Thousand of new homes and jobs could be created along the River Thames after The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson released a new planning guidance.

The draft London Riverside Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) sets out the planning, regeneration and design guidance that will lead to the creation of 26,500 new homes and up to 16,000 jobs across the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Havering, and a small part of Newham.

Sir Edward Lister, Deputy Mayor for Planning, said: “The capital is now home to a record number of people and we are working tirelessly to ensure we have the homes, jobs and transport infrastructure to support the city’s unprecedented growth. London Riverside can deliver genuinely affordable high quality housing for Londoners in a fantastic Thameside setting.”

The Mayor identified 38 Opportunity Areas across the capital, which are brownfield land sites that have significant capacity for new housing, commercial and other developments inked to existing or potential improvements to public transport.

The London Riverside Opportunity Area stretches from the Royal Docks to Rainham Marshes, a total distance of 12 kilometres.

The document, which is now open for consultation, sets out the Mayor’s strategic priorities and long term vision for the area over the next 20 years, how the area should evolve into a sustainable and successful part of the city and how it relates to the wider south-east.

In order to transform the London Riverside into a thriving new part of London, the planning framework discusses the importance of improved transport connections. This includes the potential extension of the Gospel Oak London Overground line, a new railway station at Beam Park; improvements to the A13 and new river crossings.

To view and comment on the draft London Riverside OAPF visit: https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/consultations/london-riverside-opportunity-area-planning-framework

The consultation will run until Wednesday, March 18th, 2015.