£200m Ocean Estate job set for next year

A site start looks likely early next year on a long-delayed £200m project to revamp one of London's most notorious housing estates, although only one bidder sent in a tender for the job.

Tower Hamlets council says it is likely that the group to undertake the work on the Ocean Estate will be appointed in December with a conditional contract signed early in 2010.

It is understood that only a consortium of Wates and Bellway plus developer First Base submitted bids after Lovell/Guinness Partnerships and a joint venture of Willmott Dixon's housing specialist Inspace, in tandem with the Circle Anglia housing group, both pulled out of the contest last year.

The final trio were whittled down from an initial list of seven bidders that included the Apollo Property Services Group and Connaught Partnerships.

According to Tower Hamlets: "The scheme is emerging from the last round of competitive dialogue. The procurement of large-scale schemes like this are complex and take time.

"Regulations have to be followed carefully to ensure compliance with European Union procedures."

The council has now finally given the green light for the scheme to go ahead, ending years of frustration for the hundreds of residents of the estate in Stepney.

Over the coming years, 350 outdated homes will be knocked down and replaced with approximately 750 new properties.

The regeneration programme will also see 1,200 existing properties refurbished, with new kitchens and bathrooms planned for around 800 of these.

The scheme will kick off with up to three blocks of housing demolished prior to the contract being signed, with the consortia potentially then having the responsibility for knocking down the balance.

Council leader Lutfur Rahman said: "The Ocean has already seen a lot of false dawns - sceptics will understandably think this is another one. But I am confident we can finally deliver a scheme that regenerates this iconic estate."