Newham Council’s 50% affordable Carpenters Estate regeneration gets underway

One of the country’s largest and most ambitious estate regenerations starts on site yesterday (September 1, 2025) with the commencement of Phase 1 of Newham Council’s innovative Carpenters Estate regeneration. The 12-year programme will become a benchmark for best practice in estate regeneration, embedding the principles of development that benefits the wider population, in line with the council’s Building a Fairer Newham agenda, and demonstrating a more sustainable approach to retrofitting, reflecting its award-winning Just Transition Plan.

Over 12 years, the Council will deliver over 2,300 new and refurbished homes, half of which will be genuinely affordable, alongside 29,000sqm of non-residential space, including a new school, parks, commercial space, sports and community facilities. The Council’s wholly owned housing company, Populo Living, has been commissioned to take forward the detailed design of the first three phases.

Phase 1: James Riley Point is a significant milestone for the project, moving on from the Meanwhile Projects delivered to date to the start of development works on the regeneration. The dedicated planning permission will enable the sustainable retrofit of this 1960s tower to the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard, making it the largest certified EnerPHit in London, as well as the creation of a new state-of-the-art multifunctional sports and community centre.

The Passivhaus EnerPHit standard is a rigorously controlled, internationally recognised standard for retrofit projects that provides high-quality, comfortable homes that minimise energy use and significantly reduces residents’ living costs.

Creating healthier and more efficient homes, the regeneration of the tower also aims to boost the area’s social sustainability through its support of the creation of a sustainable community, not just for today but for generations to come.

Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, said: “The start on site of works at James Riley Point on Carpenters Estate is hugely significant and represents another milestone in the delivery of homes that our people can afford here in Newham. Our Carpenters Estate restoration and regeneration scheme is amongst the largest in the UK and is significant as it shows how Newham is growing London. The 28 acre estate site owned by the Council will be transformed into a new neighbourhood by the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and one of the UK’s busiest transport hubs at Stratford. I’m so pleased that finally, after waiting for change to begin, residents will see positive change happening.

Residents living on the estate and those with a right to return overwhelming endorsed the outline masterplan when it went to ballot. The start on James Riley Point’s retrofit scheme is proof that change can be delivered sustainably, as we build new homes that our people can afford, with new community facilities. Through this retrofit scheme we are also making a difference in response to the climate emergency as part of our Just Transition agenda, now and for the future.”

Nick Clough, Carpenters Project Director at Populo Living said “It is so exciting for both ourselves and residents to see the start of development works on the Carpenters Estate, kicking off with our innovative tower retrofit. The plans for James Riley Point are a reflection of Newham’s attitude towards ‘better’ regeneration, that delivers for existing communities while providing additional homes in Newham."