The former boss of the Barking Riverside has picked up a prestigious planning and developing award.
Jonathan Speed, ex-director of the 443-acre site, picked up the Alan Cherry Award for Placemaking 2014 in front of an audience of housing specialists including Communities Secretary Eric Pickles MP.
Built on an area stretching 2km along the river Thames, construction work began on Barking Riverside in 2010 with Chancaellor Osborne announcing plans to add an extra 11,000 new homes in this year’s Budget.
Jonathan, who has now concluded his three-year secondment at Barking Riverside from the Greater London Authority, has been a driving force at the largest single housing development opportunity in the capital since the early 1990s.
He said: “I am honoured to have received this award and delighted that Barking Riverside has been recognised as an exceptional development for placemaking.
“The vision for Barking Riverside is of a vibrant community that will transform one of the largest brownfield sites in the UK with new, mixed-tenure homes.
“A high quality urban environment is being created alongside a full range of amenities, all supported by new public transport links.”
The award is named after the late founder of housing developer Countryside, and given to a public figure who has made a significant contribution to placemaking in their communities.
Richard Cherry, son of Alan and Countryside’s deputy chairman, said: “Jonathan has had a very significant role in the placemaking of Barking Riverside and has been very influential in making the area a better place to live.
“The development has the community and place making at its heart with the social infrastructure being developed alongside the homes.”
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