Paddington Waterside
Encyclopedia
The Paddington Waterside Partnership is the body coordinating regeneration of the Paddington Special Policy Area around Paddington Station
in London
. The project covers an area almost the size of the Soho
, creating of about 10000000 square feet (929,030.4 m²) of space between 1998 and 2018.
It consists of 13 individual projects in the triangle of land between Praed Street
, Westbourne Terrace and the A40 Westway
, most notably PaddingtonCentral and Paddington Basin
. The Independent has described it as "the largest central London redevelopment scheme since the Second World War".
opened on 10 July 1801, linking Paddington to the Bull's Bridge junction near the future site of Heathrow Airport. The Grand Junction (now part of the Grand Union Canal
) was the final link in a chain of canals that reduced the distance from London to Birmingham from 269.5 miles (434 km) in 1789 to 138.5 miles (223 km) in 1805; terminating the canal at Paddington gave easy access to main roads into London and the level route meant no locks
were needed on its 13.5 miles (22 km) length. In contrast the Regent's Canal
needed 12 locks for the 86 feet (26.2 m) descent from Paddington to the Thames at Limehouse.
The canal was an instant success, with warehouses and housing springing up around it. Canal traffic increased further when the Regent's Canal linked Paddington to the Port of London
in 1820, but Paddington Basin was "practically killed" as a port as business was lost to wharves such as City Road Basin
that were closer to the docks and the City of London
. Paddington regained importance as a transport interchange with the arrival of the railway in 1838.
Canal traffic transferred to the railways during the nineteenth century and fell away completely after World War II; the closure of the Regent's Canal Dock in 1969 marked the coup de grâce
. A similar switch from rail to road in the second half of the twentieth century left the Paddington goods yards redundant by the early 1980s. The land became derelict, with no public access to the canal land until 1987. The Paddington Special Policy Area was designated in 1988.
The Paddington Regeneration Partnership, later the Paddington Waterside Partnership, was formed in 1998 to coordinate the regeneration of the area, now designated as the Paddington Special Policy Area. This followed the establishment of the King's Cross Partnership in 1996 to develop a similar mix of railway and canal land around King's Cross station, a project that became known as King's Cross Central
. The first plans for Paddington envisaged 10000000 square feet (929,030.4 m²) of new space, more than the original Canary Wharf
development, in an area the size of Soho. This compares with the 505000 sq ft (46,916 m²) of 30 St Mary Axe
(the "Gherkin") and 1238000 sq ft (115,014 m²) of the Canary Wharf Tower. Outline planning permission for the western part of Paddington Basin was granted on 23 April 2001.
Bishop's Bridge station, the original London passenger terminus of the Great Western Railway
was on this site west of Bishop's Bridge Road. After Paddington was built, it was used for the railway's goods shed
s until the 1980s. It is now a mixed-use development, with offices, flats and retail units. Phase I is Sheldon Square which is named after Sir Joseph Sheldon, a Lord Mayor of London who in 1678 rebuilt what became the church of St Mary's on Paddington Green. Sheldon Square has 630000 sq ft (58,528.9 m²) of built space built around a grass amphitheatre
which features live music in summer. The biggest structures are two office blocks of 193000 sq ft (17,930.3 m²) and 145000 sq ft (13,470.9 m²) let to companies such as Prudential
and Kingfisher
; there are 219 flats and 95000 sq ft (8,825.8 m²) of retail space. Sheldon Square was designed by Sidell Gibson and developed as a joint venture between Development Securities, Insight Investment Management and Aviva Investors.
The second phase of development lies to the west, along Kingdom Street. One Kingdom Street is a 260000 sq ft (24,154.8 m²) office building completed in February 2008 and occupied by Misys
, Statoil
, MWB
and Vodafone
. It was designed by Sheppard Robson and developed by Development Securities, Aviva Investors and Union Investment
. Two Kingdom Street was due for completion in spring 2010 with AstraZeneca
as the first tenant and has 235000 sq ft (21,832.2 m²) of office space with 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²) of residential accommodation. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
and developed by Development Securities, Aviva Investors and Quinlan Private. The Novotel London Paddington is a distinctive 206 bedroom hotel at Three Kingdom Street. The hotel was designed by Dexter Moren Associates and Kohn Pedersen Fox and opened in September 2008. It is a joint venture between Development Securities and Aviva Investors.
