Barking Riverside

Located along the banks of the River Thames, covering 443 acres, Barking Riverside will include 10,800 new homes of mixed size and style. There is also provision for 65,000 square metres of commercial floor space for shopping, restaurants, cafés, community and leisure facilities, healthcare and schools. There are also plans for large open spaces, public squares and a brand new rail station with bus and river transport interchange providing excellent links to central London.

Parklands will offer a selection of homes including 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, 2 and 3 bedroom duplex apartments as well as 3 and 4 bedroom townhouses.

All Parklands homes will be well-presented with contemporary specifications. A typical home will benefit from a bright and modern open-plan living space with a fully-fitted kitchen and dining area. All homes have access to communal or private outside space; a garden for the houses and ground floor apartments and a balcony or terrace for apartments on the upper floors.

Location

Barking Riverside lies beside two kilometres of beautiful river Thames frontage. Its close proximity to Barking town centre, the City of London, Canary Wharf and the beautiful Essex countryside makes it the perfect location.

The development is centrally located within the London Riverside Area, part of the larger Thames Gateway redevelopment zone, which is transforming the east London environment. It is one of the largest housing development sites in the UK and one of the largest brownfield developments in Europe.

The site is the location of the former Barking Power Station; the river frontage includes a disused wharf, pier and wider areas of untouched natural landscapes, spreading east towards Dagenham.

Transport accessibility

Travelling to central London is extremely accessible with Barking Riverside being served by the EL1 bus route (which runs 24 hours per day) as well as the EL2. This convenient service links you directly to both Dagenham Dock and Barking stations, with the C2C, as well as District and Hammersmith & City tube lines and the London Overground running from the latter.

Barking Riverside is ideally placed for connections to the A13, A406, M25 and M11, connecting you in, around and out of London.

Barking Riverside offers a highly competitive annual commuting cost when compared to other locations with access to the East London mainline stations of Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street.

The 4.5km London Overground extension to facilitate the opening of the new Zone 4 Barking Riverside station in 2021 will undoubtedly further enhance the appeal of the area, providing an on-the-doorstep Overground service into the capital.

In partnership with the Mayor of London and Transport for London, work is underway on a new London Overground station. Due to open in 2021, the new link will connect Barking Riverside to central London in just 22 minutes

Urban desing

Barking Riverside London has already received significant acclaim for its pioneering design and layout. BRL is committed to improving the local infrastructure, meaning that the development will feature new healthcare facilities, open space, public squares, transport links and seven new schools, as well as new restaurants, bars, retail, community and leisure facilities.

Ecology

Brownfield sites such as Barking Riverside London are renowned for cultivating habitats for rare and interesting wildlife. Preserving and enhancing the rich ecological diversity of the area is a priority for the development.

Over 40 species of birds have been recorded breeding across the 443-acre site. The area is also home to water voles and bombardier beetles which are now only found in two locations across the UK. Seals can also be spotted along the mud flats.

The creeks, brooks, wetlands and ponds are important habitats for wildlife; warblers, dragonflies, grass snakes and common lizards thrive in the reed beds. The muddy sediment of the River Thames provides a rich food source – snails, shellfish and worms – for resident and migratory birds.

Community

Building a community is not just about building new homes; it is also about creating the correct infrastructure and environment for the residents, and providing links both within the community and between the community and its wider geographical location. At the heart of the development, the Rivergate Centre is a central hub for the community, forging links between existing and new residents. The Centre houses a café, leisure facilities, a health centre, places of worship, and sports facilities, including an astro turf football pitch, a netball/basketball court and a tennis court. These, in addition to the development’s new open spaces and parkland, will help inspire a thriving new community.

• Healthy new town

Barking Riverside is London’s only Healthy New Town. This is NHS England’s ambitious programme designed to significantly enhance the health of residents and to integrate health and care services within newly built communities.

Initiatives currently underway in the early phases include ‘Biking Riverside’, a cycle hub in the heart of the first stage of development. Open weekly, the hub offers a number of free services including ‘Doctor Bike’ and cycle lessons – encouraging existing and future residents to utilise the extensive cycle path network on site. By building a strong community and a healthy place to live, Barking Riverside London will help ensure a healthy future for its residents.

• Great schools

The development, when finished, will boast a total of seven schools, four have already been delivered. The ‘Riverside Campus’, the largest Free School Campus in the UK will educate up to 2600 pupils, led by The Learning Partnership Trust, will meet primary, secondary school and Special Educational Needs.

The existing primary school on the development site, the George Carey Church of England School, continues to excel, with the children achieving the highest Key Stage Two outcomes across the borough. The school has 630 pupils plus 78 part-time nursery places. Since the school opened in 2011 it has been very much at the heart of the community.

• Events

As the development proceeds, a number of community events are planned for the residents of Barking Riverside London. Residents can check the events calendar here to see what’s planned.

• Public consultation

Engagement with local people will be central to on-going planning consultation.

The approach includes:

• Creating a unique co-production partnership with the community, through a Community Interest Company, to harness existing and emerging assets.
• Collaborating with pioneering academics to create new knowledge on the contribution of green spaces and waterways to improving health and reducing health inequalities.
• Applying the latest learning on ‘age-friendly’ built environments and public spaces, and ensuring Barking Riverside is liveable and inclusive for all ages.
• Embedding new models of health and social care delivery and innovation, through Care City NHS Innovation Test Bed.
• Supporting social regeneration and community cohesion between old and new communities.