Planning Success at Royal Arsenal Riverside – Waterfront 4, 5 & 6 Buildings

We are delighted to have supported Berkeley Homes (East Thames) to gain reserved matters approval for the Waterfront 4, 5 & 6 buildings at Royal Arsenal Riverside (RAR), in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Key to the Waterfront masterplan, the next phase of Waterfront buildings will deliver 764 new high-quality homes and 602m² of commercial space close to the River Thames. We look forward to our continuing involvement on the scheme, which we have been working on for over 10 years.

Working closely with Berkeley Homes and Simon Bowden Architecture we utilised our extensive experience of working on the Royal Arsenal Riverside development to successfully develop tailored energy and sustainability strategies that respond to both policy requirements and the masterplan objectives:

• Energy Statement: Drawing from our Waterfront Masterplan energy strategy we integrated advanced energy efficiency measures to exceed Part L 2013 standards for Waterfront 4, 5 and 6. A highly efficient site-wide heat network, which is already operational will provide the main source of heat to all three buildings. This will achieve a 43% reduction in CO₂ emissions over the overall Part L (2013) requirements demonstrating high levels of sustainability.
• Overheating Assessment: The risk of overheating to homes was minimised through appropriate design of solar control glazing. This took account of interior daylight conditions, window shading and natural ventilation strategies to suit the acoustic requirements for those façades affected by adjacent road traffic noise, thereby limiting natural ventilation opportunities.
• Sustainability Statement: A robust sustainability strategy was proposed, covering water efficiency, recycling, sustainable transport, accessibility, pollution, security, ecology and consideration of responsibly sourced materials. BREEAM New Construction (2014) – Commercial Units – commitment to a ‘Very Good’ Standard will be carried on to the project’s next phases.
• Secured by Design Review: An initial security review of the scheme was carried out. We liaised with the architectural and landscape design teams, offering advice on how to meet the Secured by Design Compliance requirements.