Publication Date: 23-12-2025 09:00
Bellway’s expertise in regeneration is recognised as Hornchurch development is a finalist at three national awards
Bellway Thames Gateway has been recognised for its expertise in the regeneration of brownfield sites, with St George’s Park in Hornchurch chosen as finalist in three national awards this year.
The housebuilder has revitalised the former St George’s Hospital site – which had stood empty since 2012 – into a new community of 356 new homes, with funds from the £40 million sale channelled back into NHS services, and one of the former hospital buildings repurposed as RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre.
Bellway’s work at St George’s Park saw it selected as a finalist for Development of the Year at the Resi Awards, which were held in May, in the Best Regeneration Initiative category at the Housebuilder Awards in November, and for Excellence in Regeneration at the Property Week ESG EDGE Awards in the same month.
Work at St George’s Park was completed this year, but Bellway’s focus on regeneration continues elsewhere in the London Borough of Havering, where the purchase of redundant education and healthcare sites has unlocked further funds for new local services.
At Roe Wood Park in Harold Hill, Bellway’s Thames Gateway division is delivering 120 new homes in a joint venture with Mercury Land Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Havering Council, on the former Quarles Campus of Havering College.
Work has also started at The Comptons, where the developer is building 96 new homes on the former Harold Wood Hospital site in Romford.
Richard Burrows, Managing Director for Bellway Thames Gateway, said: “Our purchase of the land for St George’s Park provided a welcome boost to NHS funds and enabled us to realise our plan to transform a brownfield site, which had stood unused for six years, into an attractive neighbourhood of modern, energy-efficient homes set alongside green open space.
“Our creative design approach respected the special significance of the site for local people not only as a former hospital and a landmark featuring distinctive buildings, but also because it was used as accommodation for RAF personnel from neighbouring RAF Hornchurch during the Second World War. We carefully renovated heritage buildings and donated the hospital’s former ambulance building to Hornchurch Aerodrome Historical Trust, which ended the group’s 30-year search for a permanent base and ensures the site’s history will live on.”
The regeneration projects currently underway at Roe Wood Park and The Comptons are also bringing benefits for the local community.
Richard said: “As with the St George’s Park project, our work at Roe Wood Park and The Comptons is testament to our company ethos to provide support for communities where we build, and these projects have unlocked valuable funding for education and healthcare.
“At Roe Wood Park, the sale of the former Quarles Campus has already helped fund the college’s new Construction Infrastructure Skills and Innovation Centre (CISIC) in Rainham, which opened in 2023. Meanwhile, the new residential neighbourhood is bringing new investment, affordable housing, jobs and a new 3.4-acre park to this part of Romford.
“The Comptons will see us regenerate another redundant brownfield former NHS site – formerly Harold Wood Hospital’s Long-Term Condition Centre – and deliver a mix of both private and affordable homes. We are providing 23 parking spaces for the neighbouring NHS Harold Wood Polyclinic as part of the project, while through the planning agreement and Community Infrastructure Levy, we are investing more than £1.3 million into local services and facilities, including secondary education.”
Bellway Thames Gateway is also playing a significant role in the Ebbsfleet Garden City regeneration scheme in Kent, with developments delivering more than 600 new homes at Harbour Village, on the site of the former Northfleet Cement Works in Northfleet, and more than 200 homes at Ebbsfleet Cross at Garden City, on the former Croxton and Garry Quarry in Swanscombe.
For more information about the new homes that Bellway Thames Gateway is building across London, Essex and Kent, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/thames-gateway.
