Barking and Dagenham Council has announced its partner to work on the regeneration of the borough’s biggest housing estate.
East Thames will work with the council to redevelop the eastern half of the iconic Gascoigne estate in Barking.
Demolition work is already underway on part of the first phase of the works, which forms part of the council’s Estate Renewal programme.
Four tower blocks and four low rise blocks at St. Margaret’s will be demolished as part of the first phase - a total of 364 properties.
The homes will be replaced with new housing - a mixture of social rent, affordable rent and privately owned homes.
A full master-planning exercise will take place later this summer, in which members of the public will have a chance to give their views. This is what will determine how the new homes will look and what exactly will be built on the site.
Council Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Mick McCarthy, said: “It’s been a long term ambition of this council to redevelop the Gascoigne Estate and replace it with new housing, and I’m very happy that vision will soon become a reality.
“I hope that local people will take the opportunity to give their views on the future of the estate when we get to the master-planning stage.”
In the second phase, scheduled to start transferring tenants during 2014, a further 934 homes will be demolished and replaced with new homes.
Barking and Dagenham Council and East Thames will work together as equal partners throughout the Gascoigne project, sharing the responsibility for funding, design, construction and maintenance.
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