If the first day on the London stand at MIPIM is anything to go by, the theme for this year is around the ambitions and optimism of local authorities.
With a lack of central government subsidy, the only way to go is through public/private partnerships. Barking and Dagenham is an example of such, announcing this morning that its “Be First” company is to be chaired by Lord Kerslake.
The company was announced last year and is set to start trading in October. Last year it said its aim was to provide 35,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs over the next 20 years. At MIPIM today it set out a vision of 50,000 new homes and 20,000 new jobs. How achievable this will be, only time will tell. But with ample low-density and brownfield sites including Beam Park and the former Ford site, Castle Green, as well as Barking town centre and Chadwell Heath, that shouldn’t be an issue.
Speaking on the panel at MIPIM today, Barking and Dagenham councillor Darren Rodwell said the public/private venture will “blow your socks off”. With a £350m pot, £100m of which will be spent on acquiring land, utilising CPO powers and joint venture schemes, this is a borough with serious growth potential.
Let’s take a look in detail at the borough’s largest site: Barking Riverside. Like the borough itself, after years of slow progress, it would seem Barking Riverside is finally on the verge of delivering.
An opportunity to develop well over 10,000 new homes has been well known for a while. However, the stop-start nature of its development has persisted. Until now, hopefully. L&Q bought out Bellway’s stake in the scheme to leave a joint venture between L&Q and the GLA, although split 51/49 in favour of L&Q. It is now surely in their interest to accelerate delivery and get homes out of the ground. A tenure split across the development will consist of 30% private sale, 30% private rent, 20% submarket rent and 20% shared ownership homes, which also suggests a desire for the phasing programme to be quicker.
The first phase kicked off in 2010, the last plot of which is still ongoing, with completion likely towards the end of the year. When complete, the homes which make up the far western portion of the site will total 1,400 units.
Last week, Barking and Dagenham’s planning committee granted consent for the first plots in the second phase.
Plots 201-203 will provide 378 new homes, with 50% shared ownership and 50% private sale. Early plots across major regeneration schemes often provide more private homes, in order to gather up-front capital receipts, which help with funding for infrastructure and later phases.
Infrastructure and especially transport is particularly pertinent for this scheme. Largely isolated and a good distance from any transport facilities for commuters, the early consent of phase one had section 106 conditions relating to just that. In short, the 2009 consent was dependent on the expansion of the Docklands Light Railway to Dagenham Dock, with only a certain amount of homes allowed to be built until transport capacity was improved. The council quite rightly felt that too many homes built before infrastructure was in place would affect the surrounding road network and potentially create an unsustainable development.
Boris Johnson ultimately vetoed the DLR expansion, meaning construction slowed, just as a housing crisis was ensuing. However, train links are back on, with plans for an Overground extension from Barking in the pipeline. Barking Riverside Ltd has agreed to pay a contribution of £172m to help fund it.
The new masterplan was approved in July, Transport for London has started the search for a contractor to build the Overground extension through the OJEU and the first plot within the next phase of 10,000 homes now has full planning consent. Barking Riverside is finally on the move.
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