Be First, the successful regeneration arm of Barking and Dagenham Council, and developer Hollybrook Limited, are bringing 149 new, sustainably heated, homes to the borough as they start work on a £36.5m development on a former office block site, located south of New Road in Dagenham.

The council-owned Transport House site, formerly home to Unite trade union, and the car park next to it, will now be transformed into brand new homes for residents, with undercroft parking also provided for the Premier Inn, next door.

These new flats will all be heated by air source heat pumps which mean they will be more efficient and cheaper to heat and reduce the development’s carbon footprint when the homes are in use. Air source heat pumps in a residential setting use up to 20% less CO2e than gas boilers and up to 70% less than electric systems.

To celebrate the start of building work on the ‘turnkey’ development, the Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Cllr Darren Rodwell joined Daniel Brooks, development manager, from Be First and Kevin Parsons, director of Hollybrook Ltd, on site.

The new development uses both public and private land to maximise housing delivery across the site. The ‘turnkey’ agreement means that once Hollybrook completes construction, the council will take ownership of 149 homes, consisting of one, two, three and four bed homes, with 31 at London Affordable rent, 47 at Affordable rent and 71 at private rent.

Daniel Brooks, development manager, Be First said:

“We are pleased to be starting work on this project with our partners at Hollybrook. This project supports our mission to deliver 50,000 new homes across the borough.  Hollybrook will deliver the overall development scheme with Be First (on behalf of the council) managing the development process to completion.

“At Be First, we are creating places which everyone can be proud of and delivering homes that are sustainable, so we preserve our environment for future generations in Barking and Dagenham.”

Cllr Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said:

“I’d like to thank our partners at Hollybrook for working with us to secure this site. This is an excellent example of how we are making the most of mixed-use land to deliver on our promises to provide much-needed high-quality, safe, well ventilated, and sustainably heated and affordable homes.”

Kevin Parsons, director at Hollybrook, said:

“Hollybrook is very pleased to be embarking on another landmark housing project with Be First, following the great success of the recent Chequers Lane project nearby.  This project has involved a complicated land assembly process which has taken over a year to conclude and which has only been possible thanks to close cooperation between Be First and Hollybrook working in partnership.”

The new homes, which will be built using full Modern Methods of Construction,  support Be First’s mission to deliver environmentally friendly homes that will be fit for residents and communities now and in future, as well as the council’s work towards reaching Net Zero.

This is the second collaboration between Be First and Hollybrook, having successfully delivered Chequers Lane development, last year in Dagenham.