Newham Council Appoints Countryside Partnerships as Contractor Partner for Next Sites in Custom House Regeneration Programme

An indicative image of the proposed custom house phase one area no 3

Countryside will be designing and planning the next stage of the long-term Custom House regeneration including new homes and a new health hub

Following a competitive tender process, regeneration specialist Countryside Partnerships has been appointed as lead contractor partner for the next stage of the Custom House regeneration programme - one of Newham Council’s key three estate-led regeneration schemes within the borough.

Through a Pre-Construction Service Agreement (PCSA), Countryside will lead on the design development and enabling works of sites in this second sub-phase. This will see detailed design of the new homes including genuinely affordable homes, new commercial premises and a new health centre across the Freemasons Road retail area.

This new milestone forms part of the Council’s commitment to accelerate affordable home delivery through the tried and tested in-house delivery model across their three council-led estate regeneration schemes which has seen three key breakthroughs happen this year already on Custom House alone.

Since residents voted yes for the Custom House regeneration last December, planning and building have already started in sub-phase 1 for 95 genuinely affordable homes. A further outline planning application for the wider project aiming to deliver 629 mixed-tenure genuinely affordable homes along with new community facilities including a new health hub, nursery, bus stand and cycling links was also approved in October this year.

Custom House residents through the Resident Steering Group were also a part of the tender process for the contractor partner. 

Denise Evans, Custom House Resident Steering Group member said:” As a local resident, I am very pleased with the Council’s approach and constant progress on the Custom House regeneration which has been twenty years in the making. I hope we will continue to see this commitment delivered as the plans continue to develop and residents will finally be able to move into high-quality modern homes that they have needed for a very long time.”

Discussing their appointment, Ray Toft, Managing Director for Countryside Partnerships South London, added: “Custom House will be the twenty-first regeneration scheme to be delivered by us within Newham, and we’re delighted that the Council have selected us as main contractor to help deliver the exciting next chapter for the Custom House regeneration programme.

“We’re looking forward to working with residents and stakeholders to design a scheme that delivers high-quality, sustainable and affordable homes, drawing on our 60 years’ experience in building successful communities within the capital.”

Newham Council and Countryside Partnerships will now start the detailed design of the buildings, with project architect, ECE Architecture, to submit a reserved matters planning application to deliver the draft design in Summer 2024. Once approved, the Council will take steps to start building the scheme in 2025.

For the latest update on the Custom House regeneration, please visit the Custom House co-create page or email regeneration@newham.gov.uk.

Published: 22 Dec 2022