About 20 years ago Bellway Homes got hold of a chunk of land in the Thames Estuary, by a chunk, we mean 179 ha of land, on which they were granted outline planning permission in 2007 for 10,800 new houses. We’re in the middle of a housing crisis in London and the question has to be asked, why have they built less than 400 new homes?

Barking town centre is a busy thriving part of the world, it’s rapidly developing whilst retaining some of the East End charm the residents love and importantly it’s only 15 minutes on the train to the centre of London.

Barking Riveside is another story altogether. There are no shops, the roads to the new residential development aren’t that well used.

Bellway’s plan was to build a brand new community on the Thames Estuary for over 25,000 people, but after 7 years, it would be lucky if there was anything like 650 people living in Barking Riverside.

Part of the argument is there no transport infrastructure, it takes about 40 minutes to get from Barking Riverside to Barking town centre on the bus.

There was always a plan to get the train through Barking Riveside of course, however the London Mayor cancelled the proposed extension to the Docklands Light Railway on which the station would have sat and this in turn has meant a clause in the planning permission has come into force, meaning only 1,200 homes can be built at Barking Riverside because there’s not sufficient transportation for people to be able to get around.

Bellway Homes argues that the remaining homes within the quota are not viable to build without the planned transport links coming into the community. Fortunately this may happen sooner rather than later as London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, the Greater London Authority and Bellway are working on a plan that will see Gospel Oak to Barking Overground be extended to Barking Riverside – it’s going to cost something in the region of £180 million. This in itself could be great news for employment in the construction industry and development of construction supply in the area; however it would open the ability for the development of the rest of the housing in Barking Riverside.

Bellway has said if the Government promises to fund the new line it will commit to developing 4,000 new homes by 2020.
It’s about confidence now, the government has to step in to help make this happen and the house builders have to be able tell house buyers the infrastructure is going to be in place.

In light of the recent property instability in London it’s pretty clear something big needs to be done and this development could offer a big part of the solution – or at least the starting point of the solution.

Crucially it will offer a great employment opportunity for our industry just outside the capital and create a new focus for industry and residences.