Plans to transform land in the south of the borough with 3,500 new homes, a new train station, a school, and health care and leisure facilities have been unveiled.
The Rainham and Beam Park development will take place over the next decade and begins with improving transport to the area by adding an extra station to the c2c line between Rainham and Dagenham Dock.
This will be followed by infrastructure needed to serve a new community, including a school, doctors’ surgeries and shops.
The development will run along a narrow site between the train tracks and New Road, extending from Tesco Extra in Rainham to far into Barking and Dagenham, including the old Ford site.
The leader of Havering Council, Cllr Roger Ramsey, said: “This is a great opportunity to turn this land into an attractive new neighbourhood, with all the right infrastructure that is needed to support it, such as schools and transport.
“We want to make sure that development of this area is delivered in a co-ordinated way, rather than the piecemeal development that goes on at the moment, and that it provides high quality family housing for the people of Rainham.”
The council hopes to see the train station completed by next year in order to serve thousands of high quality family homes.
The plans are to create a “linear garden” along the road with green spaces and trees so that it becomes a boulevard rather than the industrial dual carriageway currently there.
Many of the factories and warehouses along New Road are already vacant, with others being made offers from developers to sell their land.
The council is also hoping for a grant from the Greater London Authority to assist with building the homes.
Rainham Village will also see land developed and have a facelift, with money already being spent by the National Trust to transform Rainham Hall in the Broadway to create a full heritage site and gift shop.
The hope is that will increase tourism to the area as the hall is next door to the oldest Norman church in London, St Helen and St Giles’.
A consultation on these plans will be opened by Havering Council on Wednesday and will consist of a stakeholder’s meeting in Rainham Library on March 17 as well as exhibits on the plans the following week.
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