Demolition of some buildings on the site of a major redevelopment project in Harold Hill has been given the go-ahead.

A planning application was sent to Havering Council seeking a “prior approval” to bulldoze some buildings in Chippenham Road, Harold Hill to make way for new housing blocks.

There are 150 homes proposed to be built between Chippenham Road and Kings Lynn Drive, next to the Farnham and Hilldene shopping area.

The structures to be demolished comprise of one detached three-storey building and eight two-storey dwellings which all front Chippenham Road.

Two other detached buildings, that consist of two and three-storey self-contained flats in Kings Lynn Drive, and some trees are also earmarked for being knocked down.  

While the demolition plans for the scheme have been approved, a spokesperson for Havering and Wates Regeneration LLP has said that it is likely to commence in early 2024.

She said: “Currently the Chippenham Road element of the wider Harold Hill Estate regeneration is at design stage.

“The community was consulted in the summer on the aspirations for the area, with a more detailed design-focused consultation planned before Christmas.”

A report by a planning officer attached with the application said that the buildings within the site are residential, brick and tile construction and do not hold any “architectural value of significance”.

Read More: Consultation to open on plan to build 150 homes as part of town centre transformation

Three of the trees, it said, are covered by tree protection orders and these will not be encroached during or after demolition works.

The works, it added, can only be carried out during the approved hours between 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.

The regeneration project is part of the 12 Estates regeneration programme that was launched as a joint venture between the council and developer Wates Residential in 2018.

In the first phase of transforming Harold Hill town centre, Abercrombie House, a former hostel for homeless people, is being demolished.