The 1,360-home Millwall outer dock waterfront plan will see the comprehensive redevelopment of the 6.15 hectare brownfield site, formerly occupied by his Northern & Shell publishing company’s Westferry Printworks.

Latest plans for the mixed-development have been scaled down slightly while around a third of the homes will now be affordable.

Thirteen buildings ranging from 4 to 31 storeys will be constructed in four phases over a total eight-year building programme.

The scheme also includes a 1,200-place secondary school, a rejuvenated dock front, over 2 hectares of public open space together with ground-floor shops, restaurants, community centre and workspaces.

The approval comes nine years after the controversial redevelopment was first submitted for planning to the Borough of Tower Hamlets.

The council previously turned down two planning applications for the site, with the latter submission called in by Government.

Then former housing secretary Robert Jenrick decided to give consent, overruling the Government’s own planning inspector’s decision to reject the scheme.

It was later revealed that Northern & Shell had donated £12,000 to the Tory Party two weeks after Jenrick gave the plans the green light.

The Conservative government later quashed this decision, stating that the plans would have caused harm to the surrounding area.

The professional team includes Mace as development manager, designs by architect PLP and MEP engineer Aecom with WSP acting as civil and structural engineer.

The 180-acre Brent Cross Town site is an £8bn mixed-use development in north London being delivered by Related Argent and Barnet Council which, when complete, will comprise 6,700 new homes, workspace for 25,000 people, schools, a high street, leisure spaces and over 50 acres of parks and playing fields.

The £275m student accommodation scheme will deliver 650 student beds with a planning application set to be submitted by the end of this year.

It will include expansive study areas, a digital competitive gaming zone where residents can play virtual sports including football, padel and tennis, as well as a health kitchen that includes a zero-waste shop, private dining, a yoga studio, a herb garden and relaxation pods.

It will be the seventh development on which Fusion and Cheyne have partnered and their second in Brent Cross Town.

Julian Evans, Land and Planning Director at Fusion Group, said: “Brent Cross Town is London’s most exciting new neighbourhood.

“As we continue our community engagement to ensure we can best contribute to the vibrancy of this neighbourhood, we’ll bring our decades of experience of developing residential assets in urban regenerations across the country to deliver another best-in-class student scheme as part of the town.”

Hamish Gordon of Cheyne Real Estate, added: “The student housing market continues to be driven by considerable demand, with a growing need for high-quality and well-located developments across the UK and particularly in London.”

Confirmation of Fusion’s second development continues the significant progress being made at Brent Cross Town, where seven buildings are under construction with the first residents moving into the town later this year.

The first office building, 3 Copper Square, is underway and will be completed in 2026. In total, over 930 homes, including affordable, market sale, and rental homes are on-site, alongside the first 662 student rooms in partnership with Fusion and Cheyne.

The first permanent public park, Claremont Park, opened in June 2022 and Brent Cross West mainline station, which opened in December 2023, connects with St Pancras International in as little as 12 minutes.

Brent Cross Town already boasts a selection of local retail and leisure offerings, and Sheffield Hallam University will open its first campus outside Sheffield at Brent Cross Town.

Both sides have been in discussions since May with an opening £650m offer rejected by Crest Nicholson.

But Crest Nicholson directors indicated last month they “were minded to recommend”an improved £720m offer.

But Bellway suddenly announced on Tuesday that “it does not intend to make a firm offer for Crest Nicholson.”

The brief Stock Exchange announcement added: “As noted in its trading update released on 9 August 2024, Bellway remains confident that its robust balance sheet and operational strength, combined with the depth and quality of its land bank, will enable Bellway to deliver volume growth in the years ahead and support ongoing value creation for shareholders.”

Crest Nicholson said: “The Board of Crest Nicholson had engaged with Bellway in relation to a possible all-share offer for Crest Nicholson in response to a series of unsolicited proposals from Bellway.

“As outlined in its half year results on 13 June 2024 for the period ended 30 April 2024, Crest Nicholson remains confident in its standalone prospects, in particular given conclusion of the review of provisions for completed development sites supported by external consultants, its highly attractive land portfolio and the new leadership of Martyn Clark.”