North Thamesmead is located in South East London, separated from Barking and Dagenham only by the River Thames. It is near Woolwich, Plumstead, Abbey Wood, Greenwich and Belvedere. Compared to other London areas, the creation of Thamesmead is a relatively new concept and mainly comprises social housing from the 1960s. Branded by planners as the “21st Century Town”, the area’s iconic council tower blocks may seem outdated to some, although there is something quite unique and timeless about the character of this area. Boasting 5km of Thames riverside, six major lakes, 7 km of canals and three natural reserves, most areas in London do not feature such close proximity to water features as Thamesmead does.

The locality was originally located on unused marshland collectively known as Erith and Plumstead Marshes. Its creation was a response to the Second World War, which drastically increased the demand for social housing. Overseen by the London County Council (LCC), the plan for Thamesmead was finally solidified by 1965 with building commencing soon afterwards. The utopian planning and futuristic architecture that defined the project went on to feature in Stanley Kubrick’s infamous 1972 adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. The flats helped make the area affordable, attracting working-class Londoners, as well as those moving to the city from all over the world. However, they soon gained an infamous reputation, with the brutalist architecture of Thamesmead in particular, becoming synonymous with crime and the disintegration of working class communities. Today Thamesmead has a population of just under 20,000 of whom, nearly two-thirds identify as Christians reflected in the amount of Churches built in this neighbourhood area .

The local shopping centres’ famous clock tower was a double hand-me-down first given by Deptford to Woolwich to repair it, then Deptford allowed Woolwich to give it to Thamesmead to keep in 1986.

Gang activity is said to be rife in some areas of Thamesmead, especially in its Council Estates and the area holds two Category A Men’s Prisons, HMP Thamesmead & HMP Belmarsh.

Over the next 30 years around £1 billion will be invested in Thamesmead by the Peabody Housing Developers, who will seek to improve green spaces, housing and economic growth in Thamesmead West. Bexley Council has been given £100,000 by the Greater London Authority in funding to create a new engineering college in the area. Despite this, the biggest recent change to the area has been the opening of the Elizabeth Line at nearby Abbey Wood, just a short bus ride away. This is set to transform the area from an isolated suburb to a bustling commuter hub with direct transport links to central London and Heathrow. The Lombard Square development on Nathan Way is one development prompted by these new transport links, providing over 1,500 new homes in what is planned to be a new neighbourhood. This will be joined by the Dock 28 development at 20 Pier Way which also contains over 200 flats and is scheduled for completion in 2023.