Oh to live on Greenwich Peninsula

Riverside living. Affordability. Entertainment. Wildlife. What’s not to love, says Emma Magnus

- says Emma Magnus

Greenwich Peninsula, the curved finger of land that juts out into the Thames, has been earmarked for change for a long time.

When the Millennium Dome opened in 1999, it aimed to transform the ex-industrial brownfield site. But the Dome, as we know, wasn't exactly the money-spinning venture that was hoped. In 2005, after years lying empty, the building was sold and renamed The O2, with the regeneration plans yet to come to fruition.

“When I moved in, back in 2002, there were about 400 residents on the peninsula and we had hardly any facilities,” says events consultant Michael Aldridge, now 62. Aldridge moved there to buy his first home: prices were affordable and he saw potential in the masterplan. “The Millennium Dome had been mothballed since the millennium. We compared it to Chernobyl, because it was an empty site that needed redeveloping.”

Fast forward 20 years, and change is now well and truly under way. In 2013, Greenwich Peninsula was acquired by Hong Kong developer Knight Dragon, which aims to build 17,000 new homes by 2043, attracting some 34,000 new residents. So far, 2,250 have been constructed.

The £10.8 billion project is not just about homes, says Laura Flanagan, marketing director at Greenwich Peninsula. It aims to “champion new and emerging creatives” and establish the area as “the capital’s home for the creative industries”. Ravensbourne University relocated to the peninsula in 2010, while the Design District, a purpose-built quarter for creatives, followed in 2021. Now, there is a year-round events programme, including seasonal festivals and a weekly food and crafts market. But it cannot quite escape its association with the Dome.