The Aberfeldy New Village LLP – a joint venture partnership between EcoWorld London and Poplar HARCA – has submitted a planning application for a new masterplan that will be the next stage of its 20-year-long regeneration project in Aberfeldy, East London.
Alongside much needed new housing, the masterplan will deliver an enhanced local high street, with up to 25,500 sq ft of new retail space and up to 29,100 sq ft of new offices. There will be 40,440 sq ft of new public realm, including a public park, Highland Park, of up to 30,300 sq ft and a new town square at the end of Aberfeldy Street. Connections will be created across the A12 to improve links to Poplar and Newham.
The workspace area, Enterprise Yard, will create employment opportunities and space for creative industries. It has been designed as a continuation of the successful Poplar Works development nearby, which offers workspaces to fashion graduates, bringing fashion back to its East London home.
The new masterplan is being designed by architects, Levitt Bernstein, working alongside a design team comprising of Morris+Company, LDA Design and ZCD Architects.
The local community have been extensively involved in the development of the plans with 90 per cent of respondents saying they supported the details of the masterplan in response to the latest round of consultation. This follows an estate regeneration ballot last year, where 93 per cent of residents voted to support regeneration in a 91 per cent turnout. All current residents wishing to remain in Aberfeldy have the option to do so, in a like-for-like home on the same tenancy terms and rent levels.
A new walking and cycling route created via a repurposed underpass aims to encourage active, safe travel as part of the regeneration’s wider vision to achieve a healthy, child-friendly neighbourhood. The plans also include electric car charging points and enhanced green space via improvements to local streets, parks, and public spaces. Some of the buildings will have green and biodiverse roofs.
Heng Leong Cheong, chief executive at EcoWorld London, said: “We are proud of the positive change we have already delivered at Aberfeldy Village and this new masterplan will build on the success of our decade-long partnership with Poplar Harca. We are very grateful to have received such strong support from the community for our plans to deliver new homes, community facilities, a revitalised commercial centre and green spaces in Poplar. We look forward working together with them, Poplar Harca, LB Tower Hamlets, the GLA and TfL to make this exciting and ambitious masterplan a reality.”
The new masterplan is an extension of the previously approved Aberfeldy Village Masterplan, which received outline planning consent in 2012. Phases 1, 2 and 3a have been completed on site and are now occupied. Phase 3b is currently on site and is due for completion within the next year, by which time the project will have delivered 901 homes of all tenures alongside a residents’ gym and lounge, a 75,350 sq ft public park, a new community centre and public art created in collaboration with the community.