Be First – Our progress report 51 Below CGI of Eastbrook Film Studios
52 Places and principles for growth Happening now Dagenham East is being transformed into one of the most dynamic places in the capital. — Eastbrook Film studios under construction and sister studios at Our dream to bring films studios to the area The Wharf, Barking has come true after global media giants Hackman Capital Partners made a massive — Now open - the UCL PEARL (Person- investment to make Dagenham London’s Environment-Activity Research Hollywood, through the delivery of the Laboratory) Eastbrook studio development. — Travelodge London East It means hundreds of jobs, training and — UK’s largest data centre educational opportunities for local people. — New affordable homes at Oxlow Lane and Jervis Court Around the corner from the new studios is a hidden gem - UCL’s PEARL - a cutting edge research laboratory which aims to discover how to make world cities more liveable. And, just a few yards away there is the UK’s largest data centre run by Japanese digital giants NTT, binging more jobs for local people. We are seeking to reopen the mainline station adjoining the District Line, providing faster connections into central London and the
Be First – Our progress report 53 Thurrock Freeports. We will develop the area around the station into a gateway to provide new homes and a hotel. In the wider area we will support and enable the future intensification of the Sterling Industrial Estate. This will house more jobs and industry and the support space for the film industry. The transition between homes and industry will be improved. We will work with Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club to explore the redevelopment of the area around their ground for new business and sports facilities. The stadium offers an opportunity to provide a buffer, sensitively transitioning the intensified industrial to the homes to the south. The residential areas will be sensitively improved and enhanced, bringing village character to post war suburban development. Dagenham Village will be reborn as the modern incarnation of an Essex village in an urban context, while surrounding post war housing estates will be redeveloped to deliver the interest and richness of a market town. This will provide more and better homes and a great place for people to live. Below CGI of Eastbrook Film Studios
54 Places and principles for growth Dagenham Heathway and Becontree – heart of the borough Our vision Heathway rebuilt, reconfigured and fit for the 21st century. Building on the strength of the Becontree estate, the revived Heathway will be at the heart of the community and a gateway to the rest of London by Tube. The Becontree estate will be sensitively strengthened with limited light touch interventions. Becontree Heath will become a place where young people will go to prepare for their futures – and where anyone can learn a new skill or follow their passion. More and better homes for those learning.
Be First – Our progress report 55 Happening now Dagenham Heathway is the borough’s second town centre. As retailing moved to — Consultation on the future of supermarkets and retail parks in the late 20th Heathway shopping centre century it weakened, a decline hastened by the move to online trading. We plan to reinvigorate — Affordable new homes at Heathway to build on its gateway connection 200 Becontree Avenue on the District Line. — Woodward Road including refurbishment The council has bought the commercial element of the former library for community use of the Heathway shopping centre and has asked Be First to develop options to make it fighting fit — The redevelopment of Brocklebank Lodge for the 21st century, and to improve the quality — New homes and a converted of the housing above it. Sacred Heart We’ll draw up a masterplan for the area to determine the scale and nature of any change required to deliver our objectives. The Becontree estate, built after the first world war, is one of the largest municipal housing developments in the world and was a model of garden city style development We are carrying on that tradition of providing quality homes for working Londoners with a number of small developments to help the estate – now celebrating its 100th year – to thrive for the next 100. In partnership with Countryside, we have recently completed a range of new homes at Becontree Heath around CU London, London’s newest university, located in the former Civic Centre. Below We also propose to help the thriving community and strengthen the What could the Heathway commercial hub with more sporting facilities to add to its Olympic class be like in the future? leisure centre and more homes for local people. An artist's impression
56 Places and principles for growth Castle Green and Thames Road – crossroads of the world Our vision Thames Road will be re-developed providing new homes and a new street network linking the rest of the borough to Barking Riverside. Castle Green will have its industrial uses intensified, improved and moved to the periphery with new homes delivered as part of the overall area’s regeneration following the undergrounding of the A13. 16,704 new homes
Be First – Our progress report 57 Above CGI of Castle Green Hear Cllr Darren Rodwell explain our ambition for the A13
58 Places and principles for growth Happening now We’re drawing up plans to create a tunnel for a 1.3km stretch of the A13, London’s main eastern — New homes and business premises at 12 route out to the M25. This would enable the Thames Road creation of an exciting new mixed-use Castle Green neighbourhood above ground, capable — Industria – a state-of-the-art business of delivering more than 5,000 homes, 1,200 jobs centre – is on site and a station. — Consultation on a new masterplan for Just to the south, we have a range of projects Thames Road is underway underway to revitalise the Thames Road area. Our aim is to use the land in this area — The Eurohub concept launched as a more efficiently to support new and existing terminal for trains from Europe and businesses to expand and grow, while also beyond introducing a better environment with attractive new homes. — Discussions with regional and national government on plans to improve the A13 and tunnel sections are taking shape We have a number of exemplar schemes underway. At 12 Thames Road, construction is underway on 156 new homes alongside commercial and light industrial uses. While the residents will enjoy affordable modern homes, with garden and play spaces at rooftop level, there will be over 5,000 square metres of light industrial workspace which will help to retain existing businesses and jobs in the area. A short distance away, Industria is entirely different. It is a new concept in modern industrial working which will provide top quality, flexible workspaces in a striking new building. Tenants will be housed in flexible units arranged around a multi-storey hub, served by a vehicle ramp and goods lift access, but in a building that enhances the local neighbourhood and sets new standards for sustainability. It features green walls, lively shopfronts and a new local café, and is expected to provide jobs for up to 250 people Together, our plans for Castle Green and Thames Road will transform and regenerate an underused and traffic-blighted area and provide a link between Barking town centre and Barking Riverside.
