Policy information sourced from Newham Local Plan 2018
S6 Urban Newham
Proposals that address the following over-arching strategic criteria and spatial strategy will be supported:
- Strategic Criteria:
- Achieve a stable, cohesive Web of Opportunity through place curation and improved housing and infrastructure investment, diversification of local employment opportunities, revived town centres and new cultural offers: a place of many places, including gateways, centres, hubs and connections, and large and small breathing spaces;
- The economic role of the area will be based on its town and local centres, as well as local entrepreneurship, with LMUAs and MBOAs offering a wide choice of workspace options, particularly for the growing cultural and creative sector;
- New housing (at least 7856 new units) and accompanying jobs growth and infrastructure provision will be delivered across the area, partly on Strategic Sites well integrated with their surrounding communities and acting in concert with those in adjoining areas, but increasingly through non-strategic opportunities, including through Managed Transition and sensitive infill close to centres and key corridors;
- Population will be stabilised, with a greater focus on improving housing quality, protecting and increasing family housing, and restricting Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and flat conversions, encouraging de-conversion of family-sized Victorian and Edwardian homes that have been subdivided in the past;
- People’s experience of moving through the area, particularly North-South will be enhanced through improvements to connectivity, and concerted efforts to upgrade the design and environment of key corridors in line with Policy SP7, further supported by and supporting a shift to more sustainable travel patterns;
- Employment will be increased through improvements to town centre vitality and viability, with a focus on accommodating new innovative forms of mixed use development where appropriate, and continuing support for local employment as part of existing successful mixed use areas in line with Policies J1 and SP3;
- Infrastructure will be better aligned with community needs in line with Policy INF8, particularly addressing existing deficiencies and capacity issues in relation to schools, health centres and open space, with innovative responses to limited resources and sites; and
- Innovation will be called upon to develop new and viable uses for key heritage assets which will be re-integrated with their surroundings and neighbourhoods.
- Spatial Strategy:
- Forest Gate
- Forest Gate town centre will become an attractive and vibrant centre, retaining its urban village feel founded on established independent shops, arts and cultural activity and revitalised heritage assets. Further cafes and restaurants, community facilities, and retail variety, including a small to medium-sized foodstore, will add to the mix and quality of offer. Alongside commercial uses, new town centre housing will extend safer, more convivial activity into the evening. The town centre environment and new development will complement, integrate with and reinforce its attractive heritage identity and popularity of local neighbourhoods, and facilitate a better north-south integration of the centre across Romford Road, building on the opportunity presented by Crossrail and identified development sites; and
- Elsewhere in Forest Gate, town centre and Crossrail regeneration benefits will be spread into local neighbourhoods, with new development driving an upgrade to the public realm, and better management of traffic and congestion, particularly to transform the environment of key movement corridors of Romford Road and Woodgrange Road/Upton Lane; conservation and enhancement of its heritage assets including Victorian and Edwardian housing; and the provision of new open space. Accessibility to local employment will be further improved through intensification and small scale change at the town centre fringes and nearby mews and railway arches in areas identified as MBOAs, LMUAs and LILs. Most change, with the capacity for innovation, is likely to be focused on sites near the station, within tired post-war estates, and on parts of major routes, particularly Romford Road. Development within the setting of West Ham Park and Wanstead Flats will complement and enhance views from these spaces, and promote access to them.
- Manor Park
- Manor Park will see most change around the new Crossrail station which will gradually redefine and reinvigorate Manor Park local centre, creating a more significant focus to the area for the local community; and
- Associated regeneration benefits and smaller windfall sites will contribute to improvements in the public realm, including open space provision and conservation and enhancement of heritage assets, both along key movement corridors of Forest Drive/Station Road/High Street North, Romford Road, and Plashet Grove/ East Avenue/Browning Road/Church Road/Little Ilford Lane where they can contribute to legibility, and within residential areas where they can contribute to the desirability of the area to live in. Accessibility to local employment will be further improved through new development in MBOAs, LMUAs and LILs identified along Romford Road and High Street North, and improved access to opportunities in Ilford and Barking. Most change and innovation will be focused along key routes where character and enclosure has been eroded. Development in the vicinity of Manor Park’s cemeteries and Wanstead Flats will complement and enhance these spaces, promoting access to them.
