WSP celebrates green light for the £520m plans at London’s Ruby Triangle
The London Borough of Southwark has now approved the plans for the mixed-use regeneration scheme known as the Ruby Triangle in the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area
Engineering and professional services consultants, WSP, has provided multi-disciplinary support since 2017 for Avanton’s mixed-use regeneration scheme on the Old Kent Road in the London Borough of Southwark.
The development will transform the site known as Ruby Triangle and provide 1,152 homes, more than 40% of which will be affordable, in buildings up to 48 storeys. It will also have supporting commercial spaces, residential and communal amenities along with a public sports hall and new publicly accessible open green space.
In order to meet the ambitious targets for planning submission, WSP applied a ‘Future Ready’ thinking throughout the design process to ensure the development is ready for the transition to increasingly widespread connected, automated and on-demand modes of transport.
The transport team at WSP has been able to promote a car-free approach to the scheme, minimising impacts on local roads and helping to deliver a sustainable development which will help to meet the objectives of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy.
The development will encourage cycling through the provision of ample cycle parking and the Borough’s first of its kind cycle hub in the centre of the development. It will also be re-providing an existing Enterprise-Rent-a-Car facility on site who will be responsible for running car club services.
“This is a great result, not just for the project and team, but also for Southwark residents and London”, says Steve Foxcroft, Project Manager at WSP. “The scheme will deliver 1,152 much needed homes along with a new sports hall for Southwark and employment space.
“We thought carefully about incorporating character and local heritage to the site by installing structural elements of the adjacent decommissioned gasholder that will be used to help mitigate wind issues on the site and become features in the park. While the development is on a constrained site on one of London’s busiest corridors, it will be a pioneering development for the Old Kent Road and one that we all hope will help accelerate its regeneration.
“The development sits on one of London’s main transport links, connecting East to West and will be a pioneering development for the Old Kent Road, the local community and an integral part of the areas regeneration”, continues Steve.
The scheme is the latest in a growing stream of projects WSP has helped Avanton deliver, most notably the new home for the Royal Academy of Dance in Wandsworth.
Work on site is likely to commence in 2020