Please enter the project name:

Barking Riverside

 

Who is the developer/client of the project?

Barking Riverside Limited

 

 

 

 

Describe the context of this project and the point it has reached in its development in 250 words max. When is the project expected to complete? Please upload a masterplan drawing that best describes the project in its location

 

One of Europe’s most exciting mixed-use placemaking projects, emerging alongside 2km of Thames river frontage in East London, Barking Riverside is set to become a place like no other. 

 

Expected to complete within approximately 15 years, the 443-acre site will comprise of 10,000 homes and be home to over 30,000 people. 

 

Under the original planning, received in 2007, c.500 new homes were built. However, the project stalled due to lack of funding for the significant infrastructure required to deliver one of London’s most ambitious projects. In 2016, a new joint venture was agreed between L&Q and the Mayor of London to form Barking Riverside Limited (BRL), the master developer that now oversees design, planning, placemaking and infrastructure projects. 

 

A new planning consent for a masterplan by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, delivering 10,000 homes, commercial and proposed health and leisure facilities, was achieved in 2017.

 

Unlocking the potential of the site, the new joint venture secured funding for a new London Overground Station, currently under construction and on course to open in 2022. Uber Boat by Thames Clippers will also launch a service from Barking Riverside in 2022. 

 

Delivery has dramatically ramped up. Plot developers Bellway and L&Q successfully completed 399 homes in the Northgate area of the site, which are now fully occupied. A further 327 homes are under construction, and 630 in planning. New facilities include The Wilds at Barking Riverside, an ecology centre and public space, opening this summer.

 

 

What do you see as the greatest success of this project to date? How has it made a promising start on the journey to its completion? 250 words max. Please upload an image of the project to support your statement

 

The greatest success of the project to date has been securing the funding to deliver the major new transport infrastructure required to make the site viable.  

 

Securing transport links has been BRL’s single biggest priority, against some significant barriers, because of the huge social and economic impact these will have. As well as bringing new residents to the area, the new links will create access to 40,000 new jobs, increase economic activity in the area and dramatically improve connectivity for those who have been living in the area with limited transport for many years. 

 

The new transport links, a £263 million 4.5km extension of the London Overground Gospel Oak to Barking Line and an Uber Boat by Thames Clippers pier, are at the core of the project, quite literally putting Barking Riverside on the map.  

 

Viewed as one of TfL’s most strategically important projects, the station was one of only two major projects where work was able to restart swiftly following the Covid-19 industry lockdown.  

 

Activating the area around the station will be the District Centre, Station Quarter. This will evolve to become a centre point for new community facilities, cultural events and business opportunities.

 

A significant milestone in BRL’s ambition to activate the river, perhaps the site’s biggest asset, The Uber Boat by Thames Clippers stop will become the service’s Easternmost point – connecting Barking Riverside to Central London in 45 minutes. Construction will commence off-site of the pier later this year, with services expected to start Spring 2022.

 

 

 

How are you responding to changing demographics, behaviours, market context, policy, transport habits and the climate crisis since winning planning? What is your sustainability strategy and how are you mitigating carbon use and construction pollution? 250 words max. Please attach images, drawings or reports that support your statement

 

London’s only Healthy New Town, Barking Riverside is redefining conventions and making this a unique place to live. Examples of BRL’s future-proofing interventions:  

 

• Envac system: Futureproofing how a site of this scale deals with waste, a pioneering automated underground waste disposal system is already serving 300 occupied homes at Barking Riverside. Once completed, it will be the largest single system of its kind in Europe – 460 inlets replace the 19,000 bins required for a development of this size. The system will reduce waste disposal vehicles emissions by 90%.  

 

• Infrastructure delivery: Key to meeting the needs of local people has been the bringing forward of public facilities. For example, 4 of the proposed 7 schools to be delivered on site are already open. A BREEAM Excellent-rated ecology centre, The Wilds at Barking Riverside is public space and a centre for innovation due to open this summer. 

 

• The Community Interest Company: Possibly the most ambitious legacy project at Barking Riverside, the resident-led CIC will become the custodian of Barking Riverside. In 2020, a group of 17 residents came together to form The Learning Forum, which will make recommendations for the constitution – ensuring resident voices are heard. 

 

• Environmental impact: Adapting for climate change, BRL is improving the flood defences, moving 1,000,000m³ of soil to reprofile the site and raise the development platform. The Sustainable Drainage Strategy incorporates living roofs, permeable paving, rain gardens and landscaped ponds throughout the development – to manage water and attract wildlife.

 

Please share any figures on how the project is making a positive environmental, social and economic impact. Data or reports, article references or media clippings may also be attached to support your argument. 250 words max.

 

Environmental Impact: 

• The development will create of 60 hectares of designated open space and 10,000sq metres of biodiverse brown roofs. 
• Minimum 35% carbon reduction improvement achieved through Barking Riverside’s District Heat Network and Solar PV, and BRL are exploring using river water from the Thames to provide heating/hot water to new homes, accelerating a route to decarbonisation.  
• As London’s Healthy New Town, the site prioritises walking and cycling, with a new network of foot and cycle paths helping change behaviours and reduce car dependency.
• Envac will help to achieve annual reduction in quantities of waste disposed with 50% recycling/composting by 2022. 
• Restoring of natural habitats saw the number of recorded bird species doubling at Barking Riverside between 2012 and 2018 (from 24 species to 50). 

 

Social Impact:

• Engaging over 2000 people annually via a programme of free events across the ward – from firework displays to major art exhibitions. 
• 400 local people helped shape Thames Futures, Barking Riverside’s community-led social impact framework, which gives residents the tools to measure whether growth and investment at Barking Riverside is leading meaningful social transformation. To create the framework, trained community researchers interviewed over 400 residents about their lived experience. This research created a bespoke social impact vision, a theory of change with evaluation metrics and a social impact baseline.

Economic impact 

• The site itself is a major employer, with over 1000 construction staff currently on site – at its peak, it will be over 2000.