Be First – Our progress report 59 Above Industria Right 12 Thames Road
60 Places and principles for growth Chadwell Heath and Marks Gate – on the fast track for growth Our vision A destination in its own right; full of personality character and charm. A redeveloped industrial estate will bring more and better homes together with improved and intensified industrial space. To the north Marks Gate will be sensitively improved to deliver more 6and better homes. Crossrail Elizabeth Line trains an hour from 2022 4,629
Be First – Our progress report 61 Happening now The imminent arrival of Elizabeth Line high speed train services at Chadwell Heath — Crossrail station opens 2023 presents a series of new opportunities — Marketing of the significant Muller site is to the area. underway It is one of the biggest remaining regeneration — Consultation on the Chadwell Heath and prospects adjoining a Crossrail station which will take commuters at record speed to the City, Marks Gate masterplans is underway West End and out west to Heathrow. — 250 affordable new homes under construction at Padnall Lake The industrial estate will be comprehensively redeveloped to create new homes as well as improved and intensified industrial space. This will see new homes and jobs stitched into the existing residential neighbourhoods, providing new services and social infrastructure, improvements to local transport and the renewal of the whole of the public realm. North of Chadwell Heath, we are now building just over 250 new affordable homes at Marks Gate and we have started to discuss with residents how we might sensitively redevelop the neighbourhood to provide quality new homes for local people, new commercial and social facilities, and a environment, enhancing the existing landscape and green spaces, and rejuvenating the lake area to improve biodiversity and environment for wildlife. Right We're building more than 250 affordable homes alongside Padnall Lake. new homes
62 Places and principles for growth Barking Riverside – living better by the river Our vision A new Thames side community integrated into the wider borough. A great place to live with green space, a new town centre and new cultural institutions. Intensified and improved industrial space creating more and better jobs. 10,800 new homes
Be First – Our progress report 63 Happening now This is London’s last remaining, and possibly its greatest ever Thames Riverside regeneration — Thames Clipper Uber services opportunity. commencing 2022 capitalising on the area’s direct river access It presents an unrivalled opportunity to create a new way of living by the waterside. — Healthy New Town status — New overground station opens 2023 The plan is to create a whole new Thames — The Wilds ecology centre now open side district of London, integrated with the — Seven new schools surrounding neighbourhoods, with more homes — Network of footpaths and cycleways and better industry. — 21 hectares of open space and The council will be building a new state of the sports facilities art integrated health and leisure centre to help make Barking Riverside one of the healthiest, most liveable places in London. With a new Thames Clipper service due to start soon and the London Overground station due to open next year, the area will be connected not only to the rest of the borough and east London but to the City and West End. Barking Riverside will truly be one of the best places to live by the River. Right The Wilds at Barking Riverside Left Barking Riverside 2035
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66 A connected place Great transport is key to our vision for creating great places. We’re already well connected to central London, the South East and even continental Europe through our network of train, underground and road links. But our ambition is to enhance this to facilitate travel around the borough, and to support growth in the borough. 15 minute journey time from Barking to the City of London
Be First – Our progress report 67 Above Barking station The Barking Riverside Overground extension Barking station improvements The Barking Riverside extension will add 4.5km We’re working with network rail and C2C to of London Overground line extending to a new improve Barking station. Within the next five to station at Barking Riverside – train services are ten years we expect improvements to include expected to be operational in autumn 2022. The the construction of a second ticket gate-line to extension will support the delivery of homes, ease congestion at peak times; an increase in jobs, education and retail and leisure facilities, the size of the station entrances to ease people improving transport accessibility. flows; and new lifts to improve accessibility. These upgrades will provide increased long term capacity in line with our aspirations for growth and deliver enhanced facilities for customers.
