engagement activity will celebrate the diversity of the Royal Docks; and ensure that residents, businesses and visitors from all backgrounds feel represented and included in the area’s transformation. 

3.8.    Equality impact considerations and mitigations are built into all RDT projects as they move forward for implementation. They are a core part of the evaluation process.

3.9.    Equalities considerations will also be considered by the GLA in connection with all work procured. The GLA Equalities team will be consulted to ensure approaches are inclusive and accessible. All recruitment will fully comply with the Equality Act; and fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, as set out in the section 149(1) of the Equality Act.

3.10.    This decision is therefore expected to have positive impacts on persons with a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.
 

Key risks and issues

4.2.    The key risks and issues are outlined in the table below: 

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1.    This investment directly supports the following Mayoral programmes:
•    building more homes
•    boosting London’s growth sectors 
•    helping local economies to thrive. 
It indirectly supports the following programmes: 
•    making best use of land 
•    supporting Londoners to benefit from growth
•    supporting and inspiring young Londoners 
•    supporting community, cultural and sporting events in London
•    delivering a greener, more climate-resilient London.
It also delivers against a range of Mayor of London policies including: 
•    the London Plan
•    the Economic Development Strategy
•    the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
•    Culture for all Londoners
•    Vision for a 24-Hour City
•    the Strategy for Social Integration
•    the Healthy Streets Approach. 
The programme is aligned with the Mayor’s Equalities Framework, ensuring that economic growth and investment opportunities are inclusive and accessible to diverse communities.

4.3.    There are no conflicts of interest to declare from anyone involved in the drafting or clearance of this Decision form.
 

Approval is sought from the Executive Director of Housing and Land to spend up to £935,000 revenue, between 2026-27 and 2028-29, to deliver the Royal Docks Marketing and Communications Programme. This forms part of the Royal Docks Delivery Plan for 2024-29 approved under MD3230.

5.2.    This expenditure is to be funded from Royal Dock’s 2026-27 revenue budget and planned budgets to 2028-29, which is funded from the Royal Docks EZ business rate income from London Borough of Newham.

5.3.    As future years budget and funding is subject to budget setting process and approvals, to mitigate against risk of insufficient funding, a break clause should be included in the contracts and funding agreements should funding change for future years. Any shortfall in income for future years may also be expected to be met with available funds from the Royal Docks EZ Reserve Account.
 

6.1.    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Director concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further, or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to, the promotion of economic development and wealth creation in Greater London. In formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:
•    pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
•    consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the UK
•    consult with appropriate bodies.  

6.2.    In taking the decisions requested, the Director must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty – namely, the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation) and persons who do not (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Director should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3.    All procurements of works, services and supplies required for the project must be procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code (the “Code”) and, where the value exceeds £150,000, in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”). Furthermore, the officers must liaise with TfL’s procurement and supply chain team, which will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the Code and the Act. Officers must ensure that appropriate contractual documentation be put in place and executed by chosen service provider/supplier and the GLA before the commencement of the attendant works, services or supplies (containing termination for convenience provisions exercisable at sole discretion of the GLA).

6.4.    The Director must comply with the obligations set out in Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 when taking decisions in accordance with the delegations set out in this decision form or any other delegations in existing Mayoral Decisions. In particular regulation 7 provides that where a decision has been delegated to an officer under either: 
•    a specific express authorisation 
•    a general authorisation 
and the effect of the decision is to award a contract or incur expenditure which, in either case, materially affects the GLA’s financial position, the officer to whom the delegation has been made must produce a written record of the decision (regulation 7(1) and (2)). Regulation 7(3) provides that the written record must be produced as soon as reasonably practicable after the decision has been taken; and must contain: 
•    the date the decision was taken
•    a record of the decision taken with reasons, details of options considered and rejected, if any
•    where a decision is delegated under a specific express authorisation, any conflicts of interest. 

Regulation 8 requires the written record, together with any background papers, must be made available, as soon as reasonably practicable after the record is made, for inspection by members of the public, including on the GLA’s website. 
 

7.1.    The programme will be delivered by the Royal Docks Marketing, Communications and Engagement Team, working closely with colleagues across the GLA, LBN and a wide range of local stakeholders and partners. Activity will be coordinated across three integrated workstreams: 
•    place reputation and identity
•    investment and business attraction
•    audience development and destination marketing. 
Delivery will be supported by commissioned specialist services, including PR, design, content production and creative campaign development.

7.2.    The Placemaking and Promotion Partnership will provide the primary mechanism for cross‑partner coordination. This will ensure consistent messaging; shared planning; and amplification. All procurement will be undertaken in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code, with TfL Procurement and Legal advising on strategy, compliance and contract arrangements. Progress, risks, expenditure and performance will be monitored through quarterly reporting to the EZ Programme Board. 

7.3.    This work will be delivered according to the following timetable: 

None.