Barking clears £350m Abbey Quays development

The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham has resolved to grant planning permission for a £350m housing development on the site of a Barking retail park.House-builder Weston Homes and the Estates & Agency Group want to regenerate the six- acre Abbey Retail Park in Barking into ‘Abbey Quays’, a £350m riverside urban-village.Abbey Quays’ will provide 1,089 new homes of mixed tenure; 2,070 m2 of commercial/leisure space; 1,071 m2 of employment space; 470 m2 of community space and a gym. Landscaping will include a new riverside walkway and a waterside plaza fronting onto the River Roding, a tributary of the Thames. Architect for the scheme is Broadway Malyan.Full planning permission is expected once a Section 106 legal agreement has been agreed between the applicant and the council is completed.The retail park was built by the Estates & Agency Group during the 1980s providing retail warehouse units and parking.The housing will be provided across 13 residential blocks split across three buildings, ranging from seven to 29 storeys. The buildings combine expanses of glazing with brick facades, featuring recessed and projecting balconies, balustrades and murals etched into the brickwork.