Canary Wharf

• Canary Wharf


  London's second financial district built on the site of the West India Docks, on the Isle of Dogs

  
• Canary Wharf Estate


  • Covers 39 hectares (55 football pitches or 0.39 km2)
  • Contains 1.5 million m2 of office space
  • Has 25 skyscraper buildings over 100m tall
• London's docklands, including West India docks - the site of Canary Wharf - was the world's busiest port and the centre of the British Empire's shipping trading network


  1802 to 1967
• Dock closure


  1. New container ships were built to transport goods around the world in greater quantities

  2. These new ships were too wide to fit into London's Docklands

  3. The River Thames was too shallow for container ships

  4. The docks lacked the modern crane systems for loading and unloading containers

  5. This meant that in only 10 years from 1970 to 1980 London docklands, including West India docks, become redundant and closed
• Urban regeneration


  1. In 1981 the UK government attempted to stimulate the economy of East London creating the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC)

  2. LDDC cleared derelict wharves, built new access roads and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in 1987
• Changing banking rules


  1. In 1986 Margaret Thatcher's Big Bang banking policy allowed international banks to set up headquarters in the city of London

  2. There was not enough office space in the City of London so international banks moved to Canary Wharf during the 1990s once new buildings had been built
• Changing ownership


  1. A Canadian company brought land at Canary Wharf and built 1 Canada Square in 1991

  2. Purchased by investors and is now owned by the Canary Wharf Group
• Canary Wharf


  • The UK's second tallest building, One Canada Square, is the centre of the district and is 235 metres tall
  • Canary Wharf has 25 of London's 103 'skyscrapers' - buildings over 100m tall
  • Five shopping malls with 300 shops
  • 1000 trees planted

  
• Transport improvements


  1. The Jubilee Line connected Canary Wharf to London tube network in 1999

  2. The Elizabeth Line (part of Crossrail) station will connect Canary Wharf to Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood from 2022

  3. London City Airport was built nearby in 1987 making the district easier to access internationally
• WAS: manual labour for low-skilled working-class men in the shipping industry


  NOW: highly skilled work in the tertiary sector for graduates with skills in banking and finance
• Regional importance (London and the Southeast)


  • Generates £19.7 billion annually therefore a great source of income to London
  • Created well paid jobs for 120,000 people in London and the South East in finance (tertiary) and technology (quaternary)
  • In terms of both economics and innovation, Canary Wharf is one of the most influential locations in London
  • New tube lines connect Canary Wharf to the rest of London such as DLR (built 1987), Jubilee Line (opened 1999) and Elizabeth Line (opens 2022)
  • Covid19 remote working revolution in 2020 - so less important as more workers work from home?
• National importance (to the UK)

  • Canary Wharf supports 400,000 jobs in total across the UK - creates a multiplier effect across the country - spreads wealth
  • The City of London, which includes Canary Wharf, earns £565 billion every year, producing 17% of the UK's earnings, meaning the City is hugely important to the UK's economy
  • Together with the City of London, Canary Wharf is one of the main financial centres of the UK and the world
  • However jobs in London create more national inequality between North and South. North getting left behind economically