The Mayor of London’s plans to build more affordable homes in the city has taken another step forward with a new development in the East of the capital approved with 50% affordable.
The major development for up to 3,000 new homes, part of the redevelopment of the former Ford assembly site at Beam Park in South Dagenham, was approved at a public hearing in City Hall.
The plan includes the delivery of a brand-new neighbourhood for the area, with a new rail station, two primary schools, a nursery, community facilities, retail and open spaces, as well as the new homes.
As a result of negotiations between City Hall and the site’s developers, L&Q and Countryside, the proportion of genuinely affordable homes secured on the site has been raised from 35% to 50%.
The development sits within the London Riverside Opportunity Area, which has the potential to deliver at least 26,500 new homes. The site straddles the border of the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham Council and Havering Council with the first approving the development but Havering Council refusing permission, over concerns it would harm the character of the local area due to the height of the proposed buildings.
‘This is a large, very important site and these plans will deliver 3,000 much needed new homes, along with transport, schools and community facilities to help make this a liveable and attractive new neighbourhood for this part of east London,’ said Jules Pipe, London’s Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills, Jules Pipe.
‘Having weighed up the evidence available to me and given the overall importance of the application, I have decided to grant approval. The wider area around Beam Park has the potential to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs, and could play a crucial role in London’s economy in the decades to come,’ Pipe added.
Beam Park is the first call in for a scheme on GLA-owned land. The decisions to call in and to approve it were taken by the Deputy Mayor under delegated powers. This is because the Mayor was involved in prior decisions involving the GLA’s land holding at the site and, under planning rules, this precludes him for making the final determination.