In January 2010 Westminster Council granted detailed planning permission for the final phase of the development, Four and Five Kingdom Street. They will provide 140000 sq ft (13,006.4 m²) and 210000 sq ft (19,509.6 m²) of office space respectively.
. It stands on the site of Telstar House, a 1960s office block by Richard Seifert
that suffered a major fire on 29 July 2003.
station to the west of Paddington Station means that the existing taxi rank will be moved north of the station, opening in spring 2011. A new entrance for the mainline station and a new ticket hall for the Hammersmith and City line will be constructed next to the canal.
oversaw a £65m facelift of the mainline station that added 50000 sq ft (4,645.2 m²) of retail and catering space. The roof of Span 4 is currently being replaced in a £34m refurbishment due for completion by the end of 2010. Paddington will be an important hub for the Crossrail
service, providing links to the mainline railway and the London Underground. The Crossrail station will be built between 2009 and 2015, with services due to start in 2017.
by European Land and Property, a development company owned jointly by European Land Holdings Ltd and the Reuben brothers
' Aldersgate Investments Ltd. It will create 2000000 sq ft (185,806.1 m²) of offices, homes, shops and leisure facilities, with the western end being developed first. Paddington Walk is a block of 232 flats designed by Munkenbeck & Marshall and completed in August 2005. The Point (224,000 sq ft) and Waterside (240,000 sq ft) are office blocks designed by Terry Farrell and Partners and the Richard Rogers Partnership respectively.
The original plan for the eastern end envisaged a commercial development including the Winding
building and the Grand Union building. The Richard Rogers Partnership originally designed the latter as three towers of 24, 32 and 40 floors rising to 164m, but the planners imposed a height limit of 100 metres (328.1 ft). The revised scheme comprised six linked blocks of 30 storeys totalling 860000 sq ft (79,896.6 m²) of mixed-use space, but the project was discarded when it looked like the site would be needed by the Health Campus (see below).
The Health Campus scheme collapsed in 2005 and in February 2006 the Paddington Development Corporation submitted a new planning application. Branded as Merchant Square, this proposes 1800000 sq ft (167,225.5 m²) of mixed-use space spanning 6 buildings, including 554 residential units and 58% commercial space. Two buildings are under construction having gained planning permission on 1 March 2007. Four Merchant Square (Waterline House, formerly West End Reach) is a 16-storey block of 196 flats, designed by Tryfon Kalyvides Partnership, and Five Merchant Square (Carmine) is a 16-storey office block of 255000 sq ft (23,690.3 m²) designed by mossessian & partners
. Marks & Spencer
will occupy Five Merchant Square, having already taken the Waterside block.
The remaining four buildings received planning permission subject to legal agreements in the summer of 2007, but the plans have been revised and are subject to new planning applications. Under the 2007 permission, The Blade will be a residential tower of 43 storeys designed by Perkins and Will
which would be the tallest building in the City of Westminster. Azure and Topaz will be 16-storey office blocks of 166000 sq ft (15,421.9 m²) and 193500 sq ft (17,976.7 m²) respectively, also designed by Perkins and Will. The final building will be a block of 146 flats called Waterweave, designed by mossessian & partners
.
A large square by the canal is planned for Merchant Square, along with business and retail barges moored alongside. The basin is known for its ingenious pedestrian bridges, such as The Rolling Bridge
and the Helix Bridge.
and Westminster Academy
left the North Westminster site surplus to requirements and the school was scheduled to close in 2010. It is now part of the new Paddington Opportunity Area, and the city council wish to encourage a primarily residential scheme on the site.
