Description
Heath Park Estate was built in 1951 for Dagenham Council at the time of the Festival of Britain, and its design reflects the new ideas for urban housing then prevalent. Architects Norman & Dawbarn won a Festival of Britain Award for the estate, which was laid out on 39.3 acres of land. It provided 279 dwellings in a mixture of cottages and 3, 4 or 5-storey blocks of flats with areas of open space, lawns and gardens to provide a sense of spaciousness. At the north end of the estate old people's cottages were set around a green. Heath Park Open Space provided 6 acres of amenity space near the community centre.
Practical Information
| Site location | Heath Park Estate, Rusholme Avenue/Uvedale Road, Dagenham |
|---|---|
| Postcode | RM8 |
| What3Words | ///puppy.outfit.poems |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Barking & Dagenham |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted to public areas of estate |
| Facilities | Children's play area |
| Public Transport | Tube: Dagenham East, Dagenham Heathway (District) then bus. Rail: Romford then bus. Bus: 103. |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ493862 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.23 |
| Site Ownership | LB Barking & Dagenham |
| Site Management | Parks & Countryside Ranger Service |
| Dates | 1951 |
| Designers | Norman & Dawbarn |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Barking & Dagenham |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Central Park was laid out on a site purchased by Dagenham Borough Council in 1928, and opened in 1932; facilities included a putting green, miniature golf course, pavilion and tennis grounds. The Civic Centre opened in October 1937 with its Council Chamber overlooking the park, which since 2017 has been converted to a university run by the Coventry University Group.
Extensive plans for the park, including formal planting near the Civic Centre, were disrupted by WWII and never completed. Facilities added over the years include the Old People's Garden, a children's playground (1952), and a new Bowling Green. A Memorial Garden was opened in 2006.
Extensive plans for the park, including formal planting near the Civic Centre, were disrupted by WWII and never completed. Facilities added over the years include the Old People's Garden, a children's playground (1952), and a new Bowling Green. A Memorial Garden was opened in 2006.
Becontree Heath, probably the meeting place of the Saxon Hundred Court, was ancient commonland, and the area remained rural until the 1920s. Although much is since built over, some remains as open space. In 1931 a portion of the land was transferred to Dagenham UDC by Special Act of Parliament, extinguishing common rights, and was levelled, drained and planted for public recreation, opening as Central Park. The land north of Wood Lane was largely used for allotment gardens in the C20th, but by 1971 Wantz Boating Lake had been created to the south. The open land today is used for school playing fields, children's recreational facilities and a golf club, which uses the former boating lake as an Aqua driving range, the only one of its kind.
Valence House was once the manor house for the largest estate in Dagenham. The present building is early C17th and stood in 5 acres of gardens and orchards, surrounded by a moat. In 1921 the London County Council purchased Valence lands for the Becontree Housing Estate but in 1926 leased then sold the house and immediate grounds to Dagenham UDC; it now contains the Council's Museum and O'Leary Gallery. Fragments of the north and east edges of the grounds survive, as does part of the angle of the moat; the grounds have C19th Holm oak and yew, and a period-style Herb Garden opened in 1992 in the former Victorian kitchen garden. In 1926, the LCC laid out 24 acres of the old Valence lands as a public park, two-thirds for informal recreation with open space, grass and some trees. Various facilities were provided, a bandstand and formal planting, but the majority has now gone, including its open-air swimming pool, which closed in 1971.
