Policy information sourced from the Havering Local Plan

1 Romford Strategic Development Area

Residential Development

Over the plan period the Council will support the delivery of over 6,000 new high quality homes within the Romford Strategic Development Area in well managed residential and mixed use schemes that provide attractive places to live and which are well integrated with the existing community.

Commercial Development

To strengthen Romford’s role as a metropolitan centre and to realise its potential as one of Outer London’s largest and most successful town centres, the Council will support development proposals within the town centre boundary that:

  • Reinforces South Street as the main shopping street and spine of activity in the town centre
  • Diversifies and improves the quality of the retail, cultural and leisure offer that contribute to the daytime and evening economies;
  • Provides new modern retail units or refurbishment of existing retail units;
  • Positively transforms the Market Place into a high quality civic space, accommodating a reconfigured, successful and vibrant market with a re-imagined public space and an enhanced retail and restaurant offer;
  • Creates a vibrant mix of commercial uses adjacent to the station;
  • Accommodates mixed uses, with residential and commercial space provided above ground floor level where this does not prejudice the operation of the ground floor for retail and town centre activity;
  • Provides new, fit for purpose office development as part of mixed use schemes; and
  • Provides affordable office accommodation within or funded by new commercial and mixed use developments

Connectivity

Romford is the most accessible and well connected area within the borough and has an important role as a transport hub. The Council will support proposals that further enhance connectivity and will:

  • Continue to work with partners to secure significant improvements to Romford station;
  • Support the delivery of Crossrail services to Romford and improvements to the public realm in the vicinity of the station;
  • Support the delivery of a new east-west shared use link from the railway station across the River Rom to the existing and new residential areas to the west;
  • Actively pursue opportunities with TfL and other partners to tunnel the western section of the ring road;
  • Work with TfL to improve accessibility into Romford Town Centre for active travel users;
  • Work with the Barking Havering Redbridge University Hospital NHS Trust and TfL to improve links to Queens Hospital including increasing bus capacity at Queens interchange;
  • Require developers seeking to develop land adjacent to the ring road to address its perception as a barrier for active travel including opportunities for its greening;
  • Support development which improves the quality of the pedestrian environment, including the greening of the town centre with new street trees and planting and enhanced provision for pedestrians and cyclists;
  • Require developers of major sites to improve active travel links between Romford Station, Waterloo Road and Bridge Close;
  • Support development proposals that better integrates The Brewery with South Street;
  • Require proposals for development along the River Rom to improve the quality and setting of the river and to provide continuous, safe and accessible links alongside the river to promote active travel and improve north-south connectivity; and
  • Support development proposals that deliver an enhanced link between the Market Place, St Edward the Confessor Church, North Street and the Trinity Methodist Church, improving the quality of the pedestrian environment along Angel Way.

Social infrastructure

To support growth in the Romford Strategic Development Area and to assist in ensuring it is a successful place to live the Council will work with developers and service providers to ensure the delivery of:

  • Romford Leisure Centre
  • New and enhanced public open spaces
  • A new health hub, including the sexual health services relocated from Queen’s Hospital;
  • Additional school places in line with the Council’s Commissioning Plan and Schools Expansion Programme over the Plan period;
  • Additional primary school provision equivalent to 3 forms of entry (FE) in the first 5 years of the Plan and a further 6FE need for primary school places beyond the first five years. A 3 form entry primary school (630 places) has been approved on the Bridge Close development site and the new school should be sufficient to meet demand for additional primary places needed over the next five years. A further 6FE need for primary school places beyond the first five years.
  • A 6/8FE secondary school in the second phase of the Plan period (5-10 years);.

Development proposals that generate a primary school child yield equivalent to one additional form of entry will be expected to provide adequate space on site for the provision of a school. The Council will only support proposals without this provision where it can be robustly demonstrated that existing or planned education provision can cater for the additional demand for school places.

Design and Heritage

The Council will require development in Romford town centre to be of high architectural and urban design quality. Development and uses must be appropriate to and will be expected to improve the function, appearance, and character of the town centre.

The Council will support proposals that:

  • Create active streets with strong and well-articulated frontages to all existing and proposed pedestrian routes, particularly at ground floor level, avoiding blank facades and exposed service areas;
  • Incorporate generous floor to ceiling heights at ground floor level to provide for flexibility and adaptability over time and respond to the needs of different retailers. To achieve a vibrant and thriving town centre there will need to be a mix of uses throughout the Romford Strategic Development Area (RSDA). It is envisaged that this will include residential, retail, commercial, leisure and arts uses. It is intended that the preferred locations for these different uses within the Town Centre will be identified through the ongoing master planning process for Romford. To facilitate delivery of these uses, the design of the ground floor of a mixed use development within RSDA should have a minimum floor-to-floor height of 3.5m to allow flexibility for future changes and adaptability over time. This is a recommended dimension for floor-to-floor height, as the floor-to-ceiling height in retail or commercial development will depend on individual occupier fit out requirements. Commercial buildings, given their likely increased service requirements will generally require a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 3.5m to 4m.
  • Positively respond to the sensitive nature and urban fabric within the Conservation Area, views of St. Edward the Confessor Church and the historic crossroads where South Street, the High Street and the Market Place meet;
  • Make a positive contribution towards public realm improvements in the Market Place;
  • Demonstrate how the proposed scheme responds to wider development opportunities, movement and environmental enhancements in the town centre;
  • On major development sites open up access to the River Rom and positively incorporates the river into the development scheme(s);
  • Optimises the design and location of development including the incorporation of resilience measures to address potential flood risk, where appropriate; and
  • Respond to the local character and context and make a positive contribution to the skyline. Tall buildings may be acceptable in the vicinity of the station subject to high quality design and strong public realm propositions at ground level. Proposals for tall buildings within the Conservation Area are inappropriate.

Policies for specific opportunity sites in the Romford Strategic Development Area will be addressed in the Site Specific Allocations Local Plan.

For more information please see the Havering Local Plan