140 -150 Earlham Grove - regeneration plans

Six months after proposals for redeveloping 39a - 49a Woodgrange Road (see here for details) comes plans for an ambitious development on Earlham Grove (between the footprint for the other development referred to, above and the boundary of the Community Garden).

A combination of these plans, of course, put the final nail in the coffin of the former Obsidian proposals for the area, although, as will be seen, below, there is an interesting carry through of involvement.

The developments, combined, provide more evidence, if ever needed, of the massive regeneration and house price hike for Forest Gate, in advance of the coming of CrossRail to town, in 2019 (see here, for details).

This proposal comes from a consortium of Mura Estates (www.mura-estates.co.uk) and the Aitch Group (www. http://www.aitchgroup.com) - which are very similar companies, sharing a Shoreditch head office, having almost identical websites and sharing involvement in a number of projects.

The associated architects are Buckley, Gray, Yeoman Architects. They are a large firm of architects, with commissions across London, Britain, Europe and beyond.

Like the builder/developers, they are based in Shoreditch.  Intriguingly they were associated with the now abandoned and much derided Obsidian proposals for Forest Gate of 4 years ago.  They haven't taken this down from their website (www.buckleygrayyeoman.com/project/forest-gate), so perhaps they still hope it is alive, or will be using aspects of it for the Earlham Grove plan.

The consortium have had boards up, advertising their presence for some time.

The footprint runs behind the shops on Woodgrange Road and surfaces at the gates next to Percy Ingle's on Woodgrange Road (see diagram on leaflet).

This strip of land seems very thin and is probably no more than an access route proposal.

The consortium is holding a consultation evening on 23 November, at Durning Hall - see copy of leaflet, for details.

We have written to the developers offering them space on this page to lay out their proposals.  We have yet to hear from them, but will treat what they say with respect - and without editorial judgement, as we feel that this is the best way of conducting a dialogue about an important project for our locality.

Whether they respond or not, we will update this post after 23 November with more detailed about their proposals and projected timetable, following the consultation session, as we did earlier this year with the Woodgrange Road project. That post has attracted about 1600 page views and provoked about 30 comments.

Their leaflet, advertising the consultation session is high on rhetoric and low on detail.  It says:

We will take this opportunity to present our emerging proposals for the redevelopment of the site.  The site is currently vacant and hoarded and detracts from the local environment.

 Our proposals are for high quality residential redevelopment comprising the delivery of new homes to the area and delivering on the Council's regeneration ambitions.

The event is for local residents, businesses and stakeholders to discuss the proposals with the project team and provide any views and comments.

We have had a quick survey of the websites of the three partners associate with the Earlham Grove project: Mura, Aitch and the architects. As noted above, Mura and Aitch overlap hugely in their profile, and in their projects too.

They have been in business since 1995 and deal mainly in residential and commercial developments in London and the South East.

Among the residential developments they have promoted in the East London area have been a 36 apartment block in Bow Road, just completed, with all but two flats sold (these are on the market at £500k each).

They are involved with 2 developments on Fish Island (45 residential units on Monier Road, due for completion in 2018) and 100 units on Dace Road. The architects of these were also Buckley et al.

The architects, established in 1997, have a very large portfolio.  They seem to be the "house" architects for Fred Perry and include their store in Westfield in their portfolio.  They also undertake a number of projects for Nandos.

Their other East London projects include Forest School, in Walthamstow, the Q Building in central Stratford and a development in Pier Road in North Woolwich.

We will add further details about the Earlham Grove proposals, here,  as they become available.

Meanwhile, feel free to add comments below, in order to keep a healthy debate and source of information about this project live, until it is delivered, or aborted.

Update - 25 November 2016

We visited the consultation evening on Wednesday (23rd), and here's what we learned:

• The developers plan around 80 flats (1,2 and 3 bed), organised into 3 pods on their plot of land. Some of these will be for "social rent". The affordable/unaffordable mix is down to negotiations with the planners.

• Meetings with the planners are going well, as a result the developers are likely to scale the heights of their blocks of flats back from their originally hoped for 7 stories to five or six. Presumably the seven storey option was their opening bid, that they knew would get negotiated down.

• Because the development is behind the main (Woodgrange) Road, it is less visible to passers by, and consequently less controversial; so less interest has been expressed and fewer problems are likely to be encountered.

• The proposed development is essentially on a brownfield site, which has already been cleared, so the lead-in time until development will be considerably shorter than that on the Woodgrange Road site, as existing tenants will not need to be accommodated and buildings demolished - should both proposals get the go ahead.

