05 Jul Housebuilder launches Abbey Quay in Barking, a new £350 million (GDV) 6-acre riverside urban village
Housebuilder Weston Homes has launched Abbey Quay in Barking, a new £350 million (GDV) 6-acre riverside urban village providing 1,089 new one, two and three bedroom apartments of mixed tenure, all with their own private balcony or terrace, alongside 22,281 sqft (2,070 sqm) of commercial and leisure space which is planned to include a new pavilion restaurant, local shops, cafés, gymnasium and community hub. Abbey Quay is complete with pedestrian promenades, tree-lined avenues, stunning vistas, public artwork and landscaping.
At Abbey Quay Londoners are being provided with some of the most competitively priced high quality affordable housing in the capital, with private sale apartments priced from £327,000 for a one bedroom apartment, with local residents living or working in the Borough able to apply to purchase a Discount Market Sale apartment, priced from just £275,000 for a one bedroom apartment.
For first time buyers wanting to take part in Abbey Quay’s off plan sales launch Weston Homes has a First Time SecureBuy scheme which enables a purchaser to secure the home of their choice, at today’s price, for just a £500 reservation fee and a 5% deposit upon exchange. Should the value of the property increase during construction the buyer will only pay the price given on the day they secured their property, and six months before build completion they can apply for a mortgage and complete the purchase of their new home.
Weston Homes is launching Abbey Quay from a 6,000 sqft state-of-the-art two storey glass fronted sales and marketing suite. Inside there is a dramatic double-height atrium space featuring a 2.7 metre square scale-model of the completed Abbey Quay with a video wall behind providing an animation of the homes and lifestyle provided by the urban village. There is also a coffee bar, lounge seating area and private meeting rooms.
Steps lead up to a mezzanine floor which has a dressed two bedroom show apartment which is based on an actual apartment layout and is complete with a step out balcony which overlooks the atrium space and marketing suite below.
Taking its inspiration from the colours of the adjacent Abbey Green park and River Roding, the Abbey Quay show apartment has been interior designed by Felicity Stevens of Haus Interior Design. Bordered by full height glazing opening onto the generously sized step out balcony, the living and dining area has a fully kitted open plan kitchen complete with two spacious bedroom suites, both with fitted wardrobes and ensuite bathrooms.
To one side of the show apartment is the Choices Suite where buyers can choose from a new collection of kitchen, bathroom and bedroom fixtures, fittings, finishes and colours, alongside door, tiling and flooring finishes, enabling them to customise the look and styling of their apartment to their personal taste. To the other side is a History Suite, created in consultation with a local Barking historian, with graphics showing the history of the site, along with a display of historic artefacts, dating back to the Roman, Saxon and Medieval periods, found on site during an archeological dig, prior to construction works starting.
Providing riverside living at its very best, Abbey Quay has been masterplanned to provide a new riverside centre for Barking. Abbey Quay directly overlooks the River Roding, a tributary of the River Thames, and is bordered by London Road and Abbey Road, overlooking Abbey Green park, just a short walk from Barking’s mainline and London underground station.
Designed by award winning architectural practice Broadway Malyan, Abbey Quay consists of striking contemporary buildings , ranging from seven to 29 storeys, providing 1,089 apartments consisting of 737 private sale and 352 affordable housing homes including affordable rent, shared ownership and Discount Market Sale tenures. Dunstan Place and Erken Plaza are the first two apartment buildings to be built and launched in phase one of the development.
The buildings combine expanses of glazing with brick facades of contrasting colour with features including recessed and projecting balconies; balustrades designed as artwork to reflect the heritage of the local area; and public artwork commissioned by local artist Susanna Wallis in the form of large-scale murals etched into the brickwork of building facades, the illustrations making reference to Barking history.
Loxford Plaza, a large public square overlooking the river, is the centre of the urban village with a pavilion restaurant, outdoor seating and river views. Central to life at Abbey Quay is the village Community Hub, with its concierge service, comfy seating areas and flexible leisure spaces. This is where residents can work on their laptops, join in with a joga class or wine tasting event or meet with friends and colleagues. Maker’s Yard, is a second pubic square, bordered at ground level by employment space for creatives and business start-ups, complete with cafes and space for outside exhibitions and market/deli stalls.
All the elegant apartments at Abbey Quay feature contemporary, open-plan living areas, opening onto step out balconies, complete with bespoke designer kitchens and luxury bathrooms, all finished to the highest specification with modern London living in mind.
The homes offer a premium fully inclusive specification and are equipped with superfast full-fibre broadband. The contemporary kitchens by Oakwood Kitchens have quartz stone worktops and upstands, a wide range of integrated appliances and stainless steel sink with integrated removable chopping board, tap with hose-spray extension, instant boiling water tap and neat integrated soap dispenser. The bathrooms have Arctic white suites, walk-in Fascino smart showers or bathtubs, heated towel rails, integrated vanity storage, a mirror with de-mist feature and a choice of floor and wall tile colours and finishes.
Bob Weston, Chairman & Chief Executive of Weston Homes says: “Abbey Quays is a new waterfront urban village adjacent to Barking Town Centre which brings aspirational and affordable waterfront living to Barking. Delivering striking new buildings, riverside public spaces and new retail and commercial facilities, the new community will provide much needed affordable housing for Londoners and compliment the existing town centre.”
