Ilford Town Centre Regeneration
The London Borough of Redbridge regeneration team develop physical & economic projects,
supporting partnerships with local, regional and national agencies, accessing external
funding, integrating services and projects.
Town centres have always been crucial to growth and prosperity. Ilford, with a current
resident and visitor population of over ¾ million is poised to renew and regenerate.
With new transport systems, high quality housing, retail and leisure facilities,
Ilford will provide the impetus for wealth creation and prosperity for all of Redbridge.
With your help and support, we are determined to promote Ilford as an exciting,
vibrant and cosmopolitan town centre in which people will seek to live, work and
invest.
Our thirty-year plan for Ilford town centre
Ilford Town Centre is relatively prosperous and currently has a catchment population
of nearly ¾ of a million people. A population surge is expected in the next ten
years due to its strategic position within Thames Gateway.
It is vital it expands its services and enhances its status accordingly. New housing
will be especially important. Development of 250 residential units in the town centre
is already underway and additional development of some 180 units per year is foreseen
for the next 15 years
We have set ourselves ten objectives for Ilford's future:
- Perform Metropolitan and Local Roles. To fulfil its role as a Metropolitan Centre
in the context of the London Plan and - as Redbridge's main centre - Ilford needs
to provide a wider range of quality services as well as retail
