An Indian billionaire investor has made claims that his £1bn plan to build out Silverton Quays in East London has been blocked despite strong support from the site's landowners and property developers. Essel Group's Subhash Chandra wants to build a cultural centre and 3500 homes at the 62-acre site within London's Royal Docks area. The site was put up for sale in 2012 by the Greater London Authority (GLA). The centre will highlight the achievements of Indian and other ancient civilisations over 6000 years. Chandra said he wants to recreate how the world looked 6000 years ago and how it has evolved, using mannequins, technology, 3D, 4D and animatronics.
“It has been my long-held ambition to build at least three major cultural centres in the world, the first in London, in the Royal Docks, and then in the United States and Asia, that will be dedicated to helping all nations explore peaceful solutions to the current threats facing humanity. As part of this regeneration of Silvertown Quays, we have also committed to build 3,500 homes, 35 per cent of which will be affordable housing. This is far more than outlined in the current development plans for this site and the cultural centre alone has the capacity to attract 10m visitors to the UK each year, and create more than 5,000 jobs,” he said.
The Silvertown Partnership, a consortium of businesses comprising Chelsfield Properties, First Base, and Macquarie Capital, was selected as the preferred developer of the site. Boris Johnson, the then mayor of London, had said the deal would provide £6.5 billion boost to the local economy. The TSP decided to sell the development rights and entered into talks with Essel as well as Lendlease and Starwood Capital.
Essel now claims its plans for the site have been frustrated by a deadlock between TSP and the GLA. While TSP said it supports the proposal, the final decision lies with the GLA. Chandra said, “The challenges that Essel Group has encountered in bringing this investment to London have come as a surprise to me. Sir Stuart Lipton has given his full support to the centre... and has stated the decision is in the hands of the GLA. The GLA, while also privately praising our plan, says it cannot formally present it to the mayor without the authority of TSP. This defies logic because Silvertown is publicly owned land and this approach suggests that the commercial interests of the developers are being put ahead of what is best for London.”
He added, “For common sense to prevail, the GLA must seize this opportunity to consider credible alternatives. As such, we remain hopeful that the British government and the mayor of London will not allow this important investment into London to be lost.” Essel said it had written to the London Mayor Sadiq Khan about the issue, but was yet to receive a response. A City Hall spokesperson said, “The Mayor is committed to ensuring regeneration of the Silvertown Quays site, which has the potential to deliver thousands of much-needed new homes, as part of the wider redevelopment of the Royal Docks.”
