Isle of Dogs and South Poplar Opportunity Area
Key information
Growth corridors make it easier to manage development in London as they group similar or nearby OAs
OA boundary and policy status will either be: 'Adopted', 'Emerging' or 'To be defined'
London planning documents are accurate at the tie on publication. These include key planning documents that directly relate to the OA. They must be read in the context of the relevant statutory planning policies contained within the borough’s Local Plan.
London Plan AMR Category (AMR, 2018) will either be: 'Nascent', 'Ready to grow', 'Underway', 'Maturing' or 'Mature'.
Overview of the OA
Isle of Dogs is identified in the Mayor’s London Plan1 as an Opportunity Area (OA) with potential for 29,000 new homes and 110,000 new jobs by 20412. The OA was designated in 2004 and is part of the Central London Growth Corridor. See Figure 1 and 2.
What is an Opportunity Area (OA)?
Opportunity Areas or OAs are London's key locations that have potential for large scale development, providing substantial new jobs and homes. OAs typically have capacity for at least 2,500 homes or 5,000 jobs, and many are linked to potential public transport improvements.
1 The London Plan is the statutory Spatial Development Strategy for London. As the overall strategic plan for London, it sets out an integrated economic, environmental, transport and social framework for the development of London over the next 20-25 years.
2 Figures based on London Plan evidence. Homes figures are based on 2017 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA, 2017) for the period 2019 – 2041. Jobs figures are based on London Employment Sites Database (LESD, 2017) for the period 2016 – 2041.
How many new homes have been delivered?
Figure 3 shows the number of homes completed in the OA since 2019.
Figure 4 shows the number of homes completed since the OA was designated.
How many of these new homes are affordable?
Figure 7 shows the percentage of affordable homes in the OA since designation, and a comparison with the London average.
Figure 8 shows in detail the number of affordable homes since the OA was designated.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides a definition of affordable housing for planning purposes. Within this broad definition, sections 4.6.3 - 4.6.9 of the London Plan sets out the Mayor’s preferred affordable housing tenures and other genuinely affordable housing products.
Isle of Dogs OAPF
The Mayor of London, and Transport for London have been working together to prepare an Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) for the Isle of Dogs & South Poplar in consultation with Tower Hamlets Council. The Isle of Dogs & South Poplar OAPF was adopted by the Mayor of London on Monday 14 October 2019, and be can found here. Unique amongst London’s Opportunity Areas, the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar is currently experiencing intense development pressure, mainly in the form of new, very high density housing. The Isle of Dogs and South Poplar has considerable potential to grow and deliver many of the homes and jobs that London needs, but unlike some other opportunity areas, it also has established residential and commercial communities, and the views of these communities on the impacts of growth are important to take into account. Growth should benefit existing communities and this OAPF sets out a strategy to break down barriers and increase access to opportunities between the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar.
OAPFs represent the first stage in planning for significant numbers of new homes and jobs, improved infrastructure and access to local services. It sets out long-term planning, regeneration and design guidance that helps to guide development in an OA.
OAPFs consider how London Plan policies can be implemented to address the strategic challenges and opportunities in an area. They influence and are informed by policy from national to local level. See Policy SD1 Opportunity Areas in the London Plan for more information.
Vision
To make sure that housing and employment growth is well-supported by the necessary infrastructure, the OAPF identifies what infrastructure is needed and suggests ways to deliver this, to make sure that the Mayor’s ‘good growth’ agenda is delivered. A key aim of the OAPF is to encourage more local employment opportunities that build on the success of Canary Wharf as a world economic centre while also delivering successful and vibrant town centres across the opportunity area. The OAPF is a design-led document which highlights where locally designated site allocations can be joined together to maximise benefits. The Isle of Dogs & South Poplar OAPF also sets out a strategy to make sure that development in the area is well-coordinated to minimise disruption and maximise benefits for local communities.
Aim
The aim of the Isle of Dogs & South Poplar OAPF is to provide greater certainty to the community on how they can influence development and to guide developers through the production of a coordinated planning document to manage pressures of growth and secure infrastructure delivery. The Isle of Dogs & South Poplar OAPF has a detailed Local Connections Design Guide which will also improve local and strategic connections, ensure high quality urban design for new developments and help local communities get better access to services and employment opportunities. The Isle of Dogs & South Poplar OAPF sets out a delivery and monitoring strategy with a number of recommendations to help manage the impacts of construction and ensure timely delivery of supporting infrastructure in the future.
Public consultation and engagement
A draft version of the OAPF was published for consultation between 6 June 2018 and 1 August 2018. As a result of this, consultation responses were submitted by a variety of stakeholders including developers, agents, borough councils, campaigning groups, and local residents. Responses were analysed and, where appropriate, the OAPF was updated. A consultation report (Appendix E) has been published alongside the final adopted OAPF setting out the responses received and the action taken.
Next steps to monitoring progress in the OA
The London Datahub is the GLA's main source of development data. The Datahub holds detailed information on planning applications, permissions, commencements and completions in Greater London enabling the tracking of development progress across London. The data received is supplied by applicants for planning permissions and may be subject to inherent issues and errors. For more information on how the data is collected please see the Planning London Datahub.
While delivering affordable homes and creating and protecting jobs are key components of the London Plan, the Mayor also recognises that future development in the city must be sustainable and inclusive.
The London Plan, therefore, sets out a new way of doing things, something that is called Good Growth. Good Growth is about working to delivery a more socially integrated and sustainable city, where people have more of a say, and growth brings the best out of existing places while providing opportunities to communities. Good Growth is not about supporting growth at any cost.
To understand the impact of the London Plan, the Mayor is legally required to keep the London Plan under review. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)and the approach to monitoring the Plan is set out in its final chapter and provides the basis for an ongoing and iterative assessment of the effectiveness of the Plan. Performance against the KPIs is reported in the statutory Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) which is published by the Mayor each Spring.
In additon to monitoring the progress of homes, jobs and infrastructure, the AMR will also monitor a range of other data that relates to the Good Growth objectives and the Mayor's vison for London to be socially and economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable. These will be measured through a combination of KPIs listed in Table 12.1 of the London Plan 2021 and other performance measures which will be developed as part of the London Plan AMR.
How can we improve this OA webpage?
This webpage is updated frequently. If there are any inaccuracies or if you would like to suggest improvements, please send your feedback to [email protected]
Need a document on this page in an accessible format?
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of a PDF or other document on this page in a more accessible format, please get in touch via our online form and tell us which format you need.
It will also help us if you tell us which assistive technology you use. We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.