St Mary's is a major teaching hospital with a long tradition of biomedical research, from the first synthesis of heroin to the discovery of penicillin
. It is housed in buildings dating back to 1845 between Praed Street and Paddington Basin. In October 2000, the London Regional Office of the NHS approved a plan for a Paddington Health Campus that would replace three run-down hospitals - St Marys, the Royal Brompton
and Harefield
. The initial cost was estimated at £411m at 2005 prices with completion in 2006, to be financed by PFI
, but it became apparent that the scheme was too big for the original St Mary's site. Various locations north of the canal basin were investigated but the scheme was finally abandoned in May 2005 after costs had spiralled to £894m and the completion date put back to 2013. £15m was spent on the project, leading a member
of the Commons Public Accounts Committee to describe it as "an object lesson in how not to build hospitals....a shambles of the first order", and a colleague
called it "incompetence on a massive scale".
The land north of the canal that had been earmarked for the Health Campus became the Merchant Square development in Paddington Basin (see above). The planning application was formally withdrawn in May 2008 but St Mary's remains part of the Paddington Waterside Partnership. The only recent development work has been a £15m upgrade of the QEQM Wing.
The Great Western Royal Hotel on Praed Street was built as the station hotel in 1854. Muirgold Limited gave it a £60m refurbishment in 2002 and it was rebranded as the Hilton
London Paddington.
and better access to the mainline station.
.
Paddington station
Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The project covers an area almost the size of the Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, creating of about 10000000 square feet (929,030.4 m²) of space between 1998 and 2018.
It consists of 13 individual projects in the triangle of land between Praed Street
Praed Street
Praed Street is a street in London's Paddington district , most notable for the fact that Paddington Station is situated on it. It runs straight in a west-south-westerly direction from Edgware Road to Craven Road, Spring Street and Eastbourne Terrace.-History:Praed Street was originally laid out in...
, Westbourne Terrace and the A40 Westway
Westway (London)
The Westway is a long elevated dual carriageway section of the A40 route in west London running from Paddington to North Kensington. The road was constructed between 1964 and 1970 to relieve congestion at Shepherd's Bush caused by traffic from Western Avenue struggling to enter central London on...
, most notably PaddingtonCentral and Paddington Basin
Paddington Basin
Paddington Basin is an area of Paddington, London named after the nearby canal basin.The junction of the Regent's Canal and the Grand Junction Canal is close to this point but the basin itself is the terminus of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal. It was opened in 1801...
. The Independent has described it as "the largest central London redevelopment scheme since the Second World War".
History
The Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction CanalGrand Junction Canal
The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford...
opened on 10 July 1801, linking Paddington to the Bull's Bridge junction near the future site of Heathrow Airport. The Grand Junction (now part of the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
) was the final link in a chain of canals that reduced the distance from London to Birmingham from 269.5 miles (434 km) in 1789 to 138.5 miles (223 km) in 1805; terminating the canal at Paddington gave easy access to main roads into London and the level route meant no locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
were needed on its 13.5 miles (22 km) length. In contrast the Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
needed 12 locks for the 86 feet (26.2 m) descent from Paddington to the Thames at Limehouse.
The canal was an instant success, with warehouses and housing springing up around it. Canal traffic increased further when the Regent's Canal linked Paddington to the Port of London
Port of London
The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the world, it is currently the United Kingdom's second largest port, after Grimsby & Immingham...
in 1820, but Paddington Basin was "practically killed" as a port as business was lost to wharves such as City Road Basin
City Road Basin
The City Road Basin is a canal basin and part of the Regent's Canal in London, owned by British Waterways. There are currently several large-scale residential developments in progress....
that were closer to the docks and the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. Paddington regained importance as a transport interchange with the arrival of the railway in 1838.
Canal traffic transferred to the railways during the nineteenth century and fell away completely after World War II; the closure of the Regent's Canal Dock in 1969 marked the coup de grâce
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
. A similar switch from rail to road in the second half of the twentieth century left the Paddington goods yards redundant by the early 1980s. The land became derelict, with no public access to the canal land until 1987. The Paddington Special Policy Area was designated in 1988.
The Paddington Regeneration Partnership, later the Paddington Waterside Partnership, was formed in 1998 to coordinate the regeneration of the area, now designated as the Paddington Special Policy Area. This followed the establishment of the King's Cross Partnership in 1996 to develop a similar mix of railway and canal land around King's Cross station, a project that became known as King's Cross Central
King's Cross Central
King's Cross Central is a multi-billion pound mixed-use property development in central London. The site is owned and controlled by London and Continental Railways and Exel, which selected Argent St George to be the developer for King's Cross Central, after an extensive selection process...
