The next stage of Barking town centre’s £42.3million housing plans were agreed by Cabinet members on Tuesday night.

The area became one of nine capital-wide housing zones in February following a successful bid to the Greater London Authority (GLA), which will unlock 2,295 new homes.

Members unanimously agreed to enter into Overarching Borough Agreements with the GLA for an initial 10 separate building schemes.

The developments include sites on London Road and James Street, areas of the Gascoigne estate, Ripple Road and Cambridge Road – adjacent to Barking station,

Although residents of Abbey Road recently vowed to fight council plans to demolish their homes, as part of the Gascoigne Estate Renewal programme, Cllr Saima Ashraf, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing, told members that consultations were in place for all 10 developments.

“We can’t keep everyone happy but we will try our best,” she said.

The delivery of the housing zones schemes would mean a physical transformation of the town centre supporting council plans for an improved retail and restaurant offer.

Council leader Cllr Darren Rodwell said: “We have a plan and it’s a very strong one.

“We are looking at bringing us to become this cultural borough.”