Boris Johnson just approved plans for 'a new village' in East London

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has approved a major east London development that will create "a whole new neighbourhood."

The Mayor's office said on Friday morning that Johnson has given green light to the building project in the east London borough of Newham.

A disused parcel depot will be bulldozed to make way for more than 3,000 new homes, as well as a park and a school on the 12 hectare site. 1,200 of the new homes will be "affordable."

Speaking about the project on Friday, Johnson said: "This huge chunk of disused land will be put to the best possible use, creating a whole new neighbourhood including 3,500 much-needed new homes, a new school and a park. This ambitious development will help to further the continuing transformation of east London as part of our Olympic legacy."

The site, on an industrial estate in the borough, will be developed by Berkeley Homes, one of Britain's largest housebuilders. Along with the homes and other facilities, there will be roughly 30,000 square feet of retail space.

Berkeley's chairman and co-founder said the development will totally transform the area. "Stephenson Street will be a new village for London. It will have all the qualities that a successful community needs: shops, workspaces and a school, links between neighbours, a beautiful park where people can play and great transport connections. Above all, this site will create homes for people regardless of their age, background or income. It will be a place for everyone."

The Mayor's office has approved several big development projects in London recently. Last Friday, Johnson gave developers Knight Dragon permission to completely transform the Greenwich Peninsula in east London into what it called "a new district for London." That project will create more than 12,000 new homes for Londoners.

In October, Johnson announced plans for a so-called 'City in the East', a massive plan to built over 200,000 homes and major transport links along the Thames to the east of London.

As Johnson approaches the end of his tenure as London mayor - which has seen him bring the Olympics to London, and get stuck on a zipline - he has pledged to release all unused land owned by City Hall for development projects. Overall, the Mayor's office claims, around 50,000 new homes will be built on City Hall land.

Although the project has been approved by the Mayor, it still needs to get planning permission, and no building work is expected to start before 2017.

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