BeFirst, Barking and Dagenham Council’s development company, has revealed plans for a major residential-led scheme in the heart of Barking town centre.
Plans include 500 new homes and two high-rise buildings. If planning permission is granted, demolition of Crown House – until recently the tallest building in Barking – would start in February 2019, with a proposed completion date of April 2021.
Eighteen of the 33 London boroughs now operate wholly-owned development vehicles.
BeFirst is one of the most ambitious, with 400 hectares of development land and plans to build 50,000 new homes within the next 20 years.
The site lies opposite Barking railway station and Swan Housing’s 360 Barking, a 300-unit scheme currently under construction.
BeFirst earlier this year launched a vision for Barking town centre, which it described as a “mini Manhattan”, including significant over-track development above Barking Tube station and around 2,200 new homes.
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