• This means, should both sets of plans get the go-ahead, given the advanced nature of the Woodgrange Road proposals (already submitted to the council), it is possible that building on both sites could be taking place simultaneously.  This could cause congestion problems on Woodgrange Road.  The "communicator" told us that early talks had taken place between the two potential developers to consider how they could minimise this.

• The thin corridor, shown on the first illustration, above, of the development will essentially be an access route for the rail tunnel that sits behind Percy Ingle's, on the site of the old Upper Cut club.

• There is another strip of land, currently held by Aston Mansfield that lies between this proposed development and the Community Garden.  There are no firm proposals for this yet, but there have been preliminary discussions between these developers and senior people at Durning Hall about its longer term fate.

• If the developers for this proposals and those for the Woodgrange Road site get their way, we will see 140 new flats - up to 6 stories in height within a couple of hundred metres of the station built - ready for the opening of CrossRail in 2019.  Watch this space, and prepare to draw your breath as prices are announced!

The developers have sent us copies of the exhibition boards they used in Durning Hall.  We are reproducing them below.

The typeface is not always clear, so we are adding the copy of each, under the image, to give viewers a clearer idea of what the developers are proposing.

We encourage anyone with views about this development to engage in a discussion about it in the comments section below this post.

Board 1 

Public consultation, vacant land at 140 - 150 Earlham Grove, Forest Gate E7 9AB.

Welcome to the public consultation exhibition for 149 - 159 Earlham Grove.

We would like to use this exhibition to introduce the project team, the site itself and some of our initial ideas for its regeneration.

The site is brownfield/previously developed land and has remained vacant for almost 10 years, detracting from the environment and not making any contribution to the local area. The site is identified by the council for residential development and represents an excellent opportunity to enhance and regenerate the site while providing much needed housing for the area.

Board 2

The developer: Aitch Group and Mura Estates

The developer is a privately owned mixed use developer, based in Shoreditch.

The company was founded in 1995 and has for the last two decades focused on delivering regeneration projects in the fringe areas of London, predominantly in East London.

Our delivered schemes vary greatly from the refurbishment of an art gallery in Dalston, to the conversion of a factory in Hackney into 85 flats and workshop space.

The one element all our schemes have in common is that they seek to bring an improved vibrancy to the area both through high quality design and new uses.

The architects: Buckley, Gray, Yeoman

Buckley Gray Yeoman is an architectural practice formed in 1997, and is based in Shoreditch, which has accumulated a wide body of work over many areas, including residential, commercial, hotel & education, with a particular focus on East London. We aim to provide imaginative responses to the complex needs of today’s society. We are passionate about design and creativity. Good design brings a better quality of life, as well as bringing commercial advantage to our client’s business. Buckley Gray Yeoman and Aitch Group have a working partnership dating back over 15 years. During that time, we have undertaken a range of projects together, from smaller scale residential developments of 10 units right up to large urban regeneration schemes. We are currently working together on a number of mixed use, residential - led development, in a range of locations including Hackney, Fish Island and Deptford.

Board 3

Top half: Surrounding area

Bottom half: Outline of development area

The brown double headed arrow represents the proposed internal street/right of way. The green shapes, green spaces, the brown triangles Earlham Grove and the grey ovals, massing (i.e. the blocks of flats)

Board 4

The proposals. Key:

1 = site entrance,

2 = internal streets

3 (a-c) = residential blocks - 5 - 7 stories. 80 units (1, 2 and 3 beds)

4 = landscaped courtyards 

5 = residential allotments

6 = accessible car parking spaces

Board 5

Top half: 3D sketch precedent images (no, nor do we!)

Architecture: traditional brick elevations; balconies; tall windows; 5, 6 and 7 stories; 80 units, high quality, well built residential accommodation.

Bottom half: landscaping

Green courtyards; Birch forest; residential allotments; hedges and ornamental grasses; mature trees and shrubs; front gardens.

Board 6

Programme/further information.

If you require further information or would like to discuss the proposals further, please contact:

Write to us at: Freepost, MPC Consultation

Email: info@meetingplacecommunications.com

Telephone: 0800 148 8911

Update 20 March 2017

According to Apartology, a residential development news website, Aitch Group, the Earlham Grove project leaders submitted plans to build 78 flats on the site, to Newham Council in mid March - and so are on target with their timeline (see below).

The flats will be located in a series of buildings of upto six storeys high, and the proposal is that they should all be private. Presumably this could be up for planning negotiation.

