Plans for one of the last remaining sites in the billion pound redevelopment of Paddington have been granted planning permission – clearing the way for one of the largest residential developments in the area.

Hundreds of new homes will be built in North Wharf Gardens on the former North Westminster Community School site after Westminster Council gave the green light.

All existing buildings on the site, which is bounded by the Westway to the north and North Wharf Road to the south, will be demolished and replaced with five buildings between 11 and 17 storeys in height.

A total of 434 residential units will be built, including 145 affordable homes, as well as offices, retail and business space, and areas for community use.

Cllr Alastair Moss, chairman of the council’s planning and city development committee, said: “This is a thoughtful scheme on what is a challenging site.

“The standard of the plans and the light it affords to the neighbourhood, despite the density of the scheme, push it well over the line.

“The quality of the housing is particularly strong and the designs set a high bar.”

The school shut its doors in 2006 with City of Westminster College occupying the site on a temporary basis until its new Paddington Green campus was completed earlier this year.

The Paddington redevelopment, which began in 1998, consists of 13 individual schemes including ‘the Cucumber’ – a 42-storey building in Paddington Basin which will be one of the tallest buildings in the UK.

Only two sites remain without planning permission – the Royal Mail sorting office on London Road and the ‘Triangle site’ currently being used by Crossrail behind Paddington Station.

Paddington Waterside Partnership chief executive Kay Buxton said: “We are only halfway there in terms of what has actually been built but we are almost there now with planning permission being granted.

“The school site is very big in terms of its volume. It really will make a huge difference to the amount of commercial and residential space that can be delivered in Paddington.

“Paddington is now an established new quarter in London with its own sense of place, where people live and do business.”

The school site is currently owned by the council with a buyer set to be confirmed in the coming months.