The redevelopment of Bromley-by-Bow gasworks, set to create more than 2,000 homes, has been given the go ahead by Newham council.
Berkeley Group company St William, in collaboration with Historic England, will invest £72m in turning the 23-acre brownfield site into a multi-use residential and public space.
St William’s managing director, Dean Summers, called it “one of the most challenging brownfield sites in the country”.
Brownfield refers to sites like empty buildings, former car parks and industrial land.
Bromley-by-Bow’s seven gasholders were built between 1872 and 1978 to store gas from the nearby Bromley gasworks, although the site ended operations in 2010.
The gasholders are thought to be the largest group in Britain, with the Victorian Society describing them as “unmatched anywhere else in the world”.
“Transforming [the site] into thousands of sustainable, well-connected homes and a publicly accessible river-front park was always going to require a unique, collaborative solution,” he added.
The development will include 13 residential buildings, several of which will sit within the existing gasholder frames and a 4.2-acre public park.
It will also include new sustainable transport initiatives, including cycling and pedestrian routes and upgrades to bus services and
infrastructure.
“The regeneration plans for Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks are an exemplar of how historic brownfield sites can be transformed into new developments that both help address the housing shortage and boost local economic growth, while embracing an area’s cherished heritage,” Tom Foxall, regional director for Historic England in London, said.
The government has pledged a “brownfield-first” approach for its delivery of 1.5m new homes by 2029, prioritising initiatives like the “brownfield passport” and Brownfield Land Release Fund.
The gasworks’ regeneration programme will create over 2,800 jobs during construction, add 30,000sq feet of commercial space and will make a £4.4m contribution towards local skills and employment programmes, St William said.