The Queen's £2 million royal barge looks to be heading to a new home on the Greenwich Peninsula, part of a £760 million project creating over 1,000 jobs in the area.
Developers U+I submitted plans in June for Morden Wharf, a mixed-use development including up to 1,500 homes on the west side of the Greenwich Peninsula.
The high-profile project will regenerate an 19-acre site, formerly a Tate & Lyle's sweetener factory, and as well as homes there will be a four-acre park, allotments, 50,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants, plus a public square.
On top of the already exciting if controversial project, it now seems that the Queen's royal barge, that led the Diamond Jubilee flotilla down the Thames in 2012, will be getting a new home on the peninsula.
Gloriana, an 88-foot long vessel, will be moved from St Katherine Docks in Towe Hamlets and moved to a boathouse in Greenwich instead.
In the planning application, developers cite 'significant maintenance costs' as one of the reasons behind the request to move the barge.
It says: "The lack of shelter and protection is causing significant maintenance costs and so a permanent residence is urgently required.
"The main function of the boathouse is to provide shelter and adequate storage for when the Gloriana is not in use."
The planning application says the boathouse will provide space for continuous maintenance and conservation, and when the boat is required for an event, the integrated lifting mechanism will allow it to be safely transported into and out of the water.
The boathouse is designed by architects Carmody Groarke and will be glazed on either side, allowing it to be viewed by visitors.
Andy Groarke, from Carmody Groarke, told The Times: "The new boathouse will provide a permanent shelter dedicated to the long-term protection and public exhibition of Gloriana.
"The fully glazed walls of the pavilion will open-up uninterrupted views of the Queen's row barge from both the Thames and the river path, whilst the existing jetty will be rehabilitated and extended to enable the Gloriana to be safely launched on to the Thames, as well as providing a public belvedere."
The 18-oared vessel, which is stored at St Katharine Docks in the summer months and in Essex during the winter, harks back 200 years to when kings and queens travelled by water in opulent style.
According to the planning application, Morden Wharf will include 12 separate residential buildings, as well as a new landscaped park stretching for 275 metres along the River Thames.
The announcements come following repeated consultations with the community – with their plans displayed to the public in October including a 37-storey residential tower being built at the site.
Notably, 35 per cent of the 1500 units will be affordable, with the developers saying the project would include a mix of private sale, shared ownership and London Affordable Rent.
Plans for a new pub to at the site of the former Sea Witch, which was destroyed by a bomb in WWII, have also been included.
U+I also said the scheme would provide a mix of commercial and employments uses that it predicts will create space for about 1,100 jobs.
Over 2,400 construction jobs will also be generated over the course of the development, the firm predicts.
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