Beckton
Encyclopedia
Beckton is part of the London Borough of Newham
, England
, located 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Charing Cross
.
Its boundaries are the A13 trunk road to the north, Barking Creek
to the east, the Royal Docks
to the south, and Prince Regent Lane to the west. The area around Prince Regent Lane is also known as Custom House
. Modern Beckton is divided into East Beckton, Mid Beckton, North Beckton, West Beckton, South Beckton and Cyprus (named after the British capture of Cyprus
from the Ottoman Empire
in 1878, which occurred as the original estate was being built).
(later county borough). A small area on the Thames was historically part of the Woolwich parish of Kent
and became part of the County of London
in 1889; this formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich
from 1899. The area formerly associated with Woolwich and that associated with East Ham were incorporated in 1965 upon the formation of the London Borough of Newham
.
, the largest gasworks
in Europe, which served the capital; the area itself was named after Simon Adams Beck, the governor of the Gas Light and Coke Company
when work began on the site in November 1868. An adjacent by-products works also produced a wide variety of products including ink, dyes, mothballs, and fertilisers, all by-products of the process of turning coal to coke in the production of town gas. When Britain switched from town gas to North Sea
natural gas in 1969, the gasworks closed.
An extensive toxic spoil-heap from the Gasworks was known ironically as 'Beckton Alps'. Originally running from the Northern outfall sewer south to Winsor Terrace, this was landscaped in the 1980s. Part became a 25 metres (82 ft) high Artificial ski slope for a time, opened by Diana, Princess of Wales
, with a viewing platform at the summit and a Swiss-style bar at the foot. However, the site is now derelict.
's scheme to remove sewage (and hence reduce disease) from London by creating two huge sewer pipes from the capital, one on each side of the Thames and known as the Southern
and Northern Outfall Sewer
s. The Beckton sewage works, at the end of the northern outfall, is Britain's largest and is now managed by Thames Water
. The outfall sewer has been landscaped and now also serves as the Greenway cycle track through east London. Originally sewage was pumped untreated into the Thames, and this contributed to the high death toll in the 1878 disaster, when over 600 died in Britain's worst inshore shipping tragedy. The site was mooted in 2005 as the location for a desalination
plant, but the proposal was rejected by Mayor Ken Livingstone
as environmentally unacceptable. The scheme has been resurrected by the new mayor, Boris Johnson
, as part of a deal with Thames Water
to reduce delays in fixing roadworks throughout London
.
Immediately after the Second World War, large numbers of prefabs were built in Beckton, to house those made homeless by the war. The prefab-lined streets were all named after well-known generals and war heroes, but in the redevelopment of North Beckton in the 1980s, these were all swept away with the exception of Eisenhower
Drive.
Containerisation during the 1960s, and the development of the docks at Tilbury
, released all the land from the Thames up to the A13 which had been earmarked for a new, North Albert Dock. The original District Plan envisaged a large Council-owned estate, and major infrastructure works—including a huge drainage scheme with pumping stations—were put in place. However, following the creation of the London Docklands Development Corporation
, much of the land was sold off resulting in today's blend of largely private housing.
In more recent times, industry has left the area, leaving huge areas of brownfield land, and Beckton has been redeveloped as part of the Docklands project. It now comprises mainly housing and several out-of-town shopping centres, and the architecture is mostly post-1982. Small areas of Victorian housing survive in Winsor Terrace, originally built as accommodation for Gas Light and Coke Company staff, and in the 'Nottingham' estate off Prince Regent Lane. It is served by local buses and Beckton DLR station
, which acts as the terminus of the DLR's Beckton branch. The Victorian 'Cyprus' estate was rebuilt in the 1980s, but the original Cyprus public house survives (named The Ferndale, although now boarded-up, and earmarked for redevelopment, March 2008).
In the early 21st century, Beckton burgeons south and further east, towards Gallions Reach, being an essential part of the Thames Gateway
. "Gallions Hotel", part of the Furlong City development by the lock that links the Royal Docks to the Thames, was formerly a rail terminus which connected with passenger ships leaving for all parts of the British Empire
. Many colonial officials and their families spent their last night in Britain in the Gallions Hotel, which was mentioned by Rudyard Kipling
in his novel, The Light That Failed.
's team came scouting for an area that could double for the battle scenes in his 1987 movie, Full Metal Jacket
. The Gasworks rough concrete structures were painted with Vietnamese script, and then strategically dynamited so as to resemble war-torn Hue. Retail parks now cover most of the Gasworks site.
