Thames Gateway project gathers pace

By John Hill on October 31, 2008 12:39 PM |

Tagged with:

A community of up to 26,000 people is on the way in Barking.

The 150-hectare Barking Riverside project is one of the key developments in the Thames Gateway, which will undergo its annual progress check at the Excel centre later this month.

Bellway and English Partnerships were granted outline permission last August to draw up the first two phases of the scheme, which will create around 11,000 homes as well as access to 2km of Thames waterfront.

New schools, shopping and community facilities will also be provided as part of the development, which will be completed in four phases over the next 20 years.

It will also incorporate a number of green features, including a project office made out of recycled shipping containers and a series of green roofs for wildlife habitats and winter insulation.

Full planning applications for the first two phases of the £1.9billion project will be submitted to the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation in the next few months.

Barking Riverside is one of several projects being drawn up as part of the massive Thames Gateway regeneration project.

Politicians and developers will again meet to discuss the project’s progress at the Thames Gateway Forum on November 26 and 27.

Confirmed speakers include the Shadow Communities and Local Government minister Stewart Jackson MP, Deputy Mayor of London Sir Simon Milton and architect Sir Terry Farrell.

Sir Terry recently unveiled plans for 64km of parklands stretching across the Thames Gateway, designed to turn the area into the UK’s first eco-region.

The building and parkland designs will be shown on a mock-up of the area, which measures the length of three London buses and ranks as the UK’s largest architectural model.

For more information about the forum go to www.thamesgatewayforum.com or call 0870 787 9493.