East London prepares to enter light of a transport revolution

Press, 12 September 1987, Page 25

East London prepares to enter light of a transport revolution

MARGARET COX writes that London is moving downriver. The Docklands Light Railway has opened; next month, aeroplanes; next year, boats.

One of the more attractive consequences of the metamorphosis of east London is that, after years of mole-like burrowings below ground, we are now all about to emerge as creatures of air and water, transported over flyovers in gay little red-and-blue trains, cleaving the river from Chelsea Harbour to Greenwich in dashing white catamarans.

On August 31, the new London Docklands Light Railway carried its first passengers from Tower Bridge to the Isle of Dogs (first eastwards train, 5.31 a.m. from Tower Gateway station). In October, the first flights are planned to take off from London City Airport in King George V Dock and, in readiness for next summer’s first scheduled trips, splashy noises are already coming from the new river bus service, Thames

There is inevitably a quickening of interest in property everywhere within reach of the light railway, the airport and the eastern river bus stations (Swan Lane Pier, London Bridge City, Wapping, West India Dock). And that means not just the Isle of Dogs but the northern districts through Limehouse to Bow and Stratford. The beneficiaries of this eastwards shift of the fulcrum of London’s communications system should be erstwhile shabby areas with older terraced properties as well as the new river-frontage and wharf-

side conversions. Buyers wanting to benefit from the improved access now have enormous choice. But don’t assume that values will increase dramatically everywhere within walking distance of the D.L.R. Wapping, already noted for its grand and expensive wharf conversions such as Tower Bridge Wharf where “London’s most enviable view” produces asking prices of around $350,000 for one-bedroom. flats, has already moved well ahead of prices in the Isle of Dogs, and all new warehouse conversions and

riverside estates in both districts already take account of new and projected amenities, say agents Carleton Smith.

The Isle of Dogs is still the hub of everything. A river view and mooring, somewhere like Clippers Quay, costs from $260,000 for a one-bed flat to $300,000 plus for three beds. A willingness to turn one’s back on the river, however, and accept a courtyard or patio view brings a substantial price fall: $150,000 for one bedroom, $280,000 for three.

There is a small supply of older property at the southern end of the Isle of Dogs which is worth exploring. Near Mudchute Station, for instance, an enclave of charmingly converted excouncil houses featuring round stair windows and new hardwood door surrounds is still moderately priced at

$150,000 to SIBO,OOO for threebedroom homes. The new D.I.R. line is equally good news for anyone thinking of selling a house in Greenwich near the footbridge to the Isle of Dogs: this now links Greenwich to the Island Gardens D.L.R. stop. Carleton Smith suggest that buyers looking for moderately priced property should prospect areas where developments are not quite so advanced, such as Limehouse Basin. They are offering an imaginative Victorian conversion (from a dog biscuit factory with 93 square metres of

shell space, plus roof terrace, allowing combined residential and business-studio use, with space for one bedroom, at $160,000. Shadwell and Poplar, both on the D.L.R. line, house old property but a lot is council housing so the chance to buy is limited. Stratford, at the northern end of the line, has had good Underground connections (Central Line) for years so property values are unlikely to be significantly affected. Nevertheless, Duncan Fletcher, of Ricketts Boreham, says many people in the Isle of Dogs

enterprise zone who can’t afford local prices will be looking in the Stratford Bow area now that they are within quick commuting distance on the light railway. It is still possible to buy a two-bed-room house in Stratford for $130,000, unlike Bow which, with its elegant nineteenth-century restorations, has long gone up in the world. Ricketts Boreham have a good three-bed Victorian house on offer there for $190,000 and Bairstow Eves have a modern three-bed terrace house for $152,000. Further east — where the

D.L.R. extension will stretch north of the Royal Docks to Beckton — empty warehouses, derelict wharves and high-den-sity housing, much of it with no river view, are pegging prices well below levels in the more developed central areas. But with a London City Airport minibus already planned to Connaught or Royal Albert D.L.R. stations and with the eastern D.L.R. link scheduled for completion in 1991, it won’t be long before this whole area will be opened up. Copyright — London Observer y