Barking and Dagenham council have taken a major step forward in their bid to transform the borough into a ‘digital and media powerhouse by purchasing a business park in the region.
The council purchased the London East UK Business & Technical Park in Rainham Road South from the SOG Group for an undisclosed sum.
The 17-acre London East-UK site was part of the former Sanofi pharmaceutical plant before the firm moved out in 2014 and is currently occupied by around 42 small businesses.
The council are planning to redevelop the site, building a new major film studio and a data centre, with the redevelopment expected to create thousands of jobs in the area.
John Lewis, Head of the SOG Group said Dagenham’s regeneration story was an example to the rest of the country on how private and public sectors could work together for the benefit of the community, and a 10-year plan to rejuvenate the location will have been achieved in half the time.
Mr Lewis said: “I’m immensely proud of the role SOG has played but it is now time for a bigger organisation to take over the reins.”
“With all the ongoing fallout over Brexit and the major job cuts being announced in the car and nuclear power industries, it is important to acknowledge how we are actually reversing that trend.”
The council led organisation, Barking and Dagenham Trading Partnership (BDTP), will oversee the site’s management with no planned redundancies.
Barking & Dagenham Council Leader Darren Rodwell said: “This is a brilliant regeneration opportunity that we are investing in on behalf of the borough.
“We are not coming in here to change things but we are coming to continue the development of this fantastic business park.”
