Homes England has approved a £124m funding package to unlock more homes to deliver vital infrastructure at Barking Riverside in east London.

The vast 443-acre brownfield site formerly occupied by Barking Power Station, is one of the country’s most ambitious placemaking projects with the aim to build 20,000 homes.

The vital infrastructure funding will unlock the building of another 16,500 homes on the site to complement the 3,500 already built or under construction by housing association L&Q and house builder Bellway.

Funding agreed by Homes England is a combination of loan and grant funding and will help master developer Barking Riverside Limited (BRL) – a partnership between L&Q and the Mayor of London – to prepare the land including flood defence work and the construction of an energy centre and parks.

Future homes built at Barking Riverside will be powered by a low carbon District Heating Network.

The site’s current planning consent for 10,800 homes was originally approved by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in 2008, however it’s since been identified that the site could house up to 20,000 homes, with a minimum of 35% of these being affordable.

Once completed, Barking Riverside will be served by seven new schools. Five have already been completed, including two primary schools, a secondary school and a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school.

Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England, said: “Delivering the government’s target of building 1.5m homes will require support and collaboration from across the housebuilding sector.

“At Barking Riverside there is potential to literally build more homes – and more affordable homes – in a place where they are desperately needed.

“And that’s why we’ve stepped in, providing funding to deliver vital infrastructure, unlocking more land, so that our partners can build even more homes for the people of east London to enjoy and be proud of.”

Tom Copley, the Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development, said: “Barking Riverside is an exemplary new town that is transforming east London with state-of-the-art new homes, community facilities, transport links and green spaces.

“I’m delighted that £124m has been secured to help unlock 20,000 new, high-quality homes. This will help support the mayor’s plans to boost homebuilding across London and build a fairer, more prosperous city for everyone.”

Matthew Carpen, managing director of Barking Riverside, said: “The support from Homes England will enable this project to move into a new era – increasing the level of ambition and unlocking housing at the scale needed to truly make an impact.

“We are excited to make our new masterplan a reality, which would not be possible without a number of important partnerships. Fundamentally, this funding from Homes England ensures that Barking Riverside can remain delivery-focussed and resilient despite a challenging market.”