
Ahead of the curve: a promenade will go over the central quay
(Picture: Handout)Walking around the shops, restaurants and swanky offices (including the new Google HQ) in King’s Cross today, you’d have little inkling that 20 years ago the area was predominantly industrial and railway backlands with a reputation for drug dealing and sex work. Now, the man who oversaw that transformation has set his sights further east, on the former docklands of Canada Water.
Roger Madelin is leading listed property developer British Land’s project to turn the quiet, residential area in the shadow of Canary Wharf — currently dominated by old industrial docks, post-war housing, a shopping centre and a car park — into London’s newest town centre.