A new train station that would link central London with a massive housing development on the former Ford factory site in Dagenham has been delayed until the end of 2027.
The new station, called Beam Park, would sit between Dagenham Dock and Rainham stations on c2c’s “Tilbury loop” and provide connections with Barking and Fenchurch Street station to the west and Grays to the east.
About 820 of 3,947 homes earmarked for the derelict factory site have been built. Under the terms of a revised “development order” signed by London mayor Sadiq Khan this week, 60 per cent of the homes – a total of 2,375 – can be built before the station is delivered.
This means the remainder of 1,572 cannot be built until the new station opens, under a so-called “Grampian condition” that is effectively designed to ensure residents can access public transport connections.
The amended order will “ensure delivery can continue on a scheme which will comprehensively redevelop a significant brownfield site in east London and deliver much needed housing and affordable housing”.
The homes are being built by Countryside Partnerships and L&Q housing association on 29 hectares of land owned by the Greater London Authority. Half will be “affordable”. The development is due to be completed by 2035.
The factory, which was one of the largest car plants in the world, was featured in the film Made in Dagenham, which told of the equal pay strikes at Ford in the 1960s.
After closing in 2013, it was earmarked for 3,000 new homes – a total that was increased last year to 3,900.
Mr Khan decided to give Countryside until December 31, 2027 to build the station ticket hall. The Greater London Authority, which is funding the new station, is said to remain “committed to finding a way forward for the station”.
The station has been planned since 2002 and received planning permission in 2019.
According to City Hall, the Department for Transport was “not supportive” of building the station – apparently because it was unsure whether there would be sufficient passenger demand. Train firm c2c was also said to have reservations.
The DfT told the Standard that it had previously made clear that it was for the GLA to take on any financial liability for the running and operation of any new station at Beam Park until it has generated revenue for three consecutive years.
The DfT said it was “now for the GLA to progress the business case”.
Mr Khan said in March that the GLA had set aside more than £32.7m to build the station. The sum included an “indemnity to cover any potential shortfall in revenue within the first 10 years of operation”.
Under a prior arrangement dating back to Boris Johnson’s time as mayor, only about half the 3,000 homes originally planned for the former Ford site, renamed Beam Park, could be built without a new station opening.
