Newham Council is set to provide supported housing for young adults, as decided at the Local Development Committee meeting on Monday, 24 November 2025. The committee approved a planning application for a change of use to supported accommodation at 46 Clova Road in Forest Gate. This initiative aims to reduce homelessness in the borough, where an estimated 1 in 22 people are currently homeless, living in temporary accommodation or on the street, according to the Council's Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy (2021-2026). The new accommodation will provide additional support to help young adults develop independent living skills.
The proposal, submitted by the London Borough of Newham, involves converting the property into eight accommodation units for vulnerable single young adults aged 18-25, including care leavers. Data analysis from Children's Social Care indicates that 30 adult care leavers could potentially benefit from the facility. The Homelessness, Prevention and Advice Service has also identified approximately 140 single young adults in temporary accommodation under Newham Council's care who were accepted as a priority because of their vulnerability.
The supported accommodation will offer therapeutic support and 1:1 keywork sessions. The site is located in an area of townscape value and an employment hub. To ensure the safety and well-being of residents, a draft Management Plan and Local Area Risk Assessment were submitted as part of the application for 46 Clova Road. These documents outline service user identification, service types, site security, safeguarding policies, health and safety, and staffing. The provider will be selected from the Council's list of pre-approved providers who meet safeguarding, quality, and price standards.
The Local Area Risk Assessment also considers local factors such as crime data and potential hazards to manage risks in the surrounding area.
Proposed conditions for the development include a detailed management plan covering several key aspects:
- Maximum occupancy levels at any one time
- Site security and access arrangements
- Facility staffing arrangements
- Refuse and Recycling Management arrangements
- Restrictions on noise levels including amplified music
- Procedure for managing potentially challenging behaviour of service users
- Procedure for managing potential detrimental impacts upon surrounding residents in respect of noise and disturbance, anti-social behaviour and crime
- Procedure for managing complaints, and methods of making a complaint, for local residents/members of the public.
The Local Development Committee, chaired by Councillor James Beckles, also discussed other planning applications, including proposals for a hotel, extra care units, and industrial buildings. Councillors Liz Cronin, Sabia Kamali (Majority Group Assistant Whip), Femi Falola, Larisa Zilickaja, Nur Begum, Salim Patel, Mohammed Muzibur Rahman, Syed Bashar, Anthony McAlmont, Imam Haque (Vice Chair of Council), and Mehmood Mirza (Leader of Newham Independents Group) were in attendance.
Other matters discussed at the meeting included:
- Approval of the minutes from the meeting held on 6 October 2025. Minutes of Previous Meeting
- Advice from the Head of Legal Services regarding determining planning applications.
- Announcements from the chair.
- Determining the date of the next meeting.
These other events and decisions will be covered in other stories.
