Policy information sourced from Newham Local Plan 2018

S1 Spatial Strategy and Strategic Framework

Proposals that address and where appropriate accord with the following over-arching strategic principles, vision based spatial strategy and design and technical criteria will be supported:

  • Strategic Principles
    • Securing transformational change for the Borough and its residents with the overriding priority to build and reinforce communities and places that work and to ensure that growth contributes to achieving convergence and personal and community resilience, with new and existing communities, jobs, homes, services, spaces and facilities well integrated in connected, distinctive, successful, quality places;
    • Realising the potential and making best use of Newham’s land, green space, blue ribbon network and heritage assets, connectivity, existing and emerging economic strengths, working to enable the delivery of at least 43,000 homes and 39,000-60,000 jobs between 2018 and 2033 to place Newham at the heart of London’s march eastward and its global presence;
    • Higher density, genuinely mixed use, context sensitive development will achieve good growth, creating and sustaining new and rejuvenated inclusive, stable, healthy, mixed and balanced communities where people choose to live, work and stay and a borough where homes are not created at the expense of jobs, environmental and housing quality, provision and protection of family housing, or liveable scales of development, where employment uses can sit comfortably with housing and supporting services and do not undermine town and local centres, and where population growth is accompanied by jobs growth and timely delivery of supporting physical, social and green infrastructure, including that to address existing deficits and cumulative impacts;
    • Keeping Newham Moving through promoting a significant modal shift towards active modes of travel and public transport and ensuring appropriate investment in the quality and connectivity of its strategic and local route and communications network (road based and otherwise) and
    • Enabling Newham to become cleaner and greener, achieving sustainable development through all scales of development by maximising integration of green infrastructure, and other sustainable design, technologies and management techniques, including innovative approaches to energy requirements, air quality, flood risk and waste management.
  • Vision based spatial strategy
    • The greatest opportunities for change will come forward within the Arc of Opportunity which will be the primary focus for new job creation, infrastructure development, new town and local centres, carefully located tall buildings at public transport nodes, and the vast majority of new housing on large sites in Beckton, the Royal Docks, Canning Town and Custom House, West Ham and Stratford, reconnecting residents with the rivers and docks;
    • Urban Newham will see more incremental and smaller scale change in a ‘Web of Opportunity’ focused on Town and Local Centres and Crossrail stations, but will benefit from new development in the Arc and elsewhere through investment and improved connectivity within the Borough (notably north-south), and beyond (notably across the Thames and across London), and comparable attention to design quality, including carefully placed taller buildings, with wider neighbourhoods strengthened according to their particular character, assets and opportunities, making creative use of small spaces, redevelopment opportunities and retrofitting;
    • Successful mixed use areas will emerge and be sustained, notably in town centres, LMUAs and on Strategic Sites, and at a smaller scale particularly associated with social infrastructure investment;
    • A major but managed shift from traditional industrial activity will be achieved on Strategic Sites and LMUAs and more broadly along the Lower Lea Valley and in the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone towards employment uses in emerging growth sectors such as high technology and creative industries, night-time, visitor, retail, leisure and cultural economy, business and financial services, making best use of heritage and other assets in the area;
    • Heavier industrial uses, warehouses and utilities will continue to be concentrated, but will evolve and intensify in the Strategic Industrial Locations (SIL) in Beckton, Thameside East and West and Cody Road and smaller, locally significant industrial areas (LILs) elsewhere, supported by appropriate environmental enhancements, buffering, and active but consolidated wharves;
    • Whilst utilities infrastructure including transport depots, ferry access, sewage works and electricity pylons will continue to be present supporting growth and investment, its spatial impact will be minimised to help secure compatibility with other uses as these come closer; new utilities infrastructure will be particularly related to the requirements of modern sustainable living and environmental resilience;
    • Focused, vibrant, accessible and multi-functional Town and Local Centres will be strengthened according to their particular character, assets and opportunities as vital hearts to local neighbourhoods, with a clear hierarchy evident in function and form, from the Metropolitan Centre of Stratford, through to Major Centres at East Ham, Beckton Riverside and Canning Town, and District Centres at Green Street, Forest Gate and East Beckton, and local centres at other key transport nodes;
    • New and enhanced open spaces and walking and cycling routes will be created throughout the Borough, making best use of the Borough’s waterways and green spaces, securing the delivery of optimal route and nodal frequency, missing links and view corridors, to support the realisation of a connected, continuous permeable and legible movement and green space network; and
    • All new development will be well integrated with its surroundings to create successful high quality and well connected areas, including the limitation of tall buildings to identified suitable locations.
  • Design and technical criteria
    • Sites should be designed and developed comprehensively: the Council will resist the development of any sites in a piecemeal way, particularly where this would prejudice the realisation of the overall vision for the area or where timing of delivery would be unsupported by infrastructure. Large applications will be expected to be accompanied by realistic phasing proposals; and
    • The expectation is that Strategic Sites and any major unallocated sites should be masterplanned, with particular attention to:
      • The successful integration of the scheme with the wider public area (including the transport network) and compatibility with existing uses;
      • The transition between and neighbourliness of, different uses both within the site and in relation to adjacent areas, as per policies SP8 and J2;
      • The proposed mix and arrangement of housing types, sizes and tenures, as per policy H1;
      • Delivery of key strategic links and connections set out in Policies S2-6 and INF2 of new local/town centres and multi-functional community facilities (notably schools), public open space and other green infrastructure;
      • The accommodation of tall buildings as per the strategic approach set out in Policy SP4; and
      • The need to secure appropriate and proportionate contributions made by individual developments to the infrastructure requirements of the scheme as a whole.

Strategic Sites have been identified which will contribute to the delivery of these objectives. These are allocated by Policies S2-6, detailed in Appendix 1, and shown on the Policies Map. Figure 1 below identifies the Community Neighbourhoods and their respective S2-6 policy and Strategic Sites.

For more information please see the Local Plan 2018