The regeneration of the brownfield site will deliver 380 dwellings, including 103 affordable homes, in a range of sizes and tenures. Homes will be supported with a host of mixed-uses on the ground floor creating an active street scene of retail, employment, community and leisure uses.

In keeping with the rich industrial and pioneering history of Dagenham, including being the home to the Ford Motor Company from the late 1920s, the three residential buildings will be named after areas of the Ford factory: Press Shop, Wheel Works and Paint Line. The tallest building, Wheel Works, has been designed as a local landmark, promoting wayfinding and marking Dagenham Dock station and its immediate environment as the natural centre of the new neighbourhood and wider regeneration.

The public realm will be enhanced with a new Station Square outside Dagenham Dock train station to establish a welcoming pedestrian-only environment. It will celebrate the sense of arrival and departure through the site and the station, becoming a focal point for the wider community which allows for the free-flowing movement of people and activity. The historic Station building will be framed with key views and vistas towards it.

With many natural assets previously undiscovered in the area, the designs will open up the existing features including the brook to create a rich landscape setting for the new homes, as well as link into the wider nature recovery network. These will be supported by a chain of green corridors and spaces, community ecological gardens and biodiverse green roof systems which will focus on creating habitats for local plants and wildlife, aiding biodiversity across the neighbourhood with a net gain of 181%.

Landscaped gardens are crisscrossed by pedestrian pathways and cycleways to further promote sustainable transport initiatives and to encourage walking and cycling to and from the site as the main mode of transport. An extensive community engagement process was undertaken with over 3,500 local residents and businesses being contacted to share the project vision with and collect local feedback for the site.

“We are very proud to have received unanimous approval for Chequers Lane which will deliver much needed new homes and opportunities for the community. This is a wonderful achievement, and we look forward to the design vision developing as the project progresses.”

– Ian Fenn, Partner at JTP