Berkeley's TwelveTrees Park, a new, high-quality development in Newham, has been recognised for its excellence with victory at this year's Planning Awards. The 3,838-home development came out on top in the 'best use of publicly owned land and/or property in placemaking' category, ahead of a strong field that included two highly commended submissions.
The judges asked entrants to demonstrate how their scheme will improve the physical, social and environmental qualities of the publicly owned land or property, with a shortlist of four developments then selected from a range of entries submitted from across the country.
Prior to Berkeley taking on the site in 2015, the area had been vacant for ten years, barring a brief interlude as a coach park for the Olympics. Now, TwelveTrees Park is being transformed into a dynamic new neighbourhood providing a new 4.5-acre fully WiFi-enabled park and a state-of-the-art home for the East London Science School, as well as over 3,800 homes.
In addition to this win, Malt Street - another Berkeley scheme - was highly commended in the award for regeneration category. The Planning Awards judges commented: "TwelveTrees Park shows the potential of vacant public sector land assets as vehicles for transformative change."
Sean Gavin, Operations Director at Berkeley South East London, commented: "Winning an award is always positive, but to win in such an important category is particularly special. We take our responsibilities to the local community in Newham very seriously, which is why we are delivering a range of publicly accessible amenities, as well as high-quality homes in a variety of tenures. This honour vindicates our approach and is greatly appreciated - I congratulate the whole TwelveTrees Park team for this fantastic achievement."
For more information about TwelveTrees Park please visit: www.TwelveTreesPark.london. Prices start from £505,000 for a studio. The Sales & Marketing Suite is open Monday to Saturday, 10am-6pm with a late-night opening on Thursday until 8pm and Sundays 10am-4pm. In line with Government guidance, it is open by appointment only; call 020 3925 6192 to book an appointment.