New council company to build 42,500 homes

Cabinet members last night voted for the creation of the council-owned company, which will be called Be First and include board members from the Greater London Authority (GLA). It will speed up the development on land release by the counci and the GLA, such as the 10,800-home Barking Riverside development.

The ‘regeneration company’ will set up a series of special purpose vehicles to bring forward schemes, and will create joint venture agreements with private sector developers to help meet the ambitious 42,500 target. The company expects to make £18.6m for the authority over the next 10 years, when compared with the in-house alternative.

The company mimics work being carried out by other councils such as Newham and Croydon, which have created housing companies owned by the public sector but operating commercially, at arm’s length from the boroughs. However, the council also expects it to help create 10,000 jobs over the next 15 to 20 years, by developing commercial uses on brownfield sites alongside housing.

The council will continue to make final decisions on planning applications and to approve strategic plans and policies. Key sites in the first wave of development include Barking Riverside; Beam Park, which has the potential for 3,000 homes; and the Ford ‘stamping plant’ site, where 2,650 homes are proposed.

Councillor Dominic Twomey, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for finance, growth and investment, said: “Barking and Dagenham is already recognised as one of London’s growth hotspots but we are determined to ensure that investors understand that it is not just the best place in the capital, but also one of the easiest to do business with. 

“Be First will be a major force in driving down unemployment, building housing and improving education and skills in the borough.”

Appointments to the board of Be First are expected to be made by the spring of 2017 and will start recruitment – which includes transfer of existing staff under TUPE regulations – during the summer. The company is expected to start trading in October 2017.

The creation of Be First responds to an independent growth commission into the prospects for the borough in February, which recommended the establishment of a borough-wide regeneration company.

UPDATE 16/11/2016 14:54

An earlier version of this article said 45,000 homes were to be brought forward. This was incorrect. The total figure is 42,500.