CGIs of the planned development
(Picture: Handout)A former ice rink site in Romford is to be turned into almost 1,000 new homes after it got the green lights from planning chiefs last night.
The £350 million scheme won a majority vote at a meeting of Havering council’s strategic planning committee after nine years of uncertainy about the future of the seven-acre site.
The Rom Valley Gardens development will be one of the biggest new housing schemes in north east London with 972 flats.
It will comprise of seven blocks of between two and 12 storeys next to Queen’s Hospital and close to the Crossrail station in Romford. There will be 232 “later living” homes set aside for older residents.
The plans also include a new clinical diagnostic hub for the NHS, around 14,000 ft of shops and a cafe, and a gym for residents and NHS staff only.
Only 21 per cent of the homes are classified as “affordable” — well below the Mayor’s minimum of 35 per cent and target of 50 per cent — but council officers accepted this was the most that could be built without making the scheme unviable.
The affordable allocation is 24 per cent, if measured by habitable room, and about a third of the affordable homes are for social rent.
The development is the brainchild of property entrepreneur Robert Whitton, founder of Impact Capital Group who grew up in Romford and skated at the ice rink as a child. He said: “This is a new urban village for the sons and daughters of Havering that want to get on the housing ladder and stay within the borough.
He added: “Rom Valley Gardens will be our flagship regeneration scheme and represents Impact’s vision to create a sustainable housing model that will help to revive underutilised sites in Britain’s cities and towns. There is a housing emergency in the UK and new quality and affordable homes are urgently needed for both rental and sale.
“By using our own modular construction factory, we are ripping up the rule book, and combining smart technology, innovative design and precision engineering to produce the sustainable and affordable buildings of the future.
“The recent public health crisis has also shown us the urgent need for a new way of building in the UK, clearing away years of environmental damage, inefficiency and outdated practices.”
Nick Shattock, chief executive of Impact Developments, said: “Rom Valley Gardens is designed as an urban village, integrated with Queen’s Hospital at several levels and will set a quality precedent for other central Romford developments. We are conscious of the trust placed in us by Havering to deliver this major scheme and look forward to owning and managing this neighbourhood for the long term.”
The plans still have to be signed off City Hall and are subject to the finalisation of a section 106 agreement. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
