A Vision for Royal Victoria Dock West

Royal Docks Waterways will decide which Expressions of Interest are to be progressed, in collaboration with the Royal Docks Team and with the support of appointed advisors. For both Wellness and Residential, a shortlist of bidders will then be invited to submit more detailed proposals, which will then be reviewed and decided on by the same group, in consultation with some local anchor institutions. Each opportunity page is transparent about what information is required and the weighting of different topics. All applications and proposals will be treated in the strictest of confidence, subject to the obligations imposed on Royal Docks Waterways by law.

Please email rvdw@royaldockswaterways.com to set up an online meeting.

Royal Victoria Dock West is managed by Royal Docks Waterways (the new trading name for the Royal Docks Management Authority, or RoDMA). Royal Docks Waterways is a not-for-profit organisation that holds a long lease for the water within the Royal Docks, along with small parcels of land at key access points. It is responsible for the management, maintenance and safe operation of the dock water and its supporting infrastructure. Royal Docks Waterways works closely with local landowners, stakeholders, water users and the Royal Docks Team to encourage and support a wide range of activities across the docks. The Vision for Royal Victoria Dock West was commissioned by Royal Docks Waterways, which is also responsible for progressing the next stages of work and delivery in collaboration with partners.

The freehold of the Royal Docks is owned by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and this is overseen by the Royal Docks Team. The Royal Docks Team is a partnership between the Mayor of London and the Mayor of Newham. The team is responsible for steering the regeneration of the Royal Docks, driving significant levels of inward investment, and supporting the delivery of 36,000 new homes and 55,000 new jobs across the area.

The wider Royal Docks regeneration area and therefore the entirety of Royal Victoria Dock West is within the London Borough of Newham. This means that it is the Local Planning Authority, whose policies will govern future planning applications. Its strategies and priorities around public health, economic development and a just climate transition are also highly relevant for Royal Victoria Dock West.

The areas available for the Royal Victoria Dock West Vision are within the lease area of Royal Docks Waterways, with the Greater London Authority as freeholder. Term of lease for discussion with interested parties.

Royal Docks Waterways is a not-for-profit organisation with responsibility for managing and maintaining the dock water and its supporting infrastructure. Generating income allows Royal Docks Waterways to build a long-term sinking fund to meet future costs associated with replacing major infrastructure as it reaches the end of its operational life. This includes essential assets such as bridges, pumping stations and lock gates.
Any financial surplus generated through successful development or activity within the docks is reinvested back into the Royal Docks, helping to secure their long-term safety, resilience and public use.

Royal Docks Waterways is organising several online and in-person public meetings during February and March 2026. And there is an ongoing commitment to engaging with stakeholders and the public as the wider Vision is brought forward. The News & Events pages of this website and our newsletter are the best ways to stay informed. All projects will need to secure planning permission prior to trading and this will provide stakeholders with an opportunity to formally raise any concerns they might have, or express support for a particular proposal.

Royal Docks Waterways has created a broader, strategic, and long-term Vision for all of Royal Victoria Dock West as a whole. Where third-party proposals align with and support the objectives of the Vision, including public access, long-term social value and responsible stewardship of the water, they will be welcomed and considered on their merits. Based on the information available during 2025, Royal Docks Waterways objected to the Good Hotel’s planning application. Further details can be viewed on Newham’s Planning Portal, linked to application 25/02185/FUL.

Royal Docks Waterways has worked closely with existing water operators, including NOWCA / Love Open Water, Wake Up Docklands and Oiler Bar, throughout the development of the Vision. Open water swimming remains a core and valued activity within the Vision for Royal Victoria Dock West. Requirements to support open water swimming, including appropriate infrastructure, are reflected within the brief for the Floating Wellness project.

The Vision concludes that Royal Victoria Dock West is not the most suitable location for wakeboarding and other higher-intensity water uses over the long term. Royal Docks Waterways is therefore working with Wake Up Docklands to explore alternative locations within Royal Victoria Dock, further to the east, where these activities may be better accommodated. The Oiler Bar is run by the same business as Wake Up Docklands, so it is likely that they would relocate at the same time to the same place, although this is all subject to further discussions.

There will be no short-term impact on the current operations of NOWCA / Love Open Water, Wake Up Docklands or Oiler Bar. Royal Docks Waterways will continue to communicate closely with operators as the Floating Residential and Floating Wellness projects progress, ensuring that businesses and their customers have clear information and sufficient time to plan ahead.

In 2025, Royal Docks Waterways worked with stakeholders to create a deliverable Vision for RVDW. This was followed in January 2026 by the Mayor of London deciding to alter the GLA’s lease with Royal Docks Waterways, specifically to enable Royal Docks Waterways to take on a new development role. 2026 is therefore the first time that the leaseholder of the Royal Docks water has had the authority to make development happen and a deliverable plan to work towards.

The timeline is subject to change, because third parties still need to be procured or contracted with, however the aspiration that everyone is working towards is that people can benefit from the RVDW Vision before 2030. Achieving this goal would rely on starting the Floating Residential feasibility and choosing the developer-operator for Floating Wellness in 2026 and progressing to design development, engagement and Planning in 2027 and then construction and openings 2028-2029. The Priority Projects will come forward in a staged way, rather than one big bang and will be subject to decisions by at least Royal Docks Waterways, the Royal Docks Team / GLA and London Borough of Newham.

Royal Docks Waterways is a non-profit business with a board that includes anchor institutions including the GLA, London Borough of Newham, Excel London, London City Airport and University of East London.

It has built up reserves through its trading activity and will allocate its own funds to support the early stages of the Vision. In parallel, it will seek to work with third-party partners and investors to bring forward the Priority Projects in line with the Vision.

Any funding approach will be guided by public-interest objectives, long-term stewardship of the docks and the requirement to reinvest surpluses back into the Royal Docks.