20 of the flats, in the application are due to be one-bedroomed, 27 two-bedroomed and 31 three-bedroomed.

Buckley Gray Yeoman are behind the designs, which featute a two-tone beige/cream and off-white brick design.

The photos in this subsection of this post are taken from the Apartology website.

Original timeline

Summer 2016 - design commences

Winter 2016 - public consultation and design developments

Early 2017 - planning application

Summer 2017 - planning application determination

Early 2018 - construction commences

Summer 2019 - construction completed.

Update: Planning application submitted - March 2017

As a result of the consultation undertaken and having listened to local residents, Aitch have now submitted a planning application. As part of the consultation, Aitch has worked with officers at Newham Council to ensure high quality design aspirations are obtained.

The application (reference number 17/00467/FUL) can be viewed here 

It is a brownfield site that has been vacant for over eight years.  The application will include:

• 78 residential units with a mix of tenures, with 10 one bedroom, 27 two bedroom and 31 three bedroom units.
• 136 cycle parking spaces to ensure occupants and businesses are encouraged to minimise car use.
• Eight disabled parking bays.
• Car club membership for all new residents and restriction on CPZ permits.
• Public realm and highways improvements.
• Energy and sustainable construction to ensure high quality design aspirations are obtained.

If you wish to comment on this application, all representations must include the planning application reference number (17/00467/FUL) and the site address (140-150 Earlham Grove), as well as your name and address. Anonymous comments will not be considered.

Representations must be submitted online via the link provided above or by email to planning.submissions@newham.gov.uk

39a - 49a Woodgrange Road- regeneration plans gain planning approval

This post is a summary of the regeneration plans currently out for consultation concerning 39a - 49a Woodgrange Road (between Gregg's and Barry's) - see map and photo for location, and updated as plans come to fruition.

It has been updated following planning committee discussions in March and May 2017. The committee finally approved the proposals at the second meeting. Scroll down for the details. It was updated in October 2018, as demolition work seemed imminent.

In the apparent absence of any other on-line "community forum", this blog can be used as a medium for people to share views on the proposals.  For full details of how this could work, see the footnote at the end of this article.

Most of the shops and buildings
 covered by the proposal

London Iron Works (LWI) is a medium sized east London-based firm of developers who have worked up proposals for the redevelopment of this small stretch of Woodgrange Road. They have nothing to do with the much larger and controversial plans put forward and then abandoned by Obsidian four years ago.

LWI held two consultation evenings on 21 and 22 March at Durning Hall. We attended, as did many others.  Helpful staff from the developers were on hand to answer questions, and as far as we could discern, they were very open and honest about the challenges and opportunities the proposals present.

Location map

Below is a short summary of what we discovered and felt worth sharing with others who were, perhaps, not able to attend.

We have no vested interest, whatsoever, in the outcome of the consultation, although, for the record, were impressed by the proposals. Let that, however, not inhibit those with alternative views from sharing their thoughts, below.

There are currently 12 retail units affected by the proposal.  They, and the accommodation behind, would be demolished.  The accommodation is largely officially vacant, although it is believed there are a number of squatters in situ.

The proposal would be to "revitalise" the shops. There would be no guarantee of tenure for the existing shops in the new development, and in any case they would have to close or move for at least 12 - 15 months around the rebuilding period (see anticipated timescale, below).

Artist's impression, from the south

Rents in the new shops will be considerably higher than those currently paid by the present occupiers.  This is likely to be a significant issue for Barry's, the butcher, for example.

The proposal is to construct around 60 residential units.  The exact mix will be subject to negotiation between developer and the council.  It would, for example, be in the financial interests of the developer to only build one-bedroom flats for sale.
  
The council, however, will wish to see some larger properties (2 and 3 bedrooms) to ensure a good demographic balance of families, singles etc in the development and also to guarantee that there is an appropriate mix of social and owner-occupied properties. The developers accept this, and negotiations between council and developers will determine the final outcome mixture.

Artist's impression, from Earlham Grove:
 flats on far right of drawing representation
 of separate development plan - see text

All, or almost all, units will have balconies, most of which will be south facing.
There will be some recreational space (roof gardens etc) in the development and provision for cycle parking.

There could be some consequential modifications to the local road lay-out and this will doubtless feature in the mix of negotiations between the developer and the council.

As mentioned above, London Iron Works, the developers are an east-end firm specialising in medium size developments, like this one, that aim to fit in with local community needs and are empathetic to the local architecture (so no 19 storey building proposals, here).

