Murphy Delivers Affordable Homes in Dagenham

Seventy new homes are coming to Marks Gate next year, as a housing block in the Padnall Lake development nears completion. The block has been delivered by J. Murphy & Sons Limited for client Be First, the regeneration arm of Barking and Dagenham Council, and it sits adjacent to the newly opened Padnall lake.

To celebrate the near completion, a topping out ceremony was held at the new block, called Newcombe House, with Mark Crane, Development Director at Be First, the Deputy Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Saima Ashraf and members of the Murphy team.

Be First has a strong history of creating new, high-quality homes for people and communities in Barking and Dagenham, and through its work the borough has been named the most affordable for housing in London. At Padnall Lake, there will be 70 units in total, made up of 26 three-bedroom town houses and 44 flats one- and two- bedroom flats, all offered at affordable rent.

As part of the wider Padnall Lake development and a continued commitment to improving the borough for residents and communities, Murphy has supported Be First’s mission to completely refurbish the area, breathing new life into the popular local lake in Chadwell Heath. Together, they have improved the cleanliness of the lake, enhanced biodiversity, created new cycling and walking paths, delivered significant open space, and provided a new community space for residents.

This is the third scheme Murphy have supported Be First on and both look forward to working successfully together over the coming years in support of their goal to deliver a cleaner, greener area for residents in Dagenham.

Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Saima Ashraf said:

“It’s great to see more homes being built here by our partners at Be First and contractors at Murphy. We aren’t just building flats here, but family sized town houses too, so local families can stay local. We are delivering on our promises to build more affordable, safe housing for local people.”

Mark Crane, Director of Delivery, Be First said:

“This area of the borough has one of the highest levels of housing need and we are working with the Council to give priority to local people who want to live in the new homes. We are grateful to our partners Murphy, who have done such a good job building this development and tidying up Padnall Lake next door for residents to enjoy.

“At Be First, we are creating places which everyone can be proud of and are committed to creating a fairer borough and building opportunity for all.” 

Miles Cobley, Specialist Business Managing Director, at Murphy, said:

“At Murphy our purpose is to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure, and so we are particularly pleased to be delivering this project to provide high quality new homes for the benefit of the local community here in Marks Gate. We take great care to ensure that every project we undertake is executed to the highest standard, and this project is no exception. We are proud to be working alongside our valued client, Be First to bring this project to fruition.”

Work started in Aug 2021 and the proposed completion date is May 2024, with a move in date set for later that year.

The lake and the play area are all part of the Phase One project for Padnall Lake, which includes the flats, the houses, and a lot of investment into the lake and amenity spaces.