Other notable movies filmed in and around the Beckton area during the 1980s included the 1981 James Bond
film, For Your Eyes Only
, which featured extensive aerial views of the Gasworks in the pre-credit sequence. Beckton was also used as a location in Michael Radford
's 1984 feature film adaptation of George Orwell
's Nineteen Eighty-Four—the Gasworks served as the setting for Orwell's "Proletarian Zones".
The video for Loop
's 1990 single 'Arc-lite' was filmed on the set of Full Metal Jacket.
Andrew Birkin's 1990 film of Ian McEwan
's novel, The Cement Garden
, was also filmed in Beckton and starred Charlotte Gainsbourg
, who could often be seen (at the time of filming) shopping in the aisles of ASDA. In several scenes of The Cement Garden, aircraft can be heard taxiing at the nearby London City Airport
. Winsor House, which served as the backdrop to the movie was later demolished and the Winsor Lodge Hotel stands there now.
In the opening minutes of the 2007 Simon Pegg
film Hot Fuzz, the Tate & Lyle factory, Silvertown
, and the City Airport aprons can be seen through the window blinds of Building 1000.
England F.C. and current Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
striker Jermain Defoe
was born in Beckton. Defoe has said Beckton has "made him the man he is today". On the 13th February 2006 Jermain Defoe scored his 100th Premier League goal against Charlton. He celebrated making a "B" sign with his hands to commemorate Beckton.
is a campus of the University of East London
(UEL) situated in the Docklands area of east London
in the Cyprus area of Beckton. The campus opened in 1999. It is one of two campuses in UEL, the other being the Stratford Campus.
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Beckton
. for Mid and North Beckton
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Cyprus
. for Cyprus area
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Beckton Park
. for South Beckton
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Royal Albert
. for West Beckton
Beckton is at the western end of the London Riverside
redevelopment zone of the Thames Gateway
. Transport for London
are planning a new bridge, the Thames Gateway Bridge
, which will connect Beckton to Thamesmead
on the southern bank of the River Thames
.
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
.
Its boundaries are the A13 trunk road to the north, Barking Creek
Barking Creek
Barking Creek joins the River Roding to the River Thames. It is fully tidal up to the Barking Barrage, which impounds a minimum water level through Barking in Barking. In the 1850s, the creek was home to England's largest fishing fleet, and the Victorian icehouse - where the fish were landed and...
to the east, the Royal Docks
Royal Docks
The Royal Docks comprise three docks in east London - the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are more correctly called the Royal Group of Docks to distinguish them from the Royal Dockyards, Royal being due to their naming after royal personages rather than...
to the south, and Prince Regent Lane to the west. The area around Prince Regent Lane is also known as Custom House
Custom House, London
Custom House is an area in the London Borough of Newham in London, England.The area is named after the custom house of Royal Victoria Dock.The first Custom House in London was built in 1275 and was located near Billingsgate Market in the City of London....
. Modern Beckton is divided into East Beckton, Mid Beckton, North Beckton, West Beckton, South Beckton and Cyprus (named after the British capture of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1878, which occurred as the original estate was being built).
History
Beckton was within the East Ham Urban DistrictCounty Borough of East Ham
East Ham was a local government district in the far south west of Essex from 1878 to 1965. It extended from Wanstead Flats in the north to the River Thames in the south and from Green Street in the west to Barking Creek in the east...
(later county borough). A small area on the Thames was historically part of the Woolwich parish of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and became part of the County of London
County of London
The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
in 1889; this formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich
Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich
The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965.-Formation:The borough was formed from the civil parishes :*Eltham *Plumstead...
from 1899. The area formerly associated with Woolwich and that associated with East Ham were incorporated in 1965 upon the formation of the London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
.
Gasworks
Situated north and east of the Royal Docks, the area was formerly heavily industrialised, and was the location of Beckton Gas WorksBeckton Gas Works
Beckton Gas Works was a major London gas works built to manufacture coal gas and other products including coke from coal. It has been variously described as 'the largest such plant in the world' and 'the largest gas works in Europe'. It operated from 1870 to 1969, with an associated by-products...
, the largest gasworks
Gasworks
A gasworks or gas house is a factory for the manufacture of gas. The use of natural gas has made many redundant in the developed world, however they are often still used for storage.- Early gasworks :...
in Europe, which served the capital; the area itself was named after Simon Adams Beck, the governor of the Gas Light and Coke Company
Gas Light and Coke Company
The Gas Light and Coke Company , was a company that made and supplied coal gas and coke. The Company was located on Horseferry Road in Westminster, London...
when work began on the site in November 1868. An adjacent by-products works also produced a wide variety of products including ink, dyes, mothballs, and fertilisers, all by-products of the process of turning coal to coke in the production of town gas. When Britain switched from town gas to North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
natural gas in 1969, the gasworks closed.
