Skip to main content

London's Towns - Shaping the Polycentric City

London's Towns - Shaping the Polycentric City

The South Thamesmead Masterplan has been featured in a new publication and exhibition by New London Architecture (NLA) examining the future role of the capital’s outer urban centres. The exhibition explores the next wave of development taking shape. Over the past decade, significant changes have taken place in outer London town centres - the high cost of accommodation in central London has made outer areas more attractive as places to live, with new infrastructure transforming the viability of new developments. The study sets out the drivers and solutions for the creation of a 'many-centred' city that provides places where people can live, work and play and that retain a distinctive character and sense of place. 

Thamesmead provides one of the most significant opportunities for meeting London's growing demands for housing, employment land and green space. From Abbey Wood Station in the south, to Southmere Lane in the north, the South Thameamsead Masterplan creates an active linear focus to the neighbourhood and will include over 1,500 new homes, public spaces and 10,000 square meters of commercial, retail and leisure space. The plans include proposals for a new civic quarter containing 525 mixed-tenure homes, commercial and community facilities and a new public square.