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Barking and Dagenham Council’s Be First is set to build 500 homes in an eco-friendly scheme, after receiving planning approval.
Councillors voted through the plans for the next phase of the regeneration of the Gascoigne Estate in the centre of Barking, London, at a meeting on Monday.
The development will include 11 new buildings and 526 flats, of which 35% will be for market sale and 65% for affordable rent or shared ownership.
Be First aims to provide the area with a new park and to supply energy through rooftop solar panels and connection to the district heating system. It says that the resulting energy savings will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40%.
Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “These plans for the new look Gascoigne Estate set a new gold standard for green living in the borough.
“They will also provide hundreds of much needed affordable homes for local people in a sustainable design that will make it among the greenest estates in the borough.”
Be First, which works on large regeneration sites across the borough, said it will also install facilities to park more than 1,000 cycles.
Jennie Coombs, head of affordable housing at Be First, said: “This latest phase of this exciting project will deliver vastly improved homes for new and existing tenants. And we’ve taken the design to the next level, to make sure the quality of the public spaces matches the quality of the flats themselves.
“This landmark development will be the borough’s most ambitious and greenest ever, and will be a template for environmentally-friendly living for the 21st century.”