The Gascoigne Neighbourhood in Barking is one of London’s largest regeneration projects, focusing on placemaking, affordability, and community impact.

Be First’s brief for Gascoigne East Phase 2 was to create affordable high-quality homes for the local community, with a strong emphasis on community benefits. The 2015 Outline Masterplan included 499 homes and commercial units, but following a redesign, White Arkitekter secured planning for 546 homes, additional commercial spaces, and a community centre. This was achieved without compromising quality or daylight, through a design combining housing blocks and townhouses arranged around communal courtyards.

The reimagining of the Gascoigne neighbourhood is at the heart of the council’s ambition to regenerate Barking as one of London’s greenest, most affordable, and sustainable neighbourhoods.

Built in the 1960s, the existing estate featured deteriorating high-rise towers, low rise blocks, and a lack of useable community space. The project was an opportunity to regenerate the neighbourhood, deliver new apartments, townhouses, community facilities, and a new park in a place where people will want to live. It raises the bar for affordable housing with modern, spacious homes and a rich mix of open spaces and nature.