Creating a new neighbourhood: Barking Riverside
Barking Riverside Ltd has worked with Bellway Homes plc, the Mayor of London and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham to develop a new community.
The first residents moved into Barking Riverside in 2012.
What is Barking Riverside?
This new neighbourhood has regenerated a 443 acre, former power station site. It has included:
- 10,800 new homes – 31% with three or more bedrooms and 40% affordable housing
- facilities for healthcare, shopping, community and leisure
- new public transport links to support the new community
Building a community
Providing new homes is only part of the work at Barking Riverside. Four primary schools, one secondary school and a special education needs school were provided, along with 65,000 square metres of commercial, retail, community and social facilities.
The Rivergate Centre opened in September 2011. It includes a three-form entry primary school incorporating specialist provision for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and a nursery. The Centre provides a place of worship, healthcare facilities and social enterprise units, ensuring that Barking Riverside residents have access to essential services from day one. The Riverside secondary school opened in September 2012 and will move to its permanent location within Barking Riverside when building work is completed.
Sustainable transport is also at the heart of this development. We’ve worked closely with Transport for London to secure the improvements to the rail and road network required to support the community.
We also struck an important deal to deliver the first Barking Riverside homes contractually covenanted to be private rented. This saw 318 new homes built solely for the private rented sector.
Improving green infrastructure
Barking Riverside’s riverside position means that a range of environmental measures are needed to protect the local wildlife. For example:
- green roofs protect wildlife habitats and provide better insulation for new homes
- rainwater is harvested and ponds store rainfall for future use
- drainage systems, which are good for irrigation, are also used to grow plants
- over 41% of the site is dedicated to open space, including a new ecology park with all areas linked by parkland, cycle routes and footpaths, and play and sports areas
We are working with the Towards Urban Resilience and Sustainability initiative (TURAS). TURAS works with local authorities and researchers across 11 European cities on the development of new solutions for more sustainable and resilient urban areas.
Award-winning
Barking Riverside won Development of the Year at the Sunday Times British Homes Awards 2013. It also won a 2013 Housing Design Award for completed schemes.
The first homes completed during 2012 within the Buzzards Mouth Court area, won a prestigious Housing Design Award in 2010 and were shortlisted in the Best New Place to Live category in the London Planning Awards 2012/13.
Need a document on this page in an accessible format?
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of a PDF or other document on this page in a more accessible format, please get in touch via our online form and tell us which format you need.
It will also help us if you tell us which assistive technology you use. We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.