An extensive toxic spoil-heap from the Gasworks was known ironically as 'Beckton Alps'. Originally running from the Northern outfall sewer south to Winsor Terrace, this was landscaped in the 1980s. Part became a 25 metres (82 ft) high Artificial ski slope for a time, opened by Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, with a viewing platform at the summit and a Swiss-style bar at the foot. However, the site is now derelict.
Sewage
The other major Beckton industry, the sewage treatment works, is still thriving. First established in 1864 as part of Joseph BazalgetteJoseph Bazalgette
Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, CB was an English civil engineer of the 19th century. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works his major achievement was the creation of a sewer network for central London which was instrumental in relieving the city from cholera epidemics, while...
's scheme to remove sewage (and hence reduce disease) from London by creating two huge sewer pipes from the capital, one on each side of the Thames and known as the Southern
Southern Outfall Sewer
The Southern Outfall Sewer is a major sewer taking sewage from the southern area of central London to Crossness in south-east London. Flows from three interceptory sewers combine at Deptford and then run under Greenwich, Woolwich, Plumstead and across Erith marshes...
and Northern Outfall Sewer
Northern Outfall Sewer
The Northern Outfall Sewer is a major gravity sewer which runs from Wick Lane in Hackney to Beckton Sewage Works in east London ; most of it was designed by Joseph Bazalgette after an outbreak of cholera in 1853 and "The Big Stink" of 1858.Prior to this work, central London's drains were built...
s. The Beckton sewage works, at the end of the northern outfall, is Britain's largest and is now managed by Thames Water
Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom...
. The outfall sewer has been landscaped and now also serves as the Greenway cycle track through east London. Originally sewage was pumped untreated into the Thames, and this contributed to the high death toll in the 1878 disaster, when over 600 died in Britain's worst inshore shipping tragedy. The site was mooted in 2005 as the location for a desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
plant, but the proposal was rejected by Mayor Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
as environmentally unacceptable. The scheme has been resurrected by the new mayor, Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
, as part of a deal with Thames Water
Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom...
to reduce delays in fixing roadworks throughout 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...
.
Other
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
Drive.
Containerisation during the 1960s, and the development of the docks at Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
, released all the land from the Thames up to the A13 which had been earmarked for a new, North Albert Dock. The original District Plan envisaged a large Council-owned estate, and major infrastructure works—including a huge drainage scheme with pumping stations—were put in place. However, following the creation of the London Docklands Development Corporation
London Docklands Development Corporation
The London Docklands Development Corporation was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its eighteen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an area of in the London Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and...
, much of the land was sold off resulting in today's blend of largely private housing.
In more recent times, industry has left the area, leaving huge areas of brownfield land, and Beckton has been redeveloped as part of the Docklands project. It now comprises mainly housing and several out-of-town shopping centres, and the architecture is mostly post-1982. Small areas of Victorian housing survive in Winsor Terrace, originally built as accommodation for Gas Light and Coke Company staff, and in the 'Nottingham' estate off Prince Regent Lane. It is served by local buses and Beckton DLR station
Beckton DLR station
Beckton DLR station is the eastern terminus of the Beckton branch of the Docklands Light Railway in the Docklands area of east London. It is located in Travelcard Zone 3. The DLR branch from Poplar was opened on 28 March 1994...
, which acts as the terminus of the DLR's Beckton branch. The Victorian 'Cyprus' estate was rebuilt in the 1980s, but the original Cyprus public house survives (named The Ferndale, although now boarded-up, and earmarked for redevelopment, March 2008).
In the early 21st century, Beckton burgeons south and further east, towards Gallions Reach, being an essential part of the Thames Gateway
Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...
. "Gallions Hotel", part of the Furlong City development by the lock that links the Royal Docks to the Thames, was formerly a rail terminus which connected with passenger ships leaving for all parts of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Many colonial officials and their families spent their last night in Britain in the Gallions Hotel, which was mentioned by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
in his novel, The Light That Failed.
Beckton in popular culture
The Gasworks were still extant—although derelict—in the early 1980s, when Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's team came scouting for an area that could double for the battle scenes in his 1987 movie, Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...
. The Gasworks rough concrete structures were painted with Vietnamese script, and then strategically dynamited so as to resemble war-torn Hue. Retail parks now cover most of the Gasworks site.
Other notable movies filmed in and around the Beckton area during the 1980s included the 1981 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film, For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only (film)
For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...
