Construction is officially underway at a disused brownfield site in West Ham, marking the start of a visionary regeneration scheme that is set to create a thriving new neighbourhood for Newham.
Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE was guest of honour at the breaking ground event in November, celebrating the start of works on the 26 acre site. She was joined by dozens of partners, including from affordable housing provider Peabody and the Greater London Authority (GLA).
Working with the Mayor of London, Berkeley Homes' mixed-use development will deliver more than 3,800 new homes for the area, publicly-accessible green spaces, a new community centre, a retail and leisure quarter and maker-spaces for local artists and creatives.
Supporting Newham Council's vision of building genuinely affordable homes for local people, Berkeley is working with Peabody to deliver new homes for the borough, including 40 per cent affordable housing.
The scheme will create new employment opportunities for local people - including 8,000 jobs during the construction of the site, as well as 1,000 operational jobs - bringing the community along on the journey of regenerating Newham.
It will also provide a new 1,000-pupil state-of-the-art home for the East London Science School with a specially designed science garden, sports hall and lecture theatre.
Berkeley is also working with TfL to upgrade infrastructure for local community. This includes providing direct access to West Ham station from the site, as well as creating three new foot and road bridges, to integrate the scheme in the wider area and welcome the existing community to the new.
Berkeley is committed to meeting environmental challenges and aims to deliver developments with a net biodiversity gain, creating beautiful spaces for both people and nature. The development will be home to new green spaces including a park and a science garden alongside living roofs. Natural habitats will be enriched and diversified for local wildlife, such as flowering and fruiting trees to provide valuable forage for pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE said: "This development is key to the regeneration of West Ham, delivering new homes alongside leisure and retail spaces and green parkland, as well as creating jobs for our community.
"We want local people to get behind Newham's regeneration push and come along on the journey with us - providing new community spaces and much-needed genuinely affordable homes will go some way to achieving our objective of people growing up here and staying in our wonderful borough."
Dick Mortimer, Executive Director Development at Peabody said: "This development will be a game changer for Newham - and with 40 per cent genuinely affordable housing it will play a central role in delivering the homes that London needs."
Justin Tibaldi, Divisional Managing Director at Berkeley, said: "This development will create a vibrant new neighbourhood that will reinvigorate West Ham and be integral to the wider regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley.
"The scheme will provide new spaces and facilities for residents and the local community alike - we're investing in affordable housing and community assets for the long-term, and creating a network of beautiful public space including 12 acres of biodiverse parkland. We are proud to be working with Newham, the Mayor of London and Peabody to create fantastic new places and high-quality housing for people to call home".