The Broadway Malyan-designed scheme will see the redevelopment of a former retail park to create a community-focused scheme that will provide a new connection between Barking town centre and the River Roding.

The 62,245sqm Abbey Quays scheme, which is being developed by Weston Homes, will include 1,089 residential units across 13 buildings with a series of green public spaces and complimentary commercial, retail, leisure and community uses.

The apartments will be a mixture of one, two and three bedrooms with 35 per cent allocated as affordable. The scheme also includes a Max Whitlock MBE athletes training centre and gym and two enclosed parking areas for 248 cars, on top of which will be private gardens for residents.

The development site sits between the River Roding to the west and the Abbey Park to the east, the setting for a number of heritage buildings including St Margaret’s Church and the ruins of Barking Abbey, which have informed the massing and materiality of the development.

Alongside the eastern edge of the site the buildings are 10-12 stories with recessed upper floors to respect the nearby heritage assets while along the river the heights range from 18 to 29 stories with the tallest building closest to the busy London Road to the north providing a strong visual marker for the development.

The buildings combine expanses of glazing with brick facades of contrasting colour with features including recessed and projecting balconies, balustrades designed as artwork to reflect the heritage of the local area and public artwork in the form of dramatic Manhattan-style large-scale murals on building facades with the illustrations making reference to Barking history.