Barking Riverside to be a Healthy New Town

Barking Riverside has been selected as a Healthy New Town as part of a flagship NHS England programme to dramatically improve population health, and integrate health and care services as new places are built and take shape. 

Working alongside the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, we have access to leading experts to bring the very best from research, learning and policy to the community at Barking Riverside as it continues to emerge. 

As only one of ten towns across the country to be selected and the only one in London we need the local communities help to ensure it is a huge success.  Each of the Healthy New Town sites is an area with significant housing development, presenting a unique opportunity to shape the health of communities, and to rethink how health and care services can be delivered.

Healthy Town, healthy lifestyle

Longer, healthier, happier lives for you and your family

It is important that to live a long, healthy and happy life, we build strong communities and healthy places for us to live in and our children to grow up in. Did you know that good urban and housing design promotes healthy lifestyles and can help prevent illness? It can also help older people to remain independent and healthy, supported by the latest technology to live in their own homes rather than in care homes. 

Barking Riverside has much to offer 

Age friendly and healthy for all who live & work there

Barking Riverside is the largest housing development site in East London and over the next 15 years 10,800 new homes will be built here. The Barking Riverside Healthy New Town initiative will make it easy for residents to live healthy and independent lives and have better local care when they need it. It will be a place which is age-friendly and healthy for all who live and work there. 

It will provide a brand new neighbourhood, including new schools, health centres, places of worship, community and sports facilities, open spaces and parkland. The development will also re-connect residents and visitors with over 2km of spectacular Thames waterfront.

Help us build your Healthy New Town 

Tell us what you want for you and your family

We need your help to create and develop your ideal community and a place that you feel proud to live in, and others aspire to move to. We want to work with you to learn more about what a Healthy New Town means to you and share your feedback with Planners and Housing Developers to create your healthy town. Share your thoughts and feedback with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.​ and keep up to date with our progress here.

Our 10 “healthy new town principles”

At Barking Riverside, we aim to design and deliver interventions which increase healthy life expectancy, reduce health inequalities, and support inclusion and healthy ageing for all those living and working in the locality. As an important first step, 10 'healthy new town principles' have been established. These are based on existing borough policies combined with evidence of what works in healthy place-making.

Our healthy new town principles are:

1. Actively promoting and enabling community leadership and participation in planning, design and management of buildings, facilities and the surrounding environment and infrastructure to improve health and reduce health inequalities. 
2. Reducing health inequalities through addressing wider determinants of health such as the promotion of good quality local employment, affordable housing, environmental sustainability and education and skill development.
3. Providing convenient and equitable access to innovative models of local healthcare services and social infrastructure, with the promotion of self care and prevention of ill health.
4. Providing convenient and equitable access to a range of interesting and stimulating open spaces and natural environments ("green" and "blue" spaces) providing informal and formal recreation opportunities for all age groups.
5. Ensuring the development embodies the principles of lifetime neighbourhoods and promotes independent living.
6. Promoting access to fresh, healthy and locally sourced food (e.g. community gardens, local enterprise) and managing the type and quantity of fast-food outlets
7. Encouraging active travel, ensuring cycling and walking is a safer and more convenient alternative to the car for journeys within and without the development and providing interesting and stimulating cycle/footpaths.
8. Creating safe, convenient, accessible, well designed built environment and interesting public spaces and social infrastructure that encourages community participation and social inclusion for all population groups including: older people, vulnerable adults, low income groups and children.
9. Embracing the Smart Cities agenda by incorporating and future-proofing for new technology and innovation that improves health outcomes across a range of areas both at an individual level and also within the public realm.
10. Ensuring workplaces, schools, indoor and outdoor sports and leisure facilities, the public realm and open spaces are well designed in ways which promote an active and healthy lifestyle, including regular physical activity, healthy diet and positive mental health.
    
    Should you be interested in learning more, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.