According to plans, the sale of the land on Ripple Road to shopping centre manager Lagmar (Barking) Ltd will “facilitate redevelopment” of the site.
Council officers are recommending that leaders approve the sale “due to the significant regeneration benefits a redevelopment of Vicarage Field will bring to the town centre”.
The council owns the freehold of the site but leases it to Lagmar, which is owned by global investment fund PineBridge.
A report set to be considered and voted on next week (Tuesday, September 16) says both the council and Lagmar want to regenerate the site.
It describes Vicarage Field as “an inward looking, mono-use facility not fit for a modern town centre”.
The report says redevelopment could create a “wider mix of town centre uses” on site “with a radically improved public realm”.
It also suggests the redeveloped site would have fewer shops, but potentially more bars and restaurants. The report says: “The changing nature of retail inevitably means the new scheme will have less retail provision than the existing shopping centre.
“The focus is on ensuring a viable and diverse and therefore sustainable commercial offer which becomes a destination for residents reflecting its important prominent town centre location.”
It adds: “Improving the food and drink offer for Barking town centre is central to enhance the town centre’s overall offer and will be critical in retaining residents’ spending power within the borough.”
The report also suggests the redevelopment would have a “significant residential” element including a hotel, new homes and possibly student flats.
It says: “Significant build to rent residential use, a hotel and potential student accommodation can improve viability as part of the mixed-use scheme.”
Previous plans to redevelop the site fell through in 2022. The plans relied on the council acquiring adjacent land via a compulsory purchase order, but the Planning Inspectorate overturned this.
Lagmar has told the council it is willing to invest in designing a new scheme and securing planning permission.
But it says the length of its lease – which has 63 years remaining – is limiting its ability to attract funding and investors to redevelop the site. Lagmar has asked the council to buy the freehold so that it owns the site outright.
The report says: “PineBridge’s advisors have identified parties interested in a number of the proposed uses. However, all investors have raised the structure and short length of Lagmar (Barking) Ltd’s lease as an impediment.
“To move forward and invest in the planning, PineBridge are seeking to enter into a purchase agreement with the council to buy the freehold interest.”
If leaders agree, the council would sell the site after Dagmar secures planning permission and the time limit for a judicial review has passed, a contract to begin the first phase of works has been signed, and all third party rights have been resolved.
Details of the likely sale price have been kept confidential. But the council says it has commissioned an independent valuation to confirm the price is above the site’s current value, which the council says is £1.47million.
