Goodmayes, Ilford

Location: Ilford, East London

Allen Pyke created a landscape concept and detailed design proposals for this mixed-use development in East London. The scheme, which includes public realm, greenspace and green roofs, gained full planning consent in 2021.

The development at Goodmayes will provide public realm and communal amenity space for new residents and the wider neighbourhood. It will create a new residential quarter, a new train station access, 3-form entry school, community hall, reprovided Tesco store, a new plaza with commercial space and extensive amenity gardens for residents.

The residential element comprises around 1,400 mixed tenure residential units in 14 medium and high-rise towers. The towers are built over a lower ground floor car park, meaning that the public realm and amenity spaces will be constructed as intensive green roofs above a concrete slab, a practice which Allen Pyke has extensive experience in. Many of the amenity spaces are substantial semi-private courtyards, some of which measuring over 3,000m2. Each courtyard has been given a unique design which considers internal circulation, connectivity between spaces, microclimate and privacy of residents. Most of the spaces include an element of play (formal or informal), ensuring that standards to for play provision are exceeded. Tree and shrub planting and a variety of boundary and surface treatments are used to create inviting and useable greenspaces. They will also provide visual amenity when experienced from above.

The landscape proposals for the public realm created a number of landscape typologies to define different character areas and aid pedestrian movement across the site. A large area of public realm and a lower station plaza are at the heart of the scheme, with new street frontage and footways leading from it. The public realm will be a destination as well as a transient space to be experienced between the station or facilities and wider neighbourhood The external areas will provide attractive circulation and relaxation spaces through which the residential cores, education, retail, leisure and community facilities are accessed.

The site was formerly a supermarket and car park offering limited value for nature. The new development will create a positive biodiversity net gain. The upper-level green roofs will contribute to the biodiversity of the ground and podium landscapes with more biodiverse and varied habitats for wildlife. The increased urban greening of the site will benefit the wider population with a reduced hard footprint thereby contributing to urban cooling as well as increased wildlife. The scheme exceeded the Mayor of London’s Urban Greening Policy.

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