A huge new town is set to be built – featuring 20,000 homes as well as hotels, shops and schools as part of efforts to tackle Britain’s housing crisis.
The Barking Riverside project in east London has been given the green light, including 4,000 new properties earmarked for affordable housing – with 50,000 people potentially housed across the new development.
Among the features of the masterplan are two public parks, three extra schools, a new health facility and commercial space, enhanced walking and cycling routes, as well as riverfront access.
Official figures in January revealed that just 47,600 new homes have been built in the capital since Labour came to power in July 2024, out of 309,600 across England.
The capital’s figure was far short of the target of 88,000 new homes a year set by the Government to meet its goal of 1.5 million across the country by 2029.
Supporters of the newly approved scheme – including one of London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan‘s deputies Tom Copley – say it will provide not only much needed new homes, but also schools, health centres, public parks and community spaces.
The latest proposals almost double the previously granted allocation of 10,800 new homes across the 443-acre site.
The revisions have now been given outline planning permission by Barking and Dagenham council.
Revised proposals for a development including 20,000 new homes has been approved by Barking and Dagenham council planners
The Barking Riverside project in east London has been given the green light, with 4,000 of the new properties earmarked as affordable housing – pictures show what it could look like
Among the features of the new masterplan are two public parks, three extra schools, a new health facility and commercial space, as well as the 20,000 homes
Barking Riverside is a joint venture between London mayor Sir Sadiq and housing association L&Q.
More than £170million in grant and loan funding has been handed over in the past five years by government agency Homes England.
The Labour government has updated planning rules, suggesting local objections should not stand in the way of houses on brownfield sites.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also been vehement in his criticism of ‘nimbys’ and ‘blockers’ – describing himself as a ‘yimby’, meaning ‘yes in my backyard’.
In its planning policy framework, Labour said brownfield schemes ‘should be approved unless substantial harm would be caused’.
Mr Copley, deputy mayor for housing and residential development, said of the newly approved plans: ‘Barking Riverside is one of the most significant and exciting housing developments not just in London but anywhere in the UK.
‘It is a fantastic example of a major brownfield regeneration, supported by City Hall and partners, which is delivering for the local community in this vibrant part of east London.
‘I welcome the news that the Barking Riverside story is set to enter its next phase, ensuring thousands of more high-quality and affordable homes for Londoners in the coming years as we continue to build a better and fairer capital for everyone.’
BRL managing director Leigh Johnson said: ‘This successful planning consent marks a genuine step change for Barking Riverside and for the role it can play in supporting local people.
‘The 4,000 affordable homes being delivered represent an opportunity for households to come off the housing waiting list and for local families to take their first step on the property ladder.’
L&Q’s group chief executive Fiona Fletcher-Smith said: ‘Delivering well-designed affordable homes and community infrastructure at scale at Barking Riverside represents our long-term plans to tackle the housing crisis in London.
‘We believe it could be a blueprint for brownfield development across the country.
‘This milestone reflects the ambition of the partnerships involved, from L&Q and the Mayor of London to the many others contributing to the success of the project.’
A London Overground station and an Uber Boat pier opened at the site in 2022.
Sir Keir’s Government has set a target of building 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current Parliament – but there are industry fears that this will not be possible.
The number of UK construction workers fell to 2 million in the third quarter of last year – the lowest for 25 years – and while 35 per cent are aged over 50, only 20 per cent are under 30.
Meanwhile, the Construction Industry Training Board has warned that 61,000 new workers each year would be needed to hit the 2029 housebuilding target.
The Office for Budget Responsibility last year forecast there would be 305,000 new homes built a year in the UK by the end of the decade.
This would see a total of only 1.3million new homes across the entire UK from this year to 2029/30, the watchdog estimated.
It said Labour’s planning reforms would only add an extra 170,000 new homes, but the Government claimed the OBR had not factored in other key changes being made.
And the Home Builders Federation wrote to the OBR last October, saying even their estimates were ‘only achievable’ if the Government provided help for first-time buyers to stimulate demand and reduced planned taxes on new homes that were making many sites ‘unviable’.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said in response: ‘We will leave no stone unturned to build the 1.5 million homes this country desperately needs and restore the dream of homeownership.
‘On top of the major planning changes we have already introduced to get developers building and our huge £39billion investment in social and affordable housing, we are going further and faster to accelerate reforms and bring about the biggest era of housebuilding in our country’s history.’
Yet analysis of official figures in January this year revealed construction had plummeted nationwide under Labour’s watch.
Every English region has seen a fall but the slowdown was worst in London, with only 4,170 new homes starting construction in the 2024-25 financial year – a 72 per cent decline from 2023-24.
Across England, just 115,700 homes were started in Labour‘s first year in office – a mere 39 per cent of the 300,000 a year needed to hit the Government’s housing target of 1.5million by the end of this Parliament in July 2029.
The numbers were compiled by the Centre for Policy Studies thinktank, which said Labour’s changes of hitting their target was ‘close to zero’.
Labour has previously said it still hopes to meet its target, with construction expected to surge once the impact of its planning reforms comes into effect in the latter part of this parliament.
Just before the Christmas parliamentary recess, the Government released a new draft National Planning Policy Framework that pledges to speed up applications and make it easier for developers to get approvals.
It is set to lead to a major shake-up in the system governing development near busy railway stations.
Councils will be told to give a ‘default yes’ to all applications within a 15-minute walk, provided they will deliver at least 20 homes per acre.
Council planning committees will also lose the right to decide on small developments, with decisions handed over to ‘expert trained planners’.
And the new plans also water down protections for wildlife, with sites of less than half an acre exempted from existing biodiversity rules. This could be extended in some cases to sites of up to six acres.
