Wates lands £142m resi job

Wates has been selected to build 334 new homes in Barking, east London, as part of the latest phase of an £874m regeneration scheme.

Developer Be First, which is owned by Barking and Dagenham Council, chose the contractor for the £142m Gascoigne Estate job. 

Phase 3B of the scheme will see 277 apartments, 46 houses and 11 maisonettes built alongside new public spaces connecting pedestrian and public-transport links, and a garden square at the east of the site.

In a statement, Wates said it planned to utilise modern methods of construction such as offsite production of balconies, bathrooms and utilities cupboards, in order to reduce construction time on site.

Redevelopment of the estate has been taking place since 2019. Wates won a £55m contract to deliver 200 homes in July of that year, while Willmott Dixon won three blocks including 382 homes in 2021.

Barking and Dagenham Council leader Darren Rodwell said: “Despite the current economic climate our progress continues in the Gascoigne neighbourhood, where we will continue to provide safe, warm, affordable housing for our residents. Once finished this will be one of the greenest, most affordable neighbourhoods in town.

“This project is part of our wider commitment to build 50,000 new homes by 2037 across the borough. We look forward to seeing the development become reality and further increasing our supply of good quality housing for the people of Barking and Dagenham.”

Wates Residential executive managing director Helen Bunch said: “This new project will provide huge economic, social and environmental benefits to local people and the local businesses that will be involved, as well as providing safe, healthy and comfortable places for communities to flourish.”

Earlier this year, Be First was named one of Construction News’s 10 companies to watch in 2023, as it is playing a key role in the development of 400 hectares of land, plans for 50,000 new homes and a £1.3bn housing renewal programme. Its latest accounts, published in February 2022, show that it paid its council parent a £6m dividend for the year 2020/21.