Havering Council has set out an ambitious plan to turn the borough into one of London’s leading investment destinations, unveiling a growth strategy that aims to create “London’s super suburb” by 2040.
The strategy, branded Havering 2040 – Creating London’s Super Suburb, was presented at the London Real Estate Forum 2026 at the Guildhall, where the council’s cabinet member for regeneration, Cllr Robert Whitton, told an audience of investors, developers and urban planners that the borough is “open for business”.
Speaking on a Local London panel titled Delivering the Capital’s Next Wave of Growth, Cllr Whitton outlined how the council intends to overhaul the way it works with the private sector, positioning the east London borough as a hub for investment, housing and commercial enterprise.
A single front door for investors
At the heart of the plan is a new Invest Havering service, described as a “one front door” for anyone looking to do business with the council. The unit will give investors and developers a single point of contact, removing the need to navigate multiple council departments.
Behind it, the council will align its planning and administrative functions with the Havering Growth Company, a corporate body with the capacity to advise on projects, invest directly, form joint ventures, carry out development work or step in as master developer on major regeneration sites.
Grow Havering and Build Havering
The strategy rests on two missions. Grow Havering is aimed at attracting investment, expanding the local economy and creating high-value jobs, while Build Havering will deliver new homes, infrastructure improvements and town centre regeneration.
The council also plans to designate Economic Growth Districts aimed at emerging sectors, including data and digital services, artificial intelligence, robotics, life sciences and logistics. The long-term ambition is to move outer London away from being seen purely as a commuter belt, and instead build a local economy where residents can live, learn and earn close to home – taking advantage of Havering’s position between central London and Essex.
What it means for residents and jobs
For people living in Havering, the strategy promises opportunity alongside disruption. Thousands of new homes across a range of tenures are on the cards, and town centres such as Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham could see significant change over the next 15 years.
The focus on high-value sectors such as life sciences, artificial intelligence and logistics matters. These industries typically create skilled, well-paid roles, and the council’s hope is that more of those jobs will go to local people, reducing the daily commute into central London. Small and medium-sized firms in the borough could also benefit from new supply-chain demand as development gets under way.
There will, however, be growing pains. Large-scale construction puts pressure on roads, public transport, schools and GP surgeries, and town centre regeneration rarely happens without upheaval. The real test will be whether infrastructure keeps pace with the cranes. Recent investment in the borough’s transport network, including the £67.4 million improvement works at Gallows Corner, shows the scale of the challenge ahead.
Havering’s place in East London’s growth story
Havering has long been something of an outlier among London boroughs: a sprawling outer-east suburb with market-town roots, straddling the capital and Essex. While investment has poured into regeneration projects in Stratford and the Olympic Park legacy areas over the past decade, outer boroughs have often struggled to attract the same level of institutional capital, held back by slow planning processes and a reputation as commuter territory.
The new strategy is an attempt to change that narrative, and it does not stand alone. Havering is one of nine boroughs in the Local London partnership, a sub-regional alliance covering 40 per cent of London’s total land area and 55 per cent of the capital’s developable land. The partnership’s Investment Prospectus, presented at the same forum, lists development opportunities ranging from localised schemes worth £30 million to strategic masterplans valued at more than £960 million.
Set against the wider east London housing push – where schemes such as 326 social rent homes for Ilford have been unlocking GLA grant funding – the Havering 2040 vision suggests the centre of gravity for the capital’s growth is shifting further east and further out.
What happens next
The strategy is a statement of intent rather than a finished blueprint, and much will depend on delivery. Establishing Invest Havering and bedding in the Growth Company will be the first visible tests. For now, though, the council’s message is clear: Havering wants to be talked about in the same breath as London’s established investment hotspots – and it is prepared to change how it does business to get there.
