London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council establishes Be First to boost economic growth and meet ambitious targets for new homes, better infrastructure and jobs.
The move was recommended in the recent Borough’s Growth Commission’s report. This included 109 recommendations on areas such as housing, culture and heritage, and urban design, and included the suggestion of establishing a borough-wide regeneration company.
The company will be commercially driven but wholly owned by the public sector and managed by a board of regeneration experts from the private and public sectors. It expects to make £16m for the authority over the next 10 years.
The council will continue to make final decisions on planning applications and to approve strategic plans and policies, while the company will offer strategic services, pre-planning services and project delivery as well as setting up joint ventures and other special purpose companies to deliver regeneration. Be First is expected to start trading in October 2017.
View the full story and the Growth Commission’s report
