Goldfinch Place, Rainham Road South, Dagenham
The site
The Goldfinch Place site is well connected to transport, with the A13 providing easy access to the M25 and Dagenham East Tube on the district line only a five minute walk away.
The site had been occupied by an 11 storey tower block since 1963, and by 2006, the block had been decanted. The derelict tower was a blot on the local landscape - it desperately needed to be demolished and the land put back into use.
MHP's priorities were to transform the site and to provide good quality family homes and flats of mixed tenure.
The scheme was completed in December 2009, replacing the abandoned tower with 40 flats and 14 houses.
Find out more about the sustainability features of this development
The scheme
The development is made up of three distinct buildings. A mixed tenure terrace of houses face onto Rainham Road South and is framed at its ends by two taller apartment buildings - one building of shared ownership flats and one for rent.
The terrace responds to the predominantly semi-detached housing on the opposite side of the road, while the other two buildings give the development a positive identity on its more prominent eastern and western extremities.
The deal
MHP worked closely with Barking and Dagenham Council to achieve a discounted land deal for the site and arranged demolition of the tower block using local contractors.
Two years of negotiation with planners alongside consultation with the local community resulted in approval of the planning in November 2007, and a start on site in March 2008.
