A 2.85 hectare mixed-use development facing the Hertford Union Canal in Hackney Wick, east London. The phased scheme comprises 588 new dwellings and over 5500sqm of flexible commercial space

Located within one of the 2012 Olympic Fringe areas opposite Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Fish Island Village is a major live-work neighbourhood on a 2.85 hectare site, combining 588 mixed tenure dwellings (25% of which are affordable) with 5,522m2 commercial space. It is a joint venture development between Peabody, one of London’s oldest and largest housing associations, and Hill, an award-winning top 20 UK housebuilder, with workspace managed by social enterprise The Trampery.

A major brownfield regeneration project to the west of Hackney Wick, in a part of the city undergoing neighbourhood-wide densification, the development has transformed an inaccessible site of disused single-storey distribution warehouses with a collection of mid-rise buildings interspersed with new public spaces fronting the canal.

Designed to reflect Hackney Wick’s industrial heritage while heralding the area’s urban transformation, the predominantly brick development aims to achieve the robustness and permanence of the area’s historical warehouses, while creating a legible public realm composed of public squares, yards and tree-lined streets.

Masterplanned by Haworth Tompkins the development comprises: Lanterna (by Lyndon Goode Architects), a stand-alone building facing on to a new public square comprising 16 dwellings and a ground floor restaurant; Monier Road (by Pitman Tozer Architects), three blocks comprising 71 homes and 7 workspace studios; and Neptune Wharf (by Haworth Tompkins), a family of 13 buildings opening up onto a sequence of courtyards.

Nine blocks of workspace facilities are being delivered by The Trampery as a campus for sustainable fashion businesses, with a tenth block dedicated to small creative businesses already established in Hackney Wick. The Trampery’s Fish Island Village campus is a key project within Hackney Wick's Creative Enterprise Zone, and an anchor element of Fashion District: a consortium of institutions, facilities and investors supporting the fashion industry in east London.

Fish Island Village is a unique collaboration between Peabody, Hill and social enterprise, The Trampery. The development consists of 588 mixed-tenure homes in a strategically important location on Fish Island, immediately adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth Park and the Hertford Union Canal.

Joint venture partners Peabody and Hill sought out a unique opportunity to create a new kind of residential scheme, mixing in creative and business opportunities with built-in studios and commercial facilities, and giving the development a far greater chance of economic and social resilience.

Fish Island and Hackney Wick have gone through a creative revival, with the 2012 Olympics further helping to put the area on the map. Post Olympics, Tower Hamlets Council announced plans for regenerating Fish Island, linking the surrounding communities with the Olympic legacy, maximising its benefits by ensuring a balanced approach to meeting the needs of the community and the wider area.

It's overall ambition, with the support of the Mayor, was to retain and enhance Fish Island’s distinctive character, whilst allowing for managed transformation to deliver new homes and jobs. Fish Island Village has been a major contributing factor to these ambitions by reviving the site and engaging the vibrant artistic community, creating much needed homes and affordable workspaces.
The partnership with The Trampery seeks to establish London’s most aspirational creative campus for talented fashion labels and start-ups, providing around 41,000 square feet of quality studio space across eleven buildings.
Building on the area’s rich history and heritage the masterplan for Fish Island Village has achieved a sensitive and sustainable development in the neighbourhood centre, that can retain employment space, provide new housing and deliver high quality public realm whilst making the most of existing assets.

It is difficult to overstate the transformative effect this development has on the physical, social and economic qualities of this part of Fish Island, by bringing new life to the area and much needed housing to the Olympic Park fringes, driving regeneration post 2012. unlocking the potential of a strategically important waterside location next to the Olympic Park.

With a combination of affordable and private homes, as well as creative workspace studios and commercial units, Fish Island Village has proved itself to be a prime example of how new developments come with opportunities, transforming a brownfield site into a new and exciting neighbourhood.

Alice Spanton, Senior Development Manager, Peabody