More than 1,600 new homes and a significant tranche of workspace are set to be built on a wedge-shaped light industrial site beside West Silvertown DLR station, after Ballymore secured planning permission for the project.
The development, known as Knights Road, will deliver 1,667 homes alongside over 11,000 sqm of light industrial and flexible workspace. The masterplan, designed by Allies & Morrison, also includes more than 10,000 sqm of new public realm and 8,000 sqm of communal open space. A network of routes prioritising walking and cycling will connect the site, with ground-floor frontages activated to support local businesses and everyday community life.
Knights Road is the second major consent Ballymore has obtained in the Royal Docks in recent months. In January 2026 the developer received approval for its nearby Thames Road scheme – a 1,685-home mixed-use development that includes a new primary school, more than 13,500 sqm of workspace and new riverside public realm close to the Thames Barrier. John Mulryan, Ballymore UK’s chief executive, said the two projects together represent “a significant and coordinated phase of regeneration across the Royal Docks”. The company has a long track record in the area, having previously delivered Royal Wharf and Riverscape – developments that have provided more than 4,000 homes along with a primary school, public park, high street and riverside walkway.
Lyle Park revamp
Ballymore has committed £1 million to improving Lyle Park, the 4.5-acre riverside green space that sits alongside the Knights Road site. The park was gifted to the community by Abram Lyle of Tate & Lyle 100 years ago. The investment will see it significantly revamped and made more accessible to the housing developments on either side. Enhancements will focus on biodiversity, play facilities and leisure uses, and Ballymore will work in partnership with Newham Council and local stakeholders through a co-design process to shape the improvements.
Affordable housing commitment
The scheme includes 153 affordable residential units, equating to 10.7 per cent of total habitable rooms. Ballymore has offered to increase this figure to 20 per cent – a near-doubling of the affordable provision – if grant funding is secured. The offer is conditional on the developer obtaining financial support from the Mayor of London’s affordable homes programme or another public body.
The pledge comes against a backdrop of evolving affordable housing policy in London. In October 2025 the government was reported to be considering reducing the capital’s standard 35 per cent affordable housing threshold for fast-track mayoral approval to 20 per cent – the same level Ballymore is targeting for Knights Road. The Mayor of London has meanwhile secured £11.7 billion for the London Social and Affordable Homes Programme covering 2026 to 2036, with at least 60 per cent of new homes expected to be for social rent. As a large project, the Knights Road application required a Stage 2 referral to the Mayor for final sign-off.
The broader regeneration momentum in the Royal Docks is reinforced by major infrastructure developments. The Docklands Light Railway extension, approved in November 2025, is expected to improve travel times to central London hubs and unlock tens of thousands of new homes and jobs. The Silvertown Tunnel has also recently opened, adding to improved connectivity. Meanwhile, the ongoing Silvertown Quays regeneration aims to deliver around 6,500 homes, extensive workspace and leisure facilities as part of a £3.5 billion programme for the Royal Docks Opportunity Area.
The Knights Road site takes its name from the John Knight Soap Works, later known as The Royal Primrose Soap Works, which operated there. Founded in Wapping in 1817, the company moved to Silvertown in 1880 and by 1906 was the largest soap works in London. It held a royal warrant as “Soap Makers to King Edward VII” and later became a subsidiary of Unilever. The scheme’s design draws on this industrial heritage, using a cohesive palette of materials and articulated building forms intended to extend and enrich the character of Ballymore’s neighbouring developments. The result is a sequence of streets, yards and open spaces designed to create a distinctive sense of place.