68 A connected place Above Manor School pupils walk their daily mile School streets and better road safety We’re working to increase the number of schools participating in our school streets scheme which introduce temporary traffic restrictions at school drop-off and pick-up times. This will make it safer for children to cycle to and from school, reduce congestion and pollution whilst freeing up parking spaces for residents.
Be First – Our progress report 69 Expanding the cycling and walking network Our strategy is to monitor and review cycle links to ensure the type and scope of provision matches planned growth. Improving the A13 We are now in discussions with national and regional government about the possibility of tunnelling the A13 between Lodge Avenue junction, and Goresbrook interchange to free up land above in the Castle Green area. This would reduce severance and improve environmental quality. Left Barking Riverside Uber Boats
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72 A team to deliver Our company has expanded to 110 staff from 78 in March 2017. In addition to some of the teams we have profiled in earlier chapters, we have added skills and capacity to manage the scale and pace of our programme, and to address some of the key challenges for the future. 110 staff
Be First – Our progress report 73 Community engagement We have built a strong community engagement team to ensure that local people are at the heart of our programme. Involving and consulting the community we serve ensures that we are not only responding more closely to local needs, but also that we deliver better quality outcomes. This will be particularly important in the next phase of our estate regeneration, where a number of resident ballots will be required before redevelopment can proceed. Project Management Office (PMO) Design The PMO team provides tight control over our We have setup our own inhouse design team commercial and financial processes, as well as to enable us to ensure we control the design building a statistical base to track and inform process and get the highest quality from our tender proposals. We have invested in new architects and contractors while saving money technology aligned closely with the council’s on external consultants systems in order to streamline our working and the ability to move more dynamically in Stepping up on inclusion achieving our goals. Building Control We are committed to becoming not just a diverse but an equal organisation which We have invested in our Building Control service champions inclusion and challenges to bring expertise in-house, to avoid outsourcing discrimination both internally and externally. work and to start to offer a competitive Sector performance in terms of race and commercial service to the borough’s gender equality and diversity is not strong. developers, large and small. It is estimated that under four per cent of professionals working in construction are from BAME backgrounds and numerous studies show pay gaps in relation to gender and race- related in construction, architecture, planning, and regeneration. We aspire to lead the sector in terms of delivering social value and inclusive growth and we have a number of strands of work well underway to help embed our values in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do.
74 A team to deliver Our objectives are to: Work is currently underway to: — ensure that our workforce is as — strengthen our approach to recruitment, representative as possible of the Barking to ensure our values are embedded in all and Dagenham population particularly in aspects of our recruitment practice terms of gender and racial diversity — rethink our approach to staff retention, — enable the company to perform significantly training and development, to ensure that staff better in terms of equality and diversity in from all backgrounds are able to grow and our workforce than the sectors in which progress in their careers to more senior roles we operate — Embedding our values in our approach to — enable staff from a diverse range of performance management – for example by backgrounds to develop and progress using our appraisal process to ensure that in their careers. we assess how well individuals and teams have demonstrated commitment to equality, Part of this work involves improving the diversity diversity and inclusion in their work of staff in senior positions in the company and on our board. Although the current board is — strengthen our approach to data and 50-50 male/female, there is considerable scope intelligence which will help us to set goals in to improve the racial diversity of its current relation to equality, diversity and inclusion membership. Work is currently underway to and measure our progress. attract new board members with skills and experience to help steer the company through — Strengthen our training and development its next phase of growth and development, offer – including a refresh and update of core whilst addressing goals to improve the diversity training around equality, diversity, inclusion of the board. and mental health. Monitoring will help ensure the most appropriate and effective support is delivered. Elsewhere we have made good progress since Ownership, accountability and leadership of this the company formed in 2017. With nearly a third work is strong at all levels of the organisation. of our staff coming from Black and Minority This year we established an Equality Advisory Ethnic backgrounds, the racial diversity of Board, which was established this year to help Be First’s workforce is significantly greater advise the Senior Management Team and our than is typically found in our sector. board on the best strategies for strengthening our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. However, much more needs to be done if the Our Remuneration and Nominations Committee company is to achieve its aims of building has committed to support and steer this a workforce which reflects the Barking and substantial programme of work over Dagenham population and ensure that this the coming years. diversity exists at all levels of the organisation – particularly at senior levels.