. The first plans for Paddington envisaged 10000000 square feet (929,030.4 m²) of new space, more than the original Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
development, in an area the size of Soho. This compares with the 505000 sq ft (46,916 m²) of 30 St Mary Axe
30 St Mary Axe
30 St Mary Axe, the Swiss Re Building , is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004...
(the "Gherkin") and 1238000 sq ft (115,014 m²) of the Canary Wharf Tower. Outline planning permission for the western part of Paddington Basin was granted on 23 April 2001.
PaddingtonCentral
Bishop's Bridge station, the original London passenger terminus of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
was on this site west of Bishop's Bridge Road. After Paddington was built, it was used for the railway's goods shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
s until the 1980s. It is now a mixed-use development, with offices, flats and retail units. Phase I is Sheldon Square which is named after Sir Joseph Sheldon, a Lord Mayor of London who in 1678 rebuilt what became the church of St Mary's on Paddington Green. Sheldon Square has 630000 sq ft (58,528.9 m²) of built space built around a grass amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
which features live music in summer. The biggest structures are two office blocks of 193000 sq ft (17,930.3 m²) and 145000 sq ft (13,470.9 m²) let to companies such as Prudential
Prudential plc
Prudential plc is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance in mainland China, Hong...
and Kingfisher
Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc is a multinational retailing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest home improvement retailer in Europe and the third-largest in the world...
; there are 219 flats and 95000 sq ft (8,825.8 m²) of retail space. Sheldon Square was designed by Sidell Gibson and developed as a joint venture between Development Securities, Insight Investment Management and Aviva Investors.
The second phase of development lies to the west, along Kingdom Street. One Kingdom Street is a 260000 sq ft (24,154.8 m²) office building completed in February 2008 and occupied by Misys
Misys
Misys plc is a business that makes and sells software to banking, investment, and, formerly, to medical businesses. The company merged its healthcare information technology division with Allscripts in 2008...
, Statoil
Statoil
Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
, MWB
MWB Group Holdings
MWB Group Holdings is a British-based property investment and development business. It is headquartered in London and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 2008, the group had revenues of £277.8 million.-History:...
and Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
. It was designed by Sheppard Robson and developed by Development Securities, Aviva Investors and Union Investment
Union Investment
Union Investment is the investment company of the DZ BANK Group and part of the cooperative financial services network....
. Two Kingdom Street was due for completion in spring 2010 with AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc is a global pharmaceutical and biologics company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's seventh-largest pharmaceutical company measured by revenues and has operations in over 100 countries...
as the first tenant and has 235000 sq ft (21,832.2 m²) of office space with 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²) of residential accommodation. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
Kohn Pedersen Fox
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates , an architectural firm responsible for several world-renowned buildings, provides architectural, interior and urban design as well as programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors...
and developed by Development Securities, Aviva Investors and Quinlan Private. The Novotel London Paddington is a distinctive 206 bedroom hotel at Three Kingdom Street. The hotel was designed by Dexter Moren Associates and Kohn Pedersen Fox and opened in September 2008. It is a joint venture between Development Securities and Aviva Investors.
In January 2010 Westminster Council granted detailed planning permission for the final phase of the development, Four and Five Kingdom Street. They will provide 140000 sq ft (13,006.4 m²) and 210000 sq ft (19,509.6 m²) of office space respectively.
Stone Wharf
British Waterways intends to encourage activity on and around the canal north of the Westway up to Little Venice, with floating galleries, cafés and restaurants.55-65 North Wharf Road and Telstar
Derwent London is employing Fletcher Priest as the architect for two sites off Bishop's Bridge Road, either side of the railway station. Planning permission was granted in January 2008 for two buildings at 55–65 North Wharf Road, a 240000 sq ft (22,296.7 m²) office block and a block of 100 flats east of the station. An eight-storey office block of 105000 sq ft (9,754.8 m²) has been built at 2 Eastbourne Terrace and is the London headquarters of the Rio Tinto GroupRio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
. It stands on the site of Telstar House, a 1960s office block by Richard Seifert
Richard Seifert
Reubin Seifert - normally known as Richard Seifert was a British architect, best known for designing the Centrepoint tower and Tower 42 , once the tallest building in the City of London...
that suffered a major fire on 29 July 2003.
