The £8.4bn London urban village you need to know about

London is set to get an £8.4bn mini-village on the Greenwich peninsula as part of what has been branded “Britain’s largest regeneration project run by a single developer”.

Who are they? London-based Knight Dragon who got a final approval from London Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday for the 12,700-home development.

Set in over 150 acres, the development is just one Tube stop from Canary Wharf.

Sammy Lee, director of Knight Dragon, said Greenwich Peninsula represents a “unique opportunity to deliver one of the largest regeneration schemes in Europe”.

“Knight Dragon is fully committed to delivering this landmark development for London, creating thousands of new jobs, new homes and a community where people will want to live.” He added.

Here’s a snapshot of what to expect from the development:

1. The development will boast 10,000 homes combined with 48 acres of open green spaces, and a commercial district encompassing 3.5 million square feet of shops, hotels, schools and public facilities.

2. Knight Dragon’s owner is Hong Kong entrepreneur Henry Cheng Kar-shun. Dr Cheng and the wider Cheng family have substantial interests in property and infrastructure in Hong Kong and China. These include the majority interest in one of Asia’s leading developers, New World Development, which has a market capitalisation of $4.6bn.

3. According to the FT, the developers are mulling opening a Hong Kong-style “Star Ferry” type service which will take commuters from Canary Wharf to the other side of the Thames.

4. Plans are afoot for building a 40,000-sq-m studio as part of the development.