, which featured extensive aerial views of the Gasworks in the pre-credit sequence. Beckton was also used as a location in Michael Radford
Michael Radford
Michael Radford is an English film director and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Radford was born on 24 February 1946, in New Delhi, India, to a British father and an Austrian Jewish mother. He was educated at Bedford School before attending Worcester College, Oxford...
's 1984 feature film adaptation of George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Nineteen Eighty-Four—the Gasworks served as the setting for Orwell's "Proletarian Zones".
The video for Loop
Loop (band)
Loop was a South London band founded in 1986 by Robert Hampson and his wife, Bex, and active until 1991.-Career:The band was formed in 1986 by Robert Hampson , with wife Bex on drums. Bex was soon replaced by John Wills and Glen Ray, with James Endeacott on guitar...
's 1990 single 'Arc-lite' was filmed on the set of Full Metal Jacket.
Andrew Birkin's 1990 film of Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
's novel, The Cement Garden
The Cement Garden
The Cement Garden is a 1978 novel by Ian McEwan. It was adapted into a 1993 film of the same name by Andrew Birkin, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Andrew Robertson...
, was also filmed in Beckton and starred Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success...
, who could often be seen (at the time of filming) shopping in the aisles of ASDA. In several scenes of The Cement Garden, aircraft can be heard taxiing at the nearby London City Airport
London City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
. Winsor House, which served as the backdrop to the movie was later demolished and the Winsor Lodge Hotel stands there now.
In the opening minutes of the 2007 Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
film Hot Fuzz, the Tate & Lyle factory, Silvertown
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle plc is a British-based multinational agribusiness. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index as of 20 June 2011...
, and the City Airport aprons can be seen through the window blinds of Building 1000.
England F.C. and current Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
striker Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Colin Defoe is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national football team....
was born in Beckton. Defoe has said Beckton has "made him the man he is today". On the 13th February 2006 Jermain Defoe scored his 100th Premier League goal against Charlton. He celebrated making a "B" sign with his hands to commemorate Beckton.
Education
The University of East London Docklands CampusUniversity of East London Docklands Campus
The University of East London Docklands Campus is a campus of the University of East London situated in the Docklands area of east London. The campus opened in 1999...
is a campus of the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
(UEL) situated in the Docklands area of east 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...
in the Cyprus area of Beckton. The campus opened in 1999. It is one of two campuses in UEL, the other being the Stratford Campus.
Transport
There are a number of stations serving Beckton.The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Beckton
Beckton DLR station
Beckton DLR station is the eastern terminus of the Beckton branch of the Docklands Light Railway in the Docklands area of east London. It is located in Travelcard Zone 3. The DLR branch from Poplar was opened on 28 March 1994...
. for Mid and North Beckton
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Cyprus
Cyprus DLR station
Cyprus DLR station is a station on the Docklands Light Railway located in Cyprus, to the south of Beckton, in the Docklands area of east London. The station serves the University of East London Docklands Campus and the eastern end of the north quay of the Royal Albert Dock.The station is located...
. for Cyprus area
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Beckton Park
Beckton Park DLR station
Beckton Park DLR station is a station on the Docklands Light Railway in the Docklands area of east London. The station is located by the north quay of the Royal Albert Dock . The station is opposite Beckton District South Park, which is open space leading to housing in South Beckton.The station is...
. for South Beckton
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Royal Albert
Royal Albert DLR station
Royal Albert DLR station is a station on the Docklands Light Railway in the Docklands area of east London. The station serves the western end of the north quay of the Royal Albert Dock, from which it takes its name...
. for West Beckton
Gallery
Building 1000, by Royal Albert Station, is a dramatic dockside structure with a full-height glass atrium. Newham Council have relocated some of their offices to Building 1000, and indeed recently bought the whole site from Standard Life for a reputed 75 million sterling. Building 1000 has been the backdrop to several films. Three more similar buildings were planned on the site, but before the cash-crisis took hold.Beckton is at the western end of the London Riverside
London Riverside
The London Riverside is a new development area in north east London, England and part of the larger Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The London Riverside area forms part of the Green Enterprise District, a project to create a low-carbon economy region in Greater London.It is one of two zones...
redevelopment zone of the Thames Gateway
Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...
. Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
are planning a new bridge, the Thames Gateway Bridge
Thames Gateway Bridge
The Thames Gateway Bridge was a proposed crossing over the River Thames in east London, England. It was first mooted in the 1970s but never came to fruition...
, which will connect Beckton to Thamesmead
Thamesmead
Thamesmead is a district of south-east London, England, located in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is situated east of Charing Cross....
on the southern bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
.