Countryside bags 3,000-home scheme

Housebuilder Countryside has been chosen by the Greater London Authority to build 3,000 homes on the site of a former Ford factory in East London.

Countryside will work with housing association L&Q on the development of the Beam Park community, which will be based around the creation of a new station on the existing C2C railway line running through the 29 ha site.

The GLA said 35% of the homes will be affordable, and claimed the sale of the land to Countryside and L&Q marked the disposal of the last major development site owned by City Hall, thereby meeting mayor Boris Johnson’s 2012 manifesto pledge to transfer all unused land to developers by the end of his term in 2016.

The former Ford site was used as the location for the dress rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2012. The location’s new train station is supposed to be open by 2020. The site sits on the border between Barking and Dagenham and Havering councils.

Richard Cherry from Countryside Properties said he was “delighted” to have been selected for the scheme, which he said would “spearhead the regeneration of the London Riverside Opportunity Area.” He said: “We look forward to working with the GLA, the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, and Havering to transform Beam Park into a well-connected, sustainable place for people to live, work and socialise.”

Boris Johnson said: “As well as much needed new homes of every tenure, the brand new station will whisk residents into central London in record time, and the development will include mass green public space along the River Beam. The 29 hectare site celebrates a key milestone for City Hall as it marks the final land release for development of over 400 hectres of surplus land owned by the authority, delivering thousands of homes, offices, new schools and parks across the city.”