Greenwich Millennium Village is on Greenwich Peninsula, which is situated adjacent to the Isle of Dogs in south-east London. The peninsula was originally an area of marshland that was reclaimed and used for a wide range of industries, including a gasworks, which was at the time the largest in Europe. By the mid-1980s Greenwich Peninsula was left largely derelict and contaminated by industrial waste.

In 1997, the Homes and Communities Agency (formerly English Partnerships) purchased the site and following an international competition to appoint a private development partner, selected Greenwich Millennium Village Limited (GMVL), a private company set up as a joint venture between Countryside Properties plc and Taylor Wimpey (previously Taylor Woodrow) to develop the site. The ethos behind the project was to provide a range of high quality and innovative homes that would facilitate a more sustainable lifestyle.