Property developer Rockwell started work earlier this week on the construction of its scheme at 82 West India Dock Road, which will include new homes and London’s largest and tallest Premier Inn hotel.

Situated adjacent to Westferry DLR station, the £151 million project aims to mark Westferry as a destination and rejuvenate the formerly derelict site.

The new mixed-use scheme, found between West India Dock and Limehouse Causeway, was granted planning approval in October 2018 by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

John Sisk & Son are the appointed contractors for the development, which has a scheduled completion date of early 2022.

Rockwell’s landmark scheme at Canary Wharf will also include a restaurant, café, gym facilities and a landscaped pocket park, as well as communal gardens for new residents.

The 30-storey development has been designed by architects SimpsonHaugh to act as a gateway to Canary Wharf’s central cluster.

The scheme is set to create significant employment opportunities in the hospitality and leisure industry and will create 66 new residential properties, of which 18 will be affordable homes. This provision has been made to respond to the growing demand for affordable housing in the borough.

Donal Mulryan, founder of Rockwell, said: “We are immensely proud to break ground on this landmark building which will be an important asset for the area, providing significant benefits for the local community with the creation of numerous jobs for local people, enhanced public realm and much-needed new homes. We look forward to working with our contractors John Sisk & Son to deliver this high-quality, hotel-led scheme, and look forward to delivering similar high-quality schemes in the future.”

Ajaz Shafi, regional managing director at John Sisk & Son, said the firm was delighted to be working with the Rockwell team ‘on this exceptional project’.

“We have used smart thinking and an innovative approach to the design, planning and delivery of this high-rise building on a tight footprint in London,” he added. “Sisk works in close collaboration with all the key stakeholders to ensure we deliver quality projects, safely, which meet the needs of the community and our client.”

Louise Woodruff, property acquisitions manager, Outer London, at Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, said the new Premier Inn would be a landmark hotel as ‘it will be the tallest Premier Inn in the UK and, aside from our hotels at Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, it will also be our largest in London at 400 bedrooms’.

“It’s great to see construction begin on such a fantastic development which will make a positive contribution to Tower Hamlets by creating local jobs alongside new public areas and affordable homes,” she added.