- East Ham
- East Ham town centre will continue to be important within the borough as a whole, with recognised heritage assets, employment, civic and community spaces, good accessibility by bus, foot and tube, and vibrancy and popularity added by its independent shops as well as a range of multiples. Through new development, particularly in the southern part of the centre, as well as renewal of existing floorspace, the centre will provide a better quality and mix of offer during the day and into the evening within an improved public realm that better manages pedestrian flows, has attractive gateways and revitalised and enhanced heritage assets. Complementary high density residential development will make use of the public transport accessibility, which will be enhanced with step-free station access. The town centre will be less linear, with primary activity spreading out towards its wider boundaries including an enhanced street environment at Ron Leighton Way, and clearer delineation of its boundaries; and
- Elsewhere in East Ham, most change will be focused on windfall sites along main roads, particularly Barking Road and High Street North and South, contributing to their improvement as movement corridors. There will be more general emphasis on conservation and enhancement of the residential environment and valued open space, attending to open space deficiencies in the centre of the area through green grid connections to existing spaces and opening up and activating Metropolitan Open Land in the east. Development within the setting of the Greenway will complement and enhance views from, and promote access to it. Local employment will be further improved through new development at and improved access to the LILs in Jenkins Lane and Folkestone Road and MBOAs near the town centre, as well as employment areas in neighbouring Barking and Ilford.
- Green Street
- Green Street town centre will maintain its specialist ethnic retail identity with a local to international draw, popular market place and independent shops and quality evening offer that continues to evolve. This will demand innovation in design and formats, a consistently high quality environment and the development of complementary employment to help reinforce its distinctive character, with a mix of quality shops and services that meets both local and specialist needs. Queen’s Market will continue to be an important meeting place for the local community as at present, reinforced through co-location of other community uses, and with development densities commensurate with its public transport accessibility that will be enhanced through step-free access to the station; and
- Elsewhere in Green Street, most change with scope for innovation will be focused along the key movement corridors of Barking Road, Plashet Road/Plashet Grove, Katherine Road, Green Street/Central Park Road and Romford Road, and in tired post-war estates, with a more general emphasis on the enhancement of legibility, movement experience and the residential environment, including the provision of new open space and protection of key Local Shopping Parades. The redevelopment of Upton Park football ground will significantly boost the southern part of the area providing new housing choice, modern flexible community facilities and renewed public spaces. Development within the setting of West Ham Park will complement and enhance views from the park, and promote access to it.
- Plaistow
- Plaistow will gain a new focus through the development of a local centre around the natural attraction of the station, complementing that at Greengate, with consolidation of other Local Centres as necessary, continuing to protect other key local shops and services as Local Shopping Parades. Most of the new development will be in the vicinity of the station and main roads, including LMUAs at Dulcia Mills and Ashburton Terrace, with good public transport accessibility (enhanced by step-free station access) and the need for enclosure reflected in appropriate densities and building heights; however, most post-war estates also present opportunities for change, incorporating improvements to connectivity. Innovation will be called upon to develop new and viable uses for key heritage assets which will be re-integrated with their surroundings and neighbourhoods, with development within the setting of West Ham Park and the Greenway complementing and enhancing views from these, and promoting access to them. Newham University Hospital will be an important employment hub in the health, community and education sectors.
- Strategic Sites
- In order to deliver the above vision-based spatial strategy, the following Strategic Sites, as shown on the Policies Map, are allocated for development as set out in Appendix 1:
- S24 Woodgrange Road West
- S25 East Ham Market
- S26 East Ham Town Hall Campus
- S03 East Ham Western Gateway
- S27 Queen’s Market
- In order to deliver the above vision-based spatial strategy, the following Strategic Sites, as shown on the Policies Map, are allocated for development as set out in Appendix 1:
- Forest Gate
For more information please see the Local Plan 2018