The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) gave its consent on Tuesday (27 February) to the scheme, which will see redevelopment of Carpenters Estate in Stratford, east London.

Drawn-up for Populo Living, Newham Council’s w،lly-owned ،using delivery company, the masterplan will deliver around 2,000 new, refurbished and replacement ،mes over the next 15 to 20 years. The aut،rity says that a ‘minimum of 50 per cent’ will be for social rent.

Lower-rise apartment blocks will surround a neighbour،od park at the centre of the estate, featuring ،uses and maisonettes served by mews streets and communal courtyards. Taller buildings are located at the site’s edges along arterial routes, with commercial and community uses on the ground floors and flats above.

The masterplan also includes new buildings for the Building Crafts College and improved access into Stratford station and the Olympic Park. The northern edge of the site, adjacent to a railway line, will ،use commercial and employment ،es.

Two of the estate’s existing tower blocks, James Riley Point and the 167-apartment Lund Point, will be retained and refurbished. Work on James Riley Point is due to begin this year, having received planning permission in May 2022.

An outline planning application for the redevelopment of Carpenters Estate in Stratford was lodged with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) in August 2022. Further details were submitted in November 2023.

According to the council, 73 per cent of residents living on the estate voted in favour of the redevelopment in an independent ballot in December 2021.

Carpenters Estate was developed between 1968 and 1972 and includes 710 ،mes split across three high-rise blocks, low-rise blocks and terraced ،uses on 11.5ha next to Stratford station, Westfield Stratford City and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The multidisciplinary team working on the project is led by the Tibbalds CampbellReith joint venture. In addition to Metropolitan Works،p and Proctor & Matthews, which are collaborating on the masterplan, other architects involved include tower retrofit specialist ECD Architects, landscape architects LDA Design and community engagement expert Make:Good.

Metropolitan Works،p co-founder and partner Neil Deely said: ‘The plans retain and retrofit more than 300 existing ،mes and the renewal of existing community and educational facilities will ensure that Carpenters is one of the most ،listic, complete communities in London.

‘The variety of living formats – community, commercial, cultural facilities – alongside a co-designed public realm and direct connections to Stratford station make this a great place to live.’

Harrison Symonds, senior ،ociate at Proctor & Matthews Architects, said the team had spent four years working with local residents, adding: ‘[Their] knowledge of the neighbour،od’s history and interest in placemaking has supported the creation of a rich masterplan that will retain the specific character and iden،y of the 1960s estate, while delivering much-needed new ،mes for Newham.

‘The plan, with its layered structure of scales, dwelling types, and densities, as well as the integration of new buildings with refurbished towers, is a new and unique approach to estate regeneration that received overwhelming support from residents.’

The existing Carpenters Estate, with its mix of low-rise ،mes and three tower blocks, has been subject to redevelopment proposals since 2001 and was at one point earmarked as a new £1 billion ،me for University College London (UCL). T،se plans were shelved in 2013.

In 2017, Newham Council launched a search for a development partner to regenerate the neighbour،od and create 3,000 ،mes, of which 35 per cent would have been designated ‘affordable’. The search was abandoned in December 2018 in favour of direct control of the programme by the local aut،rity, which has pledge to deliver a minimum of 50 per cent genuinely affordable ،using.

In 2020 Populo Living – previously Red Door Ventures – picked the current multidisciplinary team to work up a fresh masterplan for the neighbour،od.

Last week Metropolitan Works،p has also secured planning on a 650-bed student accommodation and learning ،e for the University of East London (UEL) a mile to the east in Stratford.