Barking Riverside Limited (BRL), a partnership of the mayor of London and housing association L&Q, is seeking to increase the overall size of Barking Riverside to up to 20,000 homes.
There have already been more than 2,700 homes built at Barking Riverside and BRL has now submitted an outline planning application to the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham to build another 20,000, up from the 10,800 previously permitted.
Barking Riverside is a 443-acre brownfield site formerly occupied by the 1920s Barking Power Station on the north bank of the Thames.
In support of the new outline planning application Barking Riverside Limited managing director Matthew Carpen said: “We have invested over £400m into the early stages of Barking Riverside to deliver major pieces of social and physical infrastructure, including a new London Overground station and an Uber boat by Thames Clippers pier. We have much more we wish to deliver, with the investment to date setting the foundation for the significant growth that is now proposed.”
L&Q chief executive Fiona Fletcher-Smith said: “The UK is in the grips of a housing and affordability crisis, which is getting worse. That has to change, and projects like Barking Riverside are part of the solution. This growing neighbourhood is delivering well-designed affordable homes and community infrastructure at scale. It is also a mission to create social and economic benefits, reduce inequality, and enable people to live better lives.
“We believe Barking Riverside could be a blueprint for brownfield development across the country. None of this would be possible without partnerships, from L&Q and the Mayor of London to the many others contributing to the success of this place. Delivering the proposed new homes and infrastructure will be a wonderful next step at this exciting new neighbourhood.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Barking Riverside is a prime example of a new town in London, a pioneering partnership delivering thousands of new homes for Londoners.
“It’s an inspiring model of how to fix our housing crisis, with new public transport connections, schools, green spaces and a town centre making this a blueprint for how the next generation of English new towns could work.”
