New £15m water pipe for major development in London

A £15 million project will supply water to thousands of new homes and businesses in one of east London’s fastest growing districts.

Thames Water is installing a 4km-long water main to serve a range of new developments including the Greenwich Peninsula, where 15,000 new homes are being built around The O2.

Labelled by developers as ‘New London’, the district will also see new schools, shops and places to eat in an area twice the size of Soho.

The Greenwich project is a prelude to a major overhaul of London’s Victorian water network from next year when hundreds of kilometres of mains will be upgraded with £300m of additional funding from Thames Water’s owners as part of the company’s ambitious turnaround plan to improve performance.

Godfried Nyamekyeh, Thames Water project manager, said: “London is growing fast, so it’s vital we update our infrastructure to keep pace with new developments across the city.

“The Greenwich project will ensure a resilient and reliable water supply for existing customers in the area as well as the thousands of people who will be moving to the peninsula over the next few years.”

The new pipe will be almost a metre in diameter at its widest, carrying 300 litres of water a second from the Thames Water treatment works at Deptford. The project is set to be completed by March 2024.

Work started in the north-west corner of Greenwich Park on Tuesday, September 14, and will be carried out during normal weekday working hours. 

The first sections of pipe will be installed under the footpath in Circus Gate, St Mary’s Gate and Park Row Gate. Parts of the path will be closed at different stages of the work, but alternative signposted pathways will help visitors cross the park. 

Visitor access to St Mary’s Gate Café will not be affected. Tarmac will be resurfaced, and turf re-laid where necessary. Some trees may require slight pruning, but no trees will be removed.

Work in the park is due to finish at the end of February 2022. Care will be taken to always keep disruption to a minimum.

The Thames Water team will then move the rolling programme of work into neighbouring streets. There will be some road closures and temporary lights, but engineers will work with Transport for London (TfL) and the Royal Borough of Greenwich to keep the area moving as much as possible.

Residents and other key stakeholders will be kept informed of the work as it progresses through the neighbourhood.