The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has offered outline planning consent to Fraser Brown MacKenna (FBM) Architects for their design of the regeneration of the Gascoigne West Estate. The 850 home development project will have a significant transformational impact on Barking Town Centre.

Moreover, FBM Architects have worked closely with Be First, the council’s regeneration company, to ensure their designs complement the neighbouring areas of Abbey Road and Gascoigne East, providing the optimum mix of housing and community services.

“We aim to surpass the quality and design standards that we have set at Gascoigne East, offering hundreds of badly needed, new homes for local people at a range of rent levels and prices. This is a huge milestone for this exciting project, which will make much better use of the space, with more traditional street patterns and green spaces,” said Pat Hayes, Managing Director of Be First, the leaders of the project.

The planners, who endorsed the £250 million project, agreed that the development would result in a much-needed regeneration of the 2.4ha low density area, providing significantly more and better quality housing in a mix of sizes, in a safer and healthier designed environment.

“We have taken a very sensitive approach to the site’s historical context connecting and improving the existing townscape to create an attractive people-friendly scheme for the long-term benefit of local communities,” said Simon Fraser, Director at Fraser Brown MacKenna Architects.

Councillor Cameron Geddes, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing, also commented on the news, saying: “It is fantastic to see good quality proposals being drawn up that capture a mixture of realistic renting and affordable buying opportunities for local residents.”

A further planning application is expected in late 2018, with the work on site estimated to begin in 2019.