The Mayor of London and his London Development Agency have announced a new 300-home development a few minutes’ walk from the Docklands Light Railway in the Royal Docks that will give a particular boost to first time buyers.

The waterside site is the first the LDA has earmarked for development in the government’s new initiative to make homes more affordable for first time buyers by keeping part of the equity in public ownership. This could cut the cost of the new homes by about a third.

Mr Livingstone, London's Mayor, said: "With the number of first time buyers in London at its lowest level in decades, people are simply being priced out of the market. These new homes will start the process of helping first time buyers get their own place and will also ensure that they can buy attractive properties that they will want to stay in."

"This important development will help to ensure that key workers and younger people stay in London and make their homes here."

Sited next to both the waterfront and public transport, the development will be a fabulous place to live. "Most importantly the homes will be affordable," said LDA chief executive Manny Lewis. "This underpins our commitment to helping people get a foot on the property ladder, whilst ensuring we maintain the quality of new developments. We are now looking at our other sites to examine which could also be used for this initiative."

The 1.35-hectare site forms part of ‘Gallions Approach’, a major development of more than 2,500 homes with retail and business space.

Gallions Approach sits within the Royal Docks, east of Canary Wharf, and has been remediated by the LDA in partnership with the private sector. The first phase of 446 homes sits right on the waterfront and is already well underway, with the first riverside apartments set to be completed later this year.

The Royal Docks as a whole will provide about 10,000 new homes, making a major contribution to meeting London’s housing needs.