British Land (BLND) has announced that, following confirmation in May that planning has been secured at Canada Water, it has now completed the drawdown of the 500-year headlease with Southwark Council. In addition to this, it has signed its first pre-let with new higher education enterprise, TEDI-London, which has chosen to locate its new campus at Canada Water.
Draw down of the 500-year headlease
BLND says that the draw down is a significant milestone in that it is the culmination of a five-year process in partnership with Southwark Council, which will combine the ownership of British Land’s assets at Canada Water into a single 500-year headlease, with Southwark Council as the Lessor. This will allow comprehensive redevelopment and investment in the site with Southwark Council owning an initial 20% interest and with the ability to participate in the development, up to a maximum of 20% with returns and ownership pro-rated accordingly.
Comments from Emma Cariaga, Joint Head of Canada Water
“We’re hugely excited to have reached this milestone. The drawdown of the headlease follows five years of extensive consultation and engagement with the local community and a partnership with Southwark Council. We look forward to continuing to work with them and the local community.”
TEDI-London
TEDI-London, a new engineering higher education enterprise, has chosen Canada Water as the location for its new campus. Co-founded by three global universities: King’s College London, Arizona State University and UNSW Sydney, TEDI-London has been set up with the aim of transforming engineering education.
British Land will begin work on the modular campus in January 2021. TEDI-London will take an initial 13,000 sq ft of floorspace, with the option to expand up to 40,000 sq ft, which British Land will deliver in phases as the organisation grows. The campus will be ready in time for TEDI-London to welcome its first full-time cohort of students in September 2021 at Canada Water. In the long term, British Land will work with TEDI-London to deliver a permanent home for around 1,000 students within the Canada Water masterplan.
Comments from Professor Judy Raper, TEDI-London Dean and CEO
“We’re delighted to be setting up home in one of London’s most exciting and upcoming areas. British Land’s vision for Canada Water is a fantastic opportunity for TEDI-London and our staff and students to be part of a progressive, green, sustainable new urban space. Our students will be able to work on projects connected to, and for the benefit of, their local community, something which was a highly attractive proposition for us when choosing the location for our campus. British Land, as our founding industry partner, have supported TEDI-London from the very early stages and we are delighted to reach this important milestone for both organisations.”
Comments from Councillor Johnson Situ, cabinet member for climate emergency, planning and transport at Southwark Council
“It has been our aspiration for many years to attract a higher education institution to the heart of Canada Water as set out in our vision agreed back in 2014. We’re delighted that British Land with TEDI-London have delivered on that commitment with a ground-breaking offer in hi-tech engineering with some of the leading academic institutions in the world. We hope some of our young residents who would not normally consider a career in this field will be encouraged into training and we will work with TEDI-London to ensure as many Southwark residents as possible benefit from this facility in their borough.”
Comments from Roger Madelin, Joint Head of Canada Water
“We have an incredible opportunity at Canada Water to build a genuinely vibrant, mixed use neighbourhood for London, and education will be a key part of this. TEDI-London is a truly innovative and unique education programme that will partner with business to deliver graduates with the skills to solve 21st Century challenges. The impact of engineering is all around us, and TEDI-London is exactly the kind of organisation we’re looking to attract to Canada Water.”