New-homes districts are emerging along the Thames as billions of pounds start the transformation of E16.

The Royal Docks formed the world’s largest enclosed dock. Built between 1880 and 1921, the three separate docks that comprise the whole are the Royal Victoria, Royal Albert, and the King George V, and they cover 250 acres in total.

The original residents who moved into the first new homes in The Royal Docks, including at Wimpey’s Britannia Village redeveloped as an “urban villlage” in 1994 Barratt’s Barrier Point built in 1999 and Fairview’s Gallions Point built in 2003, have waited a long time to see the dots joined up and the promise of The Royal Docks finally realised.

Today, their time has come. The diggers and cranes are moving in and almost all of The Royal Docks derelict land, is being planned out with major business, mixed-use and landscaped housing developments, including at Royal Wharf, Royal Albert Wharf, Millennium Mills and the Asian Business Port.

The property scene

Amid the flurry of new flats in The Royal Docks it is easy to forget the long-standing local communities found between Albert Road and Hartmann Road where there is a mix of low-rise housing, tower blocks and small enclaves of Victorian terrace houses.

On one of London’s largest single building sites, Ballymore and its Singaporean partner, Oxley, have built over 3,300 new homes and Royal Wharf has fast become the main place to live in the area. This 40-acre site runs along a third of a mile of the Thames.

There will be around 1,500 new homes at Royal Albert Wharf next to Gallions Reach Docklands Light Railway station at the far eastern end of The Royal Docks, including affordable properties from Notting Hill Housing association.

There are also exciting, innovative architectural plans for a floating village of homes, shops, a café, a restaurant and possibly even a floating ice rink, beside the Emirates Air Line cable car terminal at Royal Victoria Dock.

Lifestyle

Gallions Reach Shopping Park in Armada Way has branches of Tesco, Boots, Clarks, H&M, Next, River Island, TK Maxx and Topshop, and chain restaurants Nando’s and Bella Italia alongside Costa Coffee and McDonald’s.

There are cafés and restaurants around Royal Victoria Dock and the ExCeL exhibition centre and two interesting hotels with restaurants.

Water sports can be enjoyed on the docks by the public which is a great activity to do on the weekends.

Open space

Walkers will discover interesting sculptures including Landed by Les Johnson, sometimes called the Dockers statue, outside ExCeL, and the contemporary bronze polo players outside Newham council’s building in Dockside Road.

Local parks include Royal Victoria Gardens in Albert Road; tucked-away Lyle Park, next to the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery in Bradfield Road, and the inspired Thames Barrier Park where there is a café and a sunken garden designed to look like the waves in a dock.

A walking tour could also take in heritage buildings such as the old Great Eastern Railway terminal which became the North Woolwich Old Station Museum, in Pier Road, near the entrance to the Woolwich Ferry.

Schools

Primary schools: St Joachim’s RC / Britannia Village / Drew Primary School / Calverton / Ellen Wilkinson / Scott Wilkie / Gallions.

Comprehensive: Brampton Manor Academy / Kingsford / The Royal Docks Community School / Oasis Academy Silvertown / London Design and Engineering UTC / Newham Sixth Form.

Travel

A number of different DLR stations are close by including Royal Victoria, Pontoon Dock DLR, West Silvertown DLR and Prince Regent DLR.

Custom House station will transform Royal Docks with trains to Canary Wharf in three minutes, Liverpool Street in 10 minutes, Bond Street in 17 minutes and Heathrow in 45 minutes.

Postcode

The Royals Docks falls under the E16 postcode and forms part of Newham borough.