Newham says it will grant planning to new development by Royal Victoria Dock

Newham council in London has given its commitment to grant planning to two developments in the borough which will see nearly 800 new homes being built.

Royal Eden Docks, Mount Anvil

More a third of the 796 new homes being built by developers Mount Anvil and the London International Exhibition Centre alongside the first phase of a 19-storey tower Royal Docks West scheme at Royal Victoria Dock in Newham will be classed as affordable by habitable room.

By unit the scheme will deliver 27% affordable homes.

Phases two and three, called Royal Eden Docks, will deliver a range of studio, one, two and three-bedroom flats.

Construction will begin in the autumn of this yeart and once completed the total number of homes delivered across the three schemes will amount to 901 units.

Newham had deferred deciding on the development, earmarked for an 1.03 hectare site adjacent to the the ExCel centre, at a meeting in February.

Among its concerns were the development’s scale and massing, and the size and type of its affordable housing.

Recommending the proposals for approval, Newham planning officers said the scheme had “evolved positively through early engagement” with the council’s Design Review Panel, and was supported “subject to further detail of materiality”.

The report added: “Some impacts on neighbour amenity have been identified but mindful of the site constraints and its urban context, Officers are satisfied that the overall impact would not be significant.”

The scheme currently offers 27.1% affordable housing when measured by unit, and 35% when measured by habitable room.

Because of the scale of the development, Newham’s decision to approve requires the backing of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Emma Foster, Mount Anvil’s development director, said: “Securing resolution to grant planning permission for phases two and three of Royal Eden Docks is a landmark moment for the site.

“Phase one brought substantial investment in the community and surrounding infrastructure, and we look forward to building on that investment with the construction of phases two and three,” she added.