They are working with Newham council on other developments in Manor Park - near the railway station and in East Ham, in what was the old Co-op site (the car park next to the Denmark Arms).

Artist's impression, from corner of Hampton Road

Although they aim to be empathetic with Victorian architecture, they are building in and for the 21st century, so will not seek to replicate 1880s buildings.  In trying to be sympathetic, they will pay due regard to the local skyline, and brick work, for example.

Little is known about what is likely to happen to the former "Obsidian lands", although it is inconceivable, with the imminence of Crossrail, there will not be significant development proposals coming along soon.

It does seem likely that there will be a development, built around the same time as this Woodgrange Road one, a little behind it in Earlham Grove. It will be in the land boarded by blue hoardings, between Barry's and the Community Garden.

Artist's impression: front elevation

We understand that London Iron Works was interested in developing this too, but found negotiations around acquisition and planning extremely difficult. Instead, it would appear that the Council-back and owned Red Doors company is likely to do the construction and Swan Housing, who effectively run the council's outsourced housing management function, will operate the development.

We idly ask whether these council "insiders" found negotiating life for the plot as difficult as London Iron Works seemed to. You may smell a rat, we couldn't possibly comment.

It is interesting, however, that although this Earlham Grove development is being advanced by those with great insight into the local authority, its ways and, presumably the local community, they have not found it desirable or necessary to seek the views of the affected public on their proposals, as London Iron Works has.

Artist's impression of a possible floor plan

If you would like to comment to London Iron Works directly about their proposals, the e.mail address is WoodgrangeRoad@yourshout.org. Their freefone number is 0800 458 6976.

Anticipated timescale for Woodgrange Road proposals

Spring 2016 - exhibition and local consultation

Summer 2016 - having taken consultation on board, submit development scheme for planning discussion/consent

December 2016 - planning approval, or rejection.  If consent:

January 2017 - give one year's notice to quit to existing shops and tenants

January 2018 - begin construction work

Jan - March 2019 - completion of project: new owners/tenants move in.

Update - March 2017

Forest Gate North Councillor Rachel Tripp provided an update on progress with this application in her extremely good and detailed branch newsletter of 1 March 2017. It is quoted, verbatim, below.  A decision on the planning application was deferred by the Council in February, because of:

Concerns about parking, but I and other members expressed a number of other concerns based on the design we saw that night, including the design of the building, the density, the lack of family accommodation and the lack of affordable housing on the site.

I am not opposed to new developments, I'm not opposed to sympathetic modern design on a Victorian high street and I think this space on Woodgrange Road is a prime site for something that offers some retail and some residential, but I was glad that this iteration of the application was deferred and hope that the developer will go away and do some more work before it comes back.

Based on this, it would seem that the scheme will be at least three months behind the projected time-table outlined above, even if it is eventually approved in some form.

Update - May 2017

The planning application was approved, in an amended form by the Council on 16 May. The Committee document seems to be unavailable for access on the council website at present.

The proposal offered some new "mock-ups", pictured bellow. These are only illustrative, however, as the developer must seek final approval from the council's planners for the materials and colours of the facades they chose to use.  The green higher floors in the mock-ups below, for example, could be rejected for different colours and/or materials further down the building process.

Developers' CGI mock-ups of how the
 buildings might look, after Newham Council
 approval of the application

NB - the colour and materials in the final
 development will be subject to ratification
 by Newham's planners

Salient features of the approved development would appear to be:

• The development will only be 7 stories high
• There will be 75 flats in the development, with only 3 parking bays and 112 bike rack spaces. The parking bays will not be allocated to individual tenants.
• There will be no "affordable housing" in the development. Instead the developer will sell them all at market value. At Newham Council's request, instead of building any "affordable housing" in the development, the builders would pay the council £1.5m, which it will use to construct "affordable housing" elsewhere (presumably in Newham).
• Although not directly a feature of the development, local shoppers may be pleased to hear that Barry's, the butchers, have found alternative premises nearby.

Update October 2018

Eighteen months on from the original public consultation, referred to above, it looks as though demolition work is about to start on the site. Construction staff began the process of erecting barriers between the properties and the public highway on 8 October 2018.

Barriers being erected between the
buildings facing construction and the public
footpath on 8 October 2018

The work is about nine months behind the schedule envisaged by the original developers. The delay can be explained by the fact that there has been a change in developers during that period and the last tenants of the existing buildings did not vacate the premises until May this year.