Be First – Our progress report 75 Case Study Sadia Ur-Rehman, Community Engagement Lead, at Be First, has won the prestigious New London Awards’ Hidden Hero prize for her ‘tireless’ work on the Phoenix Park project. The citation for the prize reads that without Sadia’s humble approach and passion for engaging residents, the pocket park would not have been built. I am absolutely delighted to receive this award. The success of the park has been a team effort and I want to pay due to the commitment, input and passion from local residents including the Gascoigne Residents Forum who have co-created this park. This award is for them. Sadia Ur-Rehman Community Engagement Lead Be First In the Queen’s 2022 New Year’s Honours list, Selasi Setufe, who is one of our Senior Architects and Innovative Sites Manager, was made an MBE for her services to diversity in architecture. As well as her role as at Be First, Selasi is co-director of Black Females in Architecture – a network and enterprise founded to increase the visibility of black and black mixed heritage women within architectural industry and other built environment fields.
76 Our people The Board Lord Bob Kerslake – Chair of the Board Pat Hayes – Managing Director Former Head of the Civil Service and CEO Pat Hayes was previously Executive Director of both the Department for Communities of Regeneration & Housing with Ealing Council and Local Government and Homes and during which time the borough became one of Communities Agency, Lord Kerslake currently the most successful in London at attracting Chair of Peabody Housing Association. new developments. He oversaw the evolution of the council’s housing company Broadway Living as a major build to rent developer. Catherine Thomas Peter Murray Catherine is currently Group Director Architect Peter Murray is a Design Advocate of Corporate Affairs at Clarion Housing for the London Mayor and Chairman of New Group and has held senior marketing and London Architecture and of The London communications roles in real estate and Society. Among his many other activities fashion retail including Debenhams and Peter is a regular writer and commentator on Land Securities. environmental issues and Founder Director of the London Festival of Architecture.
Be First – Our progress report 77 Deborah Alpin Tony Middleton Deborah has worked at a senior level in Tony has 33 years’ experience in the property property development for the past 30 years, industry, holding director roles in the private and specialising in brownfield urban mixed use and public sectors including the NHS, transport and mixed tenure schemes. Deborah is currently higher education. He was previously Property Managing Director of Mayfield Market Towns Director for AIG, and then Chief Operating Officer Ltd, promoting a new market town in Sussex. for a local enterprise partnership. Ceri Richards Synthia Griffin Ceri spent over 20 years in corporate and Synthia has over 15 years of experience working investment banking with BNP Paribas, in museums, local authorities and across the Bank of Scotland and Lloyds specialising in cultural sector She is currently Arts Development Project Finance, Oil and Gas, Infrastructure Manager at Brighton & Hove City Council and and Housing Finance. She led Treasury formerly curated the Regeneration & Community Investments and Corporate Finance at Programme at Tate. She has extensive Laing O'Rourke now holds a number of experience of leading programmes of work on non executive and consultancy roles. community and audience participation as well as cultural led regeneration and commissioning artists.
78 Our people The team Tom Mather – Construction Director Tom is a chartered engineer with experience in a range of infrastructure sectors, including MAG Airports Group and Mace as a programme and project manager. Edward Skeates – Development Director Edward Skeates worked on Liverpool One, one of the UK’s largest city centre regeneration projects while at Grosvenor Group, and has also worked on several high-profile projects for Cambridge Horizons, Wilson Bowden and Boots Kevin O’Brien – Finance Director Kevin began his career at Tata Steel, the global metals production and trading business, before moving into property and development with Tesco Property and Grosvenor. Kevin joined Be First in May 2021 after spending five years as a Finance Director at Young Lives vs Cancer and at the RSPCA.
Be First – Our progress report 79 Pat Hayes – Managing Director Pat Hayes was previously Executive Director of Regeneration & Housing with Ealing Council during which time the borough became one of the most successful in London at attracting new developments. He oversaw the evolution of the council’s housing company Broadway Living as a major build to rent developer. Caroline Harper – Chief Planning Director Caroline joined Be First from JLL and now manages Be First’s planning and development control teams while providing planning support to our growing development arm. Jennie Coombs – Head of Affordable Housing Jennie Coombs has joined Be First in October 2017, having worked previously for Barking and Dagenham Council and for Higgins Construction. She has a track record in delivering ambitious, borough-wide estate regeneration and award- winning new build housing developments.
80 Get in touch Be First’s mission is to deliver of thousands of new, high quality, sustainable, affordable homes ensure that development is sustainable, high quality and benefits local people. The organisation delivers our planning services, and is responsible for directing development including the creation of new jobs and great places to live, work and play that build on the borough’s amazing history and traditions. Be First works for the council and acts proactively to enable the delivery of development and regeneration through use of the council’s placemaking tools such as planning policy and site assembly powers. The council and Be First also work together with the private sector to deliver regeneration through development agreements and joint ventures. Address Email Take a look at Barking [email protected] and Dagenham Be First Regeneration Limited 9th Floor, Website Maritime House www.befirst.london 1 Linton Road Barking Social media London @befirstLondon IG11 8HG Phone 020 8227 0000
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