Building work near a former Ford site in Chequers Lane, Dagenham, has been completed meaning 90 affordable homes are ready for local people to move into.

And to celebrate the completion of the ‘turnkey’ development, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Cllr Darren Rodwell met Deon Browne from Be First and Kevin Parsons, Director of Hollybrook Ltd, who built the homes.

Cllr Darren Rodwell said: “It’s great to see this quality affordable homes for local people completed. This whole area is in the fast lane of regeneration with thousands of homes coming to nearby Beam Park and of course we’ve got the City of London markets coming here too.”

Kevin Parsons, Director at Hollybrook, said: “This is a very high quality scheme delivered on time and on budget. It has been great to work with Be First and we are delighted that their first Turnkey development has been such an outstanding success.”

Initially Hollybrook had planning permission for 77 homes on the site, of which only 16 per cent were affordable, but thanks to an agreement brokered by the Council’s regeneration organisation Be First, all the homes are now affordable.

The new ‘turnkey’ agreement meant once Hollybrook completed construction, the council took ownership of 90 homes, with 69 per cent at affordable rent, and 31 per cent at London Affordable Rent.

Deon Browne, Construction Manager at Be First, said: “This was Be First’s and the council’s first turnkey deal and it’s great to see it cross the line. But we’re not resting on our laurels at Be First, we’ve got some great turnkey deals and other developments on track to deliver hundreds of great homes for local people.”