The shops completely cleared and tenants
 in the flats above moved on, by June 2018

The new developer/builders are Gateway Housing Association, who also own the cleared and vacant block behind this Woodgrange Road one.  See here, for details of that Earlham Grove development.

The fact that one organisation owns both sites should simplify construction, minimise local inconvenience, avoid squabbles between developers and make life easier of local people during the 15-18 month construction period.

Gateway Housing Association began life as the Bethnal Green Housing Association in 1926 - and still manage their first block!

They grew steadily over the next seventy years, and merged with other east London Housing Associations in the process. They changed their name to Gateway Housing Association in 2008. See here for their website.

Their stock is still predominantly in Tower Hamlets, but they have expanded more into Hackney and Newham over recent years.  They currently manage 3,000 homes, the majority for social rent. They plan to build 500 homes over the next three years.

The 80 flats proposed for the Earlham Grove development and the 75 in this development will constitute about a third of their building plans over the next three years - and so be a substantial invetsment for the Housing Association, who have a very real vested interest in ensuring that their future housing stock is built to a high standard.


Woodgrange Road will be transformed over the next 18 - 24 months, with the promised comletion of Crossrail within a year, these two developments at or near completion and the anticpated go-ahead for 33 flats at the Methodist church, opposite (see here).

138 Earlham Grove

No sooner had demolition work began on 39a - 49a Woodgrange Road than a new set of planning proposals hit the desks of the Planning Department.

They were for a relatively small development in Earlham Grove, between the significant Gateway development (see above), covering nos 140 - 150 and the Community Garden, at 136. Full details can be found from the council's planning site, here.

Savill's propose to build two blocks like this  - one
 behind the other on the site of 138 Earlham Grove.

The proposals for 138 Earlham Grove were submitted by Savills, a long-time property agent and developer. They would like to build two six-storey blocks on what is currently a brownfield site, providing a total of 36 apartments.

They are honest enough to admit that the proposal does not fit the Council's desired criteria, in terms of social mix and sizes of flats, They are at pains to point out, however, that their plan to construct 21 one-bed flats (58% of the total), four two-bed flats (11% of the total) and eleven three-bed flats (31% of the total) comes closer to meeting the council's desired mix than the Woodgrange Road development, for which demolition work has just started.

The rapid activity over recent days in the Woodgrange Road/Earlham Grove area - as CrossRail's even postponed arrival becomes more real - begs three questions:

1. How long before their is a serious planning proposal to redevelop Durning Hall and adjacent buildings, that was central to the much derided Obsidian proposals of five years ago? Such a scheme would dwarf, in scale, existing three, the 200-odd flat, developments already on the drawing board for Woodgrange Road/Earlham Grove.
2. Will the Council bend its knee to plans that seek to build higher than the rapidly developing norm of six-storey blocks in the area, for any new proposal, under the guise that the block/s will be a focal/landmark development for Forest Gate - coming, as it/they would next to the station and perceived heart of the area?
3. How much longer can the Community Gardens survive on their current site?  Developers are moving in closer, and the land - council-owned - is on lease to the Garden for less than a year now, under the terms of the original agreement.  

Watch this space for a public row!

Footnote: using this thread as a discussion forum

At the end of this article is a Comments box. Would-be contributors are invited to post their thoughts and share them with other local people. (This site gets over 250 hits per day, so people may feel it is a good vehicle to act as a discussion forum).

If you wish to contribute, simply fill in the comments box, below.  You have the option of leaving your name and or a pseudonym, or posting anonymously. Your posting e.mail address will be known by the site.  We undertake to share it with nobody, if that is your choice.

At the foot of the comment box there is a check box, by ticking this, you will receive an automatic e.mail  every time somebody responds to the thread of comments, and you will, of course be free to reply to those, as you wish.

We guarantee that there will be no editorial interference with responses on this forum (which was not the case on other local forums at the time of the Obsidian proposals), expect for posts which are: abusive, potentially libellous, or discriminatory on grounds of ethnicity, gender, age, ability, religion etc.

Posts that are totally irrelevant to the subject will be deleted and posts that are excessively verbose will be summarised and then only published with the explicit approval of the original contributor.

The forum will be open to those supporting and opposing the proposals . The developers, are invited to contribute and answer questions etc, should they wish; although we are anxious that this does not simply become a PR medium for them.

If this suggestion works as an effective discussion forum: fantastic.  We may adopt the approach for other topics of local controversy on this site, in the future. If it doesn't work, fine!