Boris Johnson just approved plans for 'a new village' in East London
Issei Kato / REUTERS
The Mayor's office said on Friday morning that Johnson has given green light to the building project in the east London borough of Newham.
A disused parcel depot will be bulldozed to make way for more than 3,000 new homes, as well as a park and a school on the 12 hectare site. 1,200 of the new homes will be "affordable."
Speaking about the project on Friday, Johnson said: "This huge chunk of disused land will be put to the best possible use, creating a whole new neighbourhood including 3,500 much-needed new homes, a new school and a park. This ambitious development will help to further the continuing transformation of east London as part of our Olympic legacy."
The site, on an industrial estate in the borough, will be developed by Berkeley Homes, one of Britain's largest housebuilders. Along with the homes and other facilities, there will be roughly 30,000 square feet of retail space.
Mayor of London's Press Office
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In October, Johnson announced plans for a so-called 'City in the East', a massive plan to built over 200,000 homes and major transport links along the Thames to the east of London.
As Johnson approaches the end of his tenure as London mayor - which has seen him bring the Olympics to London, and get stuck on a zipline - he has pledged to release all unused land owned by City Hall for development projects. Overall, the Mayor's office claims, around 50,000 new homes will be built on City Hall land.
Although the project has been approved by the Mayor, it still needs to get planning permission, and no building work is expected to start before 2017.
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