Rainham and Beam Park Housing Zone

Creating a planning framework for the largest urban expansion in Havering

Urban Initiatives Studio was commissioned to prepare a vision and masterplan for a number of significant sites alongside New Road in Rainham, East London. The masterplan sets a long-term coherent strategy for the area and initially supported the Council’s bid to the GLA for designation of the area as a Housing Zone, in order to accelerate housing delivery. Subsequently we were asked to prepare a Planning Framework that would give the strategy, planning weight.

The masterplan area occupies over 30 hectares and our plan indicated how a planned approach could deliver a coherent response across a series of sites each in different ownership and at different stages along the delivery cycle. We tested the development capacity and viability for each site in response to significant development constraints including flooding and ground contamination and considered opportunities for social infrastructure including a new rail station, shops, services and schools.

Through the preparation of the Planning Framework the ideas for the area were discussed and reviewed through extensive consultation with members, stakeholders and the local community. We facilitated several stakeholder workshops, prepared public exhibition boards, leaflets and questionnaires (including opportunities for on-line responses). The Planning Framework was adopted by the Council in January 2016.