Beam Park development - have your say

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Beam Park development - have your say

Long-awaited plans to redevelop Beam Park, the former Ford Assembly plant, and New Road, Rainham have been formally submitted this week to Barking and Dagenham and Havering Councils.

Jon Cruddas MP for Dagenham and Rainham commented:

"This is an exciting regeneration project on an abandoned piece of brownfield land and it is brilliant to see money, jobs and opportunity moving east across London. I'm also pleased to see a commitment to a new primary school, a healthcare facility, swimming pool, community facilities and a new Beam Park rail station alongside the 2,900 homes.

"The Beam Park development should change the landscape in the south of the constituency for the better - forever. But before we all get carried away, a few notes of caution.

"Joint developers Countryside and L&Q are making a big deal out of the fact that 35 per cent of the homes will be "affordable". To put it bluntly, that means that 65 per cent will be unaffordable to many local residents.

"Of the 35 per cent, 80 per cent will be offered at shared ownership. Essentially that means only 20 per cent of the 35 per cent, approx. 140 of the homes on the site will be available for local residents to rent at "affordable" rents. Are we happy with that?

"And what guarantees do we have that the quality of the affordable housing will reach the bar we all want to see - and not follow the crying shame that is the nearby Orchard Village estate?

"Finally we need to ensure that the development works for residents living nearby. That means road and public transport upgrades and infrastructure investment for all, not just the new Beam Park residents.

"This is a huge development in our community and we need to ensure that it provides local homes for local people. The most important thing now is to take a look at the plans and have your say."

To read the proposals and have your say click HERE