Planners approved the redevelopment of Vicarage Field Shopping Centre last night.

The project, which will bring 850 homes to the site, was given the go-ahead in a meeting at Barking Town Hall in Town Square, with deputy council leader Cllr Dominic Twomey hailing the build as a “21st century retail experience”.

He said the re-imagining of the Ripple Road shopping centre in Barking will create up to 1,000 jobs for residents as a 150-bedroom hotel, gym, music venue transform the site, which will also feature an eight-screen cinema.