14 November 2023

Developers have made public their plans for the retail space in Tower Bridge Court.

These plans include a 'Market Hall' operation with eight separate street food kitchens and a separate bar with a capacity for 418 customers. The new-style dining experience will be in operation from 08.00 to 23.00 daily and will occupy the ground floor and part of the first floor of Tower Bridge Court with entry and exit at the corner of Horselydown Lane and Shad Thames. 

It was a condition of the development's approval in 2020 that developers create a Management Plan for the retail units and that the Plan gain approval by Southwark. The Management Plan has now been submitted and Southwark is due to make a decision about approval on 30 November. Residents are able to comment on the terms of the plan up until that date. 

STRA is concerned that - as written - the Management Plan includes no provision for regular communication between the retail operator and residents. 

We are asking Southwark Planning to make it a condition of approval that the Management Plan be revised to include the establishment of a system of direct communication between residents and the operator in order to deal with any issues arising from the operations of these businesses. 

Furthermore, STRA is asking Southwark to consider whether the developers should be required to seek Planning approval for the large advertising signage they propose in the Plan, which STRA feels does not meet the guidelines outlined in the Tower Bridge Conservation Area Appraisal, the Shad Thames Area Management Plan, or in Historic England's 'Streets for All' regarding advertising. 

STRA encourages all resident to read the Management Plan submitted by the developers and submit any comments ton the application before the deadline on 30 November. 

Residents can view the Management Plan and leave any comments on the Southwark Planning Register by searching for Application 23/AP/2805. 

STRA's full letter to Southwark Planning is below: 

Full details of this development can now be found here:

https://www.tbc.london/c/news/

And the March 2023 Newsletter is below.

26 July 2022

According to a press released issued by Fore Partnership, Willmott Dixon has been awarded the contract to redevelop Tower Bridge Court and work is now set to begin in September 2022, with a completion date expected in mid-2024. 

More information about the project is contained in the release below. STRA will update this page with information about road closures, parking suspensions, and other project details as we receive them. 

5 May 2022

FORE Partnership announced this morning that they have secured funding from KKR which will allow them to move forward with the redevelopment of Tower Bridge Court. 

KKR's press releases says that works on the building are expected to being "imminently."

FORE has reached out to the project's Community Liaison Group to let them know that a meeting will be arranged soon to discuss the plans with residents. 

STRA will post any updates as we received them. 

You can find KKR's press release here. 

20 October 2021

The developers of Tower Bridge Court have provided STRA with this update:

Plans are still to carry out the redevelopment of Tower Bridge Court, with a completion date of late 2023. Timings still have to be finalised and are subject to funding agreements being signed. Further information will be provided as and when known. A start date is not expected before 2022. 

15 September 2021

The developers of Tower Bridge Court have let STRA know that contractual discussions regarding the start of works on the site are still ongoing. The developers hope that these discussions will conclude in time for work to start at some point in the autumn. 

9 July 2021

According to the developers, works on Tower Bridge Court have been further delayed. This means the parking suspensions and scaffolding will be pushed back to later in the summer. We will publish the new start date as soon as we receive it. 

In addition, beginning the week of 12 July, some exploratory work will be done in the building's basement which will include cutting through concrete with a floor saw. The developers report that they will be working with doors and windows closed to keep noise to a minimum. 

7 July 2021

The TBC developers have announced a short delay to the start of work on the site. As a result, the parking bay suspensions, scaffolding and fencing outlined below won't begin for another week or two. The crane - and accompanying road closure - should take place in early August. We will post the exact dates when they become available. 

3 July 2021

The developers of Tower Bridge Court have offered the following updates about works at the site over the next several weeks.

Machinery and materials will be brought to the site over the coming fortnight. In addition: 

Week beginning 5 July

Heras fencing will be positioned on the footpath around Tower Bridge Court on Thursday 8 July.

Parking bay suspensions go into effect (see more details in the first item below). 

Week beginning 12 July

Scaffolders will arrive on site and will be there for the next three months. 

Additionally, on 30 July Horselydown Lane will be closed for the day from Gainsford Street to Shad Thames to accommodate a crane. 

30 June 2021

From 1 July 2021, Southwark Council's Streetworks contractors will be putting parking bay suspension notices on lampposts adjacent to the relevant parking bays mentioned below. 

These parking bays will be suspended with effect from Thursday, 8 July 2021 until the project is completed, but please note that Wilmott Dixon is intending to make the parking bays available for general use every weekend. The agreement has yet to be finalised with the Council, but for the time being the parking bays will be suspended for 5 working days a week on a rolling basis and each weekend the bays will be available for use with the dates on the notices on lampposts changed accordingly. 

The parking bays to be suspended are: 

• Three parking bays outside the Anchor Tap public house
• One parking bay in front of Sami's Deli
• The Car Club parking bay on the corner of Gainsford Street and Horselydown Lane. 

Update July 2020

As many of you may be aware, in January 2020 the Developer received planning permission to re-develop Tower Bridge Court (TBC), and we recently discovered that their goal is to start work on the site on 20 July 2020.

However, part of the planning permission provided for TBC to consult local residents and businesses. After learning of the Developer's plan to start work in July, Hamish McCallum, local Councillor, together with STRA, convened a “Community Liaison Group” involving the Owner, the Developer, and the Contractor to initially discuss the “Construction Management Plan” (CMP).

The representatives of local resident groups, coordinated by STRA, have now submitted their concerns and questions to the Contractors.  The major concern is about emergency access to Horselydown Lane which will, at times, be blocked by construction lorries. Another concern is the large amount of lorry traffic in Shad Thames generally. And, the group, of course, is concerned about the levels of noise, dust and vibration caused by the development.

At present, the CMP suggests noise will be 2 hours on/2 hours off, but it is unclear how much noise this really means, and what (if anything) might be done about the noise of reversing lorries.

The Contractor will shortly be circulating a Questionnaire to the wider Shad Thames area on how residents/businesses would like to be informed of the progress of the works, etc. As soon as the final version of the Questionnaire is available it will be posted on the STRA website.

The local resident group have assured the Contractor of the importance of establishing and maintaining a close working relationship. The group confirmed their commitment to taking this forward once their concerns have been addressed.

Image courtesy of Willmott Dixon