Rotherhithe’s boat-dwelling community has warned it risks being swept away by a wave of “profit-driven” commercialisation.
Southwark Council has submitted plans to “reorganise” the South Dock Marina boatyard but small business owners say their rents will increase sixfold after the £6 million redevelopment.
There are fears this could trigger an exodus of families moored on the docks as many need these independent traders to affordably upkeep their boats.
Southwark Council said it could “understand concerns about indicative rent prices” so would offer discounts to boat repair businesses and staggered rent increases.
But the local authority also said it was necessary to make the boatyard’s rents “comparable to the rates paid by businesses across the borough”.
Despite these moves, marina residents and boatyard occupants have slammed the redevelopment.
In a letter to Southwark Council, marina residents wrote: “If prices rise in line with more commercial benchmarks, the infrastructure that supports London’s liveaboards will be destroyed and a fleet of unmaintained, increasingly unsafe, and eventually abandoned boats will litter London’s waterways.”
Southwark Council owns the South Dock Marina – comprising over one hundred moored vessels and a boatyard housing roughly a dozen small businesses, many of which cater to local boats.
The council says it wants to reorganise the boatyard to make it safer and provide berth holders with new wash facilities.
Old workshops largely based inside shipping containers would be replaced with purpose-built workshops and a cafe would also be built.
Relatedarticles
But traders, who are getting help from the Southwark Law Centre, claim the plans would mean a sixfold increase in commercial rents.
Patricia Brizuela, 55, who runs a marine upholstery on the boatyard, said: “If they develop like they want, we already know that the prices will go up for each unit and we’ll have to put the prices up as well and we do the maintenance for all these boats.”
Father-of-two Simon Shillito, 43, is a workshop owner on the boatyard, who is also moored at the marina with his family.
He said his yearly rent would rocket from £2,570 for 320 square feet to £16,950 for a 564 square foot container.
Alex Stele, 50, a marine engineer based at the boatyard, said: “The price tolerance is very, very fragile. As soon as you start raising it your revenue drops down.”
Moreover, traders claim their departure could trigger an exodus of people moored at the docks who rely on them to stay afloat.
Alex said: “As soon as this comes in there will be lots of people who live on the small boats who say: ‘We cannot do it’.”
Simon said the community had plans to set up a Marine Centre of Excellence, a not-for-profit community enterprise offering training and skills in boat maintenance.
He argues that doesn’t interest the council: “It’s got to be profit-driven… and indeed that’s what the council’s after… they’re after profit.”
Traders say they have to move out of their current units in March and will be housed in temporary units just outside the units while the redevelopment takes place.
Nick Johnson, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Surrey Docks, said: “In being owned by the council rather than a foreign hedge fund, South Dock Marina is a rare gem on our stretch of Thames.
“It is home to a bustling, busy community who rely on the docks for homes and livelihoods. South Dock Marina is a community, not an asset.”
The marina forms part of Rotherhithe’s historic docks – a bustling hub of imports and exports from 1696 until the 20th century.
Southwark Council took over the docks and during the 1980s and 90s and they were extensively redeveloped by the London Docks Development Company.
Many of the old docks were filled in and reclaimed for building purposes but South Dock and Greenland Dock were retained and turned into South Dock Marina, a modern and secure boating facility.
The redevelopment is expected to begin in late 2024 subject to planning approval.
A Southwark Council spokesperson said: “We are embarking on an exciting new chapter for the South Dock Marina, one of the borough’s most treasured assets. The multi million investment will address urgent health and safety issues to help maintain a working marina and enhance the boat yard environment.
“We understand concerns about the indicative rent prices, but this reflects the significant improvements being made to the site and the need to be comparable to the rates paid by businesses across the borough and beyond. To help ease the transition, we are offering a discount to boat repair businesses and are also staggering the rent increase over a three year period for all existing boat yard businesses. We will continue to work with the community as the redevelopment progresses.”
