Lombard Square, Plumstead

Bond Bryan were appointed by Berkeley to support the delivery of several residential phases of a large-scale, mixed-use development known as Lombard Square, Plumstead, West Thamesmead, building on the success of our previous work at Royal Arsenal Riverside and other Berkeley projects.

The scheme forms part of a wider, five-phase, 1960-home masterplan, being delivered incrementally for Peabody as the Thamesmead area continues to evolve. Bond Bryan’s appointment extends to three of these five phases, working alongside the wider consultant and delivery team to progress individual phases from early design through to construction, while maintaining alignment with the broader masterplan strategy.

Bond Bryan’s involvement relates to Plot 1, a 379-home Build to Rent scheme which will be delivered from RIBA Stage 0 through 6. We have provided technical coordination and delivery through RIBA Stages 3-6 on Plot 8, comprising a mix of Shared Ownership and Private homes, with scope tailored to reflect differing tenure requirements and construction programmes.

Across the wider development, 765 (40%) new homes will be delivered as affordable housing supported by funding from the Greater London Authority. Alongside residential provision, the scheme introduces retail, commercial and community uses intended to support everyday activity and reduce reliance on off-site amenities as the neighbourhood continues to develop.

Bond Bryan joined the project during the first construction phase, after piling works had already commenced on site. Taking on the role at this stage required an immediate response to a live construction environment, working within structural and programme constraints, while ensuring compliance and design intent were maintained.

Delivering multiple phases in parallel introduced a range of technical challenges, primarily around sequencing and shared systems. This included coordinating structure and services across phase boundaries, managing shared access and communal areas, and maintaining a consistent technical approach while responding to the specific demands of different tenures.

As Lead Designer, Bond Bryan worked closely with the wider design team to resolve these challenges, through coordinated technical design and BIM-led coordination to test proposals, identify conflicts early, and agree on buildable solutions before they reached site. This approach reduced risk, supported programme certainty, and enabled informed decision-making throughout delivery.

At Lombard Square, the impact of the scheme is felt not in a single completed phase, but in how the neighbourhood begins to function while it’s still being built.

Delivering homes alongside commercial units, shared routes and communal spaces from the outset means the area begins to function as an active neighbourhood early on, rather than waiting for the wider masterplan to be completed. Commercial units bring activity and employment to the site, while connected routes and shared spaces help residents integrate with the surrounding area as later phases are delivered.

Because the development is planned at scale, infrastructure and services could be coordinated from the start, rather than added retrospectively. Each phase connects into a shared network of movement and public space, allowing the neighbourhood to grow in a coherent and tangible way as new phases reach completion.

At Lombard Square, sustainability is shaped by the practical decisions that influence how buildings are designed, constructed, operated and maintained over time. Rather than treating it as a set of add-on measures, Bond Bryan focused on the points in the design and delivery process where choices around structure, layout and coordination have the greatest long-term impact.

One of the most visible expressions of this approach, established and designed as part of the wider masterplan prior to Bond Bryan’s involvement, is the inclusion of a 1.8-acre, four-seasons public park at the heart of the scheme. More than just a landscape feature, the park forms a permanent piece of shared infrastructure, providing year-round access to green space for residents and the wider communities, supporting everyday wellbeing, activity, social life and biodiversity as the neighbourhood continues to develop.

A key element of the development’s sustainability strategy is the inclusion of Ground Source Heat Pumps, which provide heating and hot water across the scheme. The system draws stable thermal energy from the ground and uses it to provide heat far more efficiently than conventional gas boilers, meaning less energy is required to heat homes and supply hot water.

Embedded as shared infrastructure at masterplan scale, it reduces operational carbon over the lifetime of the neighbourhood and reflects a coordinated, long-term approach to energy within the wider regeneration proposal.

At a building level, sustainability was addressed through early, coordinated technical decisions. As Lead Designer, Bond Bryan worked with the wider teams to rationalize structural layouts, coordinate building fabric and services, and reduce unnecessary material use where possible. By resolving these elements early, the team was able to support more efficient construction and avoid late-stage design changes that typically increase embodied carbon and waste.

Bond Bryan led the coordination of MEPH design with architectural and structural elements to ensure building services were accommodated, buildable and maintainable over the long term.

Through this coordinated technical approach, the team supported low-carbon construction methods and efficient building performance, prioritizing systems that are practical to build, operate, and maintain. This ensured sustainability measures were deliverable in practice, and capable of being sustained throughout the life cycle of the masterplan.