Newham Borough Council has given its approval for work to begin on the £1.5bn redevelopment of Royal Victoria Docks in East London.

The announcement comes as the developers of the scheme, Silvertown Quays, secured a £119m loan from the Bank of Scotland to fund the development.

One of Europe’s largest regeneration schemes, the Silvertown Quays project will create 5,000 new homes, 18,925sq m of leisure facilities, 8,000sq m of community facilities and 5,570sq m of restaurants and bars.

The flagship project of the scheme is the £80m Biota! Aquarium.

The aquarium will be owned and operated by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Equivalent in size to five football pitches, Biota! is expected to attract over one million visitors a year and was designed by Terry Farrell.

David Taylor, chair of Silvertown Quays, said: “This is an important development for the capital, bringing a world-class tourist attraction to an area of London that will see considerable benefits as a result.”

Biota! Is expected to open to the public in 2009.