10-50 Eastbourne Terrace
Further down Eastbourne Terrace, Land Securities have refurbished numbers 10,20 and 30. In 2009 they sold numbers 40 and 50, 146000 sq ft (13,563.8 m²) of retail and office space. Westlink Global Investment Ltd, 60% owned by AMDB Bhd of Malaysia, paid £50.5m for a net rental yield of 8.65% based on the 94% occupancy at the time.Triangle Site
The construction of the CrossrailCrossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
station to the west of Paddington Station means that the existing taxi rank will be moved north of the station, opening in spring 2011. A new entrance for the mainline station and a new ticket hall for the Hammersmith and City line will be constructed next to the canal.
Paddington Station
Nicholas GrimshawNicholas Grimshaw
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, CBE is a prominent English architect, particularly noted for several modernist buildings, including London's Waterloo International railway station and the Eden Project in Cornwall...
oversaw a £65m facelift of the mainline station that added 50000 sq ft (4,645.2 m²) of retail and catering space. The roof of Span 4 is currently being replaced in a £34m refurbishment due for completion by the end of 2010. Paddington will be an important hub for the Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
service, providing links to the mainline railway and the London Underground. The Crossrail station will be built between 2009 and 2015, with services due to start in 2017.
Paddington Basin and Merchant Square
Most of the land north of the canal basin is being developed under the banner of Paddington BasinPaddington Basin
Paddington Basin is an area of Paddington, London named after the nearby canal basin.The junction of the Regent's Canal and the Grand Junction Canal is close to this point but the basin itself is the terminus of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal. It was opened in 1801...
by European Land and Property, a development company owned jointly by European Land Holdings Ltd and the Reuben brothers
Reuben Brothers
Reuben Brothers is a privately held company wholly owned by David and Simon Reuben. Based in Switzerland, Reuben Brothers has various departments in countries including the United Kingdom. Its main activities are in real estate, private equity, and venture capitalism...
' Aldersgate Investments Ltd. It will create 2000000 sq ft (185,806.1 m²) of offices, homes, shops and leisure facilities, with the western end being developed first. Paddington Walk is a block of 232 flats designed by Munkenbeck & Marshall and completed in August 2005. The Point (224,000 sq ft) and Waterside (240,000 sq ft) are office blocks designed by Terry Farrell and Partners and the Richard Rogers Partnership respectively.
The original plan for the eastern end envisaged a commercial development including the Winding
Winding hole
A winding hole is a widened area of a canal , used for turning a canal boat such as a narrowboat. "Winding" is pronounced as in a flow of air, not as in to rotate.-Etymology:...
building and the Grand Union building. The Richard Rogers Partnership originally designed the latter as three towers of 24, 32 and 40 floors rising to 164m, but the planners imposed a height limit of 100 metres (328.1 ft). The revised scheme comprised six linked blocks of 30 storeys totalling 860000 sq ft (79,896.6 m²) of mixed-use space, but the project was discarded when it looked like the site would be needed by the Health Campus (see below).
Michel Mossessian
Michel Mossessian is a French architect based in London, UK. Michel gained his diploma in architecture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts UP N°8 in Paris, where he also engaged in philosophy under Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault...
. Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
will occupy Five Merchant Square, having already taken the Waterside block.
The remaining four buildings received planning permission subject to legal agreements in the summer of 2007, but the plans have been revised and are subject to new planning applications. Under the 2007 permission, The Blade will be a residential tower of 43 storeys designed by Perkins and Will
Perkins and Will
Perkins+Will was founded in Chicago in 1935 by and ., on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance society...
which would be the tallest building in the City of Westminster. Azure and Topaz will be 16-storey office blocks of 166000 sq ft (15,421.9 m²) and 193500 sq ft (17,976.7 m²) respectively, also designed by Perkins and Will. The final building will be a block of 146 flats called Waterweave, designed by mossessian & partners
Michel Mossessian
Michel Mossessian is a French architect based in London, UK. Michel gained his diploma in architecture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts UP N°8 in Paris, where he also engaged in philosophy under Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault...
