Plans to extend the Docklands Light Railway to Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead have passed another development milestone, after Transport for London published the results of its third public consultation on the scheme. TfL received 553 responses, including 527 from members of the public and 26 from stakeholder organisations.
The consultation ran from 5 June to 16 July and focused on the design and access arrangements for two proposed stations, alongside construction methods and possible effects on nearby communities, businesses and the environment. TfL said responses showed continued strong support for the extension, while also identifying concerns and design priorities it will carry into the next stage.
Access and construction concerns
Respondents highlighted the potential for improved public transport links, regeneration and better access to jobs, education and services on both sides of the Thames. The proposed line would give Thamesmead its first rail connection. It is also intended to support housing and employment growth at Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead, although those outcomes remain tied to a scheme that has yet to receive consent to build.
Specific priorities raised in the consultation included fully accessible stations, safe routes for walking and cycling, good bus connections and allowing for possible future DLR extensions beyond Thamesmead. These issues concern not only the station buildings but how passengers would reach them and connect with the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Construction impacts were another recurring concern. Responses flagged traffic, noise and environmental effects. TfL said these matters would continue to be considered as the scheme develops. The consultation announcement does not provide a response-by-response tally or percentages for support, nor does it identify the number of comments associated with each concern. Its description of strong support is therefore a summary of TfL’s assessment, rather than a quantified poll result.
Proposals still need permission
The extension is proposed to branch from the existing DLR after Gallions Reach, serving a new station at Beckton Riverside before passing beneath the Thames to a second station in Thamesmead. The station layouts and their integration with local streets and development areas were central to the latest consultation.
TfL will use the feedback to refine its proposals and says it intends to submit a Transport and Works Act Order application in 2027. Such an application would seek permission to build and operate the scheme; the consultation outcome itself is not that permission, and the project is not approved for construction.
The timetable and delivery remain conditional. TfL has previously said construction could begin by 2029 subject to funding and the necessary approvals, with an opening in the early 2030s a possibility. Those are prospective dates, not confirmed delivery commitments. The authority has said formal funding arrangements remain to be finalised.
The result follows earlier rounds of consultation as the scheme has developed. TfL reports that the first consultation began in 2024 and a second took place in 2025, before the latest exercise examined more detailed station, access and construction proposals. The new feedback will now inform the next design work, including how accessibility, active travel, buses and construction impacts are addressed before the planned application.
For Thamesmead and Beckton Riverside, the consultation outcome marks progress in shaping a proposed cross-river transport link, but not a final decision to build it. The next formal milestone is the planned application, alongside continued design development and completion of the approvals and funding work on which delivery depends.
