Huge 4,700-home East London development will now have even bigger tower blocks

Revised plans for the redevelopment of a former Parcelforce depot in East London were approved by councillors on Tuesday evening (January 21), meaning the tallest towers will have an extra four storeys added. The amended plans were part of the TwelveTrees Park development in West Ham, which will eventually deliver 4,708 homes across a 11.9 hectare site.

In August 2024, Berkeley Homes Ltd had submitted two applications as part of a revised masterplan which comprises 16 tower blocks and a new park, a central plaza and a school square. The revised masterplan affects the number and height of tall buildings as well as changes to the type of affordable homes being delivered in the next phase.

Berkeley Homes had wanted to increase the maximum height of the buildings from 34 storeys to 38 storeys, and was also looking at building more social homes in phase two of the development. According to a council document, the revised masterplan was submitted to address changing regulatory requirements and shifting housing market conditions.

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Phase two, which will deliver more than 1,000 new homes, will see 522 'affordable' homes built - of which 278 will now be social rent homes while 244 will be shared ownership. Berkeley Homes had also wanted to expand the residential, employment and educational floorspace and reduce the amount of community and retail floorspace.

During a meeting with Newham Council's Strategic Development Committee earlier this week, an architect working on the project said: "This new layout builds on existing consent and delivers a better, safer and secure place for existing and future communities of Newham."

Planning permission had already been secured back in August 2018 as part of a hybrid application, and phase one, which began in June 2021, is already under way. The project is being delivered across four phases with the final phase expected to be completed in April 2042.

The development will see a new 1,000-place school built, as well as two footbridges and a new West Ham Station entrance. Back at the meeting, the committee granted both applications, meaning changes to the masterplan have now been approved.

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