.
A large square by the canal is planned for Merchant Square, along with business and retail barges moored alongside. The basin is known for its ingenious pedestrian bridges, such as The Rolling Bridge
The Rolling Bridge
The Rolling Bridge is a type of curling movable bridge completed in 2004 as part of the Grand Union Canal office & retail development project at Paddington Basin, London...
and the Helix Bridge.
North Westminster Community School
Sandwiched between the Westway and the canal basin, the 1.5-hectare school site was omitted from the Paddington Special Policy Area as it was expected to remain in use for education. The decision to build the Paddington AcademyPaddington Academy
Paddington Academy is a non-selective co-educational secondary school and academy located in Maida Vale in the borough of Westminster and the ceremonial county of London, England. Established in September 2006, it is run by the United Learning Trust, a subsidiary of the United Church Schools Trust...
and Westminster Academy
Westminster Academy (London)
Westminster Academy, is an Academy located in London, England.It is a co-educational school for 11+ years that specialized in International Business and Enterprise...
left the North Westminster site surplus to requirements and the school was scheduled to close in 2010. It is now part of the new Paddington Opportunity Area, and the city council wish to encourage a primarily residential scheme on the site.
Paddington Health Campus and St Mary's Hospital
St Mary's is a major teaching hospital with a long tradition of biomedical research, from the first synthesis of heroin to the discovery of penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
. It is housed in buildings dating back to 1845 between Praed Street and Paddington Basin. In October 2000, the London Regional Office of the NHS approved a plan for a Paddington Health Campus that would replace three run-down hospitals - St Marys, the Royal Brompton
Royal Brompton Hospital
Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the United Kingdom .The hospital is part of Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is a national and international specialist heart and lung centre based in Chelsea, London and Harefield, Middlesex...
and Harefield
Harefield Hospital
Harefield Hospital is located in Harefield, Middlesex. It is part of the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, which describes itself as "the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK and among the largest in Europe". Harefield's sister hospital is the Royal Brompton Hospital in...
. The initial cost was estimated at £411m at 2005 prices with completion in 2006, to be financed by PFI
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
, but it became apparent that the scheme was too big for the original St Mary's site. Various locations north of the canal basin were investigated but the scheme was finally abandoned in May 2005 after costs had spiralled to £894m and the completion date put back to 2013. £15m was spent on the project, leading a member
Richard Bacon (politician)
Richard Michael Bacon is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for the South Norfolk constituency.-Early life:...
of the Commons Public Accounts Committee to describe it as "an object lesson in how not to build hospitals....a shambles of the first order", and a colleague
Steve Webb
Steven John Webb, better known as Steve Webb , is an English Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Thornbury & Yate and the Minister of State for Pensions.-Background:...
called it "incompetence on a massive scale".
The land north of the canal that had been earmarked for the Health Campus became the Merchant Square development in Paddington Basin (see above). The planning application was formally withdrawn in May 2008 but St Mary's remains part of the Paddington Waterside Partnership. The only recent development work has been a £15m upgrade of the QEQM Wing.
Hilton London Paddington
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
London Paddington.
Sorting Office
The Royal Mail closed their sorting office in Praed Street in March 2010 and moved the counter service to West End Quay. A commercial development is envisaged for the site, along with a new ticket hall for the Bakerloo lineBakerloo Line
The Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from Elephant and Castle in the south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in the north-west of London. The line serves 25 stations, of which 15 are underground...
and better access to the mainline station.
West End Quay
Rialto Homes and WestCity built three blocks of flats at the east end of the canal basin that were completed in 2003. West End Quay comprises 468 flats and 29000 sq ft (2,694.2 m²) of retail space, designed by Broadway MalyanBroadway Malyan
Broadway Malyan is an international architecture, urbanism and design practice with fifteen offices worldwide. Established in 1958, the company has been ranked as one of the top 25 architectural practices in the world....
.