Barking Riverside Gateways Housing Zone receives green light

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham could soon see another 3000 new homes and funding of £30m.

This major development occurred earlier this week when the council’s Cabinet entered into the necessary agreements with the Greater London Authority (GLA) to establish the Barking Riverside Gateways Housing Zone.

This decision follows the GLA announcement that the bid for Barking Riverside Gateways had been successful.

The bid covers the industrial areas on Thames Road and parts of River Road. These areas act as a divide between Barking Riverside and Thames View Estate, and also present an extremely poor entrance to what is one of London’s largest development sites.

The bid which sought £30m funding was therefore named ‘Barking Riverside Gateways Housing Zone’ and includes a development of approximately 3000 homes, commercial space and associated facilities.

The new Housing Zone will improve the gateway into Barking Riverside; remove physical barriers between Barking Riverside and the Thames View Estate; bring forward the delivery of thousands of new homes for rent and for sale; provide a new secondary school; and improve the environment.

Councillor Cameron Geddes, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “Changing the nature of this area will make a significant improvement to both the entry to Barking Riverside and the links between it and the Thames View Estate.

“The improvements will go beyond the aesthetics and the benefits of providing additional housing; improving the general environment will make the area much safer and cleaner for existing residents; changing the nature of the traffic will subsequently improve air quality and encourage healthier modes of transport such as walking and cycling – which links in with the Healthy New Towns proposals announced for Barking Riverside last month.”

The council will work will all landowners and occupiers affected to deliver the scheme, which will also see extensive pre-planning consultations with the local community.

Councillor Geddes continued: “The council will do all it can to help relocate existing businesses and places of worship to other locations within the borough.”