The scheme is being brought forward by Barratt London in joint venture with land owner Morrisons supermarket and will see the homes delivered across eight buildings alongside 300,000 sq ft of shopping space and a small amount of office space for business start-ups.

Allies and Morrison is the overall masterplan architect and designer of five of the eight blocks, with the remaining three blocks by Piercy & Company and Niall McLaughlin Architects.

The existing Morrisons supermarket and petrol filling station on the site will be demolished and replaced as part of the 3.3ha redevelopment plan.

The whole of the supermarket site will be heated by a communal heating system, with the main gas-fired heating plant located in a dedicated Energy Centre located in the undercroft of Block A.

Block B, designed by Allies and Morrison, will contain a mix of shops and flats

Block C is primarily a residential building with gym on the ground floor

Tide Construction, with funding from investor Greystar, is planning to build the 44 and 38-storey scheme on the former Essex House site near to East Croydon station.

The 546-flat towers scheme will be worth over £150m and will be a trailblazer for modular construction methods.

Presently, the tallest prefabricated building in the world is a 32-storey block in New York.

Tide is both a development and contracting company, and has delivered several projects in recent years using its off-site manufacturing system, Vision Modular Systems.

Enabling works for the twin tower scheme are already underway at the Essex House site in East Croydon

VMS has delivered factory built homes for both Pocket and Greystar in recent years. Tide claims its modular based building programme often results in a 60% time saving, compared with conventional construction schemes.

Christy Hayes, chief executive of Tide Construction said: “This project is a huge milestone for both us as a company and for modular developments as an innovative, modern method of construction.

“This development emphasises the true potential of modular construction as a genuine solution to the UK’s housing crisis, where high-quality homes can be delivered at pace in sought after urban areas. Both the government and industry are realising the benefits of modular construction, with 101 George Street being a pivotal moment for modular construction in the UK.”

Tide developed the 28-storey Apex House, featuring 558 rooms, in less than a year. That development, in Wembley, is currently the tallest modular tower in London.