Bridge Close Romford mixed-use neighbourhood Essex, Borough of Havering buildings design

Bridge Close Romford Development : Building

4 September 2025

Location: Romford, Essex, southeast England, UK

Masterplanners: Fletcher Priest Architects
Architects: Allies and Morrison, Maccreanor Lavington
Landscape Architects: Spacehub

Fletcher Priest Architects, Allies and Morrison and Maccreanor Lavington receive planning permission for over 1000 homes and social infrastructure in Romford.

image courtesy of Allies and Morrison

Bridge Close Romford Regeneration Project

Bridge Close, masterplanned by Fletcher Priest Architects for the London Borough of Havering, is a new mixed-use neighbourhood comprising homes, a primary school, health centre, and office & retail units, minutes from the Romford Elizabeth Line station

Outline planning permission has been granted for the entire 9.2 acre site, with detailed planning permission for plots designed by Allies and Morrison and Maccreanor Lavington

Development will also revitalise the River Rom, with re-greened banks and increased pedestrian access

image courtesy of Picture Plane

A consortium of architects working for the London Borough of Havering has received outline planning permission for a new mixed-use neighbourhood in the centre of Romford, replacing an outdated industrial site. Detailed planning permission has also been received for two plots on the site comprising 383 homes, retail units, and a new primary school.

The team includes Fletcher Priest Architects, masterplanners of the entire site, Allies and Morrison and Maccreanor Lavington, architects of the first two plots, and Spacehub, landscape architects for the scheme.

The development will open up the town centre of Romford with a new bridge across the River Rom, a new pathway providing access to the previously culverted waterway, and new streets providing increased connectivity and improved links to the existing pedestrian network.

Two new public squares will be provided on the site. The first, larger square will feature planting and seating, creating a green, natural meeting space next to the new bridge. The second, more intimate square has a residential community feel and will act as a civic hub for new community uses, connecting to the new school and the health centre to be delivered in a later phase of the scheme.

image courtesy of Allies and Morrison

The consented scheme consists of a series of mid-rise blocks based around green courtyards, providing high-density housing while preserving human-scale streets and a friendly pedestrian feel, with taller buildings bookending the development at either end.

The Allies and Morrison designed plot, comprising two buildings of 14 storeys, includes a total of 229 homes for sale. The buildings also have a total of 1,100 sqm of commercial space, communal amenity space for residents, and an energy centre on the top floor, using air-source heat pumps and PV panels to power the entire site. The energy strategy will deliver carbon savings of at least 73% above and beyond current policy.

The Maccreanor Lavington designed plot comprises a 9-storey building with 154 new homes – a mix of social rent, shared ownership, and private sale – and 800 sqm of commercial space. The new homes sit alongside a stand-alone multi-storey 3-form entry primary school with 47 place nursery and specialist unit for SEND pupils based around a west-facing playground. The school features outdoor play space on every level. The first residential phase will provide 35% affordable housing overall.

image courtesy of Picture Plane

The River Rom borders the east of the site. The waterway is currently contained within a concrete culvert and inaccessible to the public. The new plans, designed by landscape architects Spacehub, will re-naturalise the western river bank with coir rolls and planting, and provide a new pedestrian pathway. This rejuvenation of the Rom sets the precedent for a new green and blue link along the length of the river throughout the town centre.

A new bridge on the North-East corner of the site will span the river and improve pedestrian permeability across the centre of Romford, completing the new east-west link through the site. The link will provide better access to the nearby rail and Elizabeth Line station, both for residents of the new scheme and existing local residents.

The development will help to lace together the communities already based in Romford, by completing a missing part of the town centre. The mixed-use scheme will include commercial and retail units carefully selected to complement the existing shopping and leisure uses in the town, supporting Romford’s offer as a local destination.

image courtesy of Allies and Morrison

Stina Hokby, Associate Partner at Fletcher Priest Architects, said: “Bridge Close is a great example of the type of housing we need to deliver in urban centres, providing much-needed homes while creating new neighbourhoods that benefit the wider community, knitting in with the existing streets, and greening the area.”
“Critical to the success of this scheme has been our close collaboration with the London Borough of Havering, the other architects working on the scheme, the wider consultant team and the local community.”

Paul Eaton, Partner at Allies and Morrison, said: “It’s hugely positive that LB Havering is leading the regeneration of this important Romford town centre site. The project has been a great collaboration between the council and the design team and we are pleased to see our newly consented buildings playing their part in Fletcher Priest’s thoughtful masterplan.”

Tom Waddicor, Associate Director at Maccreanor Lavington Architects, said: “Bridge Close demonstrates how homes of all tenures and critical social infrastructure can be delivered at density whilst ensuring generous, high-quality amenity spaces for all uses. The new school offers an important civic focus as a stand-alone building, alongside an elegant mansion court of thoughtfully designed homes.”

Throughout the design and consultation period, the client and architects have held five public consultation meetings and engaged over 2000 residents and stakeholders. This includes engagement with the current Ambulance Station on a phased development approach to maintain operation throughout the construction process. The client team has worked closely with the Havering Islamic Cultural Centre currently based on the site, to support the Centre’s relocation and upsizing on a new site.

Bridge Close Romford Mixed-Use Development : Building Information

Project Team:

Client: Bridge Close Regeneration LLP, London Borough of Havering
Masterplanners: Fletcher Priest Architects
Architects: Allies and Morrison, Maccreanor Lavington
Landscape Architects: Spacehub
Planning consultant: Savills
Infrastructure engineering and environmental assessment: Stantec
MEP Consultants & Structural Engineer: Meinhardt
Daylight/sunlight: GIA
Inclusive design consultants: David Bonnett Associates
Fire consultants: Jensen Hughes
CDM advisor: AtkinsRealis
Project managers: AtkinsRealis
Commercial consultant: CF Commercial
Cost consultant: Gardiner&Theobald

Credits: Picture Plane, Allies and Morrison

Fletcher Priest Architects

Fletcher Priest is a 120-strong practice, a highly collaborative group of individuals led by a partnership group, with the shared ambitions to improve the lives of communities and the built environment.

Fletcher Priest was founded over 40 years ago, and we have consistently earned our reputation as trusted advisors to numerous clients and organisations. They return to us because of successful working relationships on projects and the insightful and pragmatic solutions we deliver.
We are known for the quality of our thinking and our open-minded approach, delivering thoughtful, considered and enduring strategies, and working collaboratively from urban design to architecture, interior design, and design research.

Fletcher Priest

Allies and Morrison

Allies and Morrison is a practice of architects and urbanists based in London, Cambridge, Manchester, Dublin, Jeddah and Toronto. We design beautiful buildings that have long life and can adapt over the generations. We also shape enduring places, new pieces of city or settlements at any scale. All our projects are concerned with the crafting of detail and an appreciation for the uniqueness of each context.

Allies and Morrison

Maccreanor Lavington

Maccreanor Lavington are architects and urbanists. with studios in London and Rotterdam. We design mixed use buildings, homes, schools, and pieces of the city for people to enjoy, contributing to communities by creating sustaining environments. Since its inception in 1992, the practice has won numerous competitions and awards including the RIBA Stirling Prize.

MacCreanor Lavington

Bridge Close Romford mixed-use neighbourhood, Essex images / information received 040925

Location: Romford, Essex, England, UK.