London is taking a more direct role in housing development with the launch of a new City Hall Developer initiative, backed by a £100 million investment in the regeneration of Silvertown in the Royal Docks.
The initiative is designed to support the delivery of around 7,000 new homes in East London, including a substantial proportion of affordable housing. Around 1,000 homes are expected to be under construction by 2028.
The project represents a shift in the way London’s City Hall intends to participate in housing development. Rather than acting primarily as a funder or facilitator, the Greater London Authority (GLA) is taking a direct investment role alongside development partners.
Read the official London City Hall announcement
A £100 Million Investment in Silvertown
The first major project under the new City Hall Developer initiative is Silvertown, a 60-acre site in the Royal Docks.
The GLA is investing £100 million to join the Silvertown Partnership, working with developer Lendlease. The revised masterplan approved by Newham Council includes approximately 7,000 homes, of which 1,800 are planned to be affordable.
The first phase is already underway and includes 1,032 homes, with more than half planned as affordable housing. The wider development is expected to deliver approximately 7 million square feet of residential, commercial and public space.
Why London Is Taking a More Active Role
The new approach is partly a response to the financial and construction challenges affecting housing projects across London.
According to City Hall, high construction costs, viability constraints and difficulties accessing finance have contributed to delays in housing delivery. The newly established City Hall Developer Investment Fund is intended to help unlock stalled projects and accelerate the construction of social and affordable housing.
The initiative has been inspired in part by international housing models, particularly Singapore’s more interventionist approach, where the public sector plays a significant role in land ownership and housing development.
ITV reported that the London scheme is intended to give City Hall a more active role in developing sites across the capital rather than relying exclusively on private-sector delivery.
Read the ITV report on London’s £100 million housing investment
Silvertown and the Transformation of the Royal Docks
The Silvertown project forms part of a much larger regeneration strategy for the Royal Docks.
City Hall says the wider Royal Docks programme aims to support more than 36,000 new homes and 55,000 jobs across the area over time. The regeneration also includes new public spaces and improved pedestrian and cycling connections.
A new pedestrian and cycle bridge across Royal Victoria Dock is also progressing, improving connections between Silvertown, Custom House and the Elizabeth line.
The development therefore combines several elements of contemporary urban planning: housing, employment, waterfront regeneration, public transport and active mobility.
Affordable Housing Remains a Central Element
The 7,000-home Silvertown masterplan includes approximately 1,800 affordable homes.
The project is also connected to London’s broader Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026–2036, for which the Greater London Authority has secured up to £11.7 billion in government funding. The programme is intended to support the delivery of social and affordable housing across the capital over the next decade.
This places Silvertown within a much wider effort to increase housing supply across London rather than treating it as an isolated regeneration project.
What Happens Next?
The first homes at Silvertown are already being delivered, while the wider 7,000-home development is expected to progress in phases.
City Hall has described Silvertown as the first major site in a pipeline that could be unlocked through the new City Hall Developer model. A September 2026 draft housing programme confirms that the initiative’s first step is to support the 7,000-home East London scheme and that City Hall intends to use direct intervention on additional sites.
For London, the significance of the project goes beyond the number of homes. It provides a test case for whether a city government can use public investment, land ownership and partnerships with private developers to accelerate large-scale urban development.
