Some £12m is to be invested to speed up the redevelopment of the Millennium Mills site at the Royal Docks in London.

The site has been out of use since the early 1980s but work has now begun on renovating the factory building ahead of its conversion into a brand new centre for business and enterprise.

The Government funding for the site is being used to demolish parts of the interior and rid the former flour mill of asbestos contamination. The work will fast track its renovation by five years and make it ready to welcome the next generation of start-up businesses by 2017.

-- Advertisement --

Redevelopment of the 450,000 sq ft landmark, one of the last remaining heritage buildings on the River Thames, forms the centrepiece of a wider £3.5bn project, being led by the Silvertown partnership, to transform this part of the Royal Docks from the industrial to the digital age delivering 5m sq ft of business space, more than 20,000 new jobs, 3,000 new homes and contributing £260m each year to the London economy.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "The restoration of this great industrial monolith is another vital ingredient in the regeneration of London's historic Royal Docks. We want to return this site to its former glory, supporting business and enterprise and breathing new life into an area of the capital that has been dormant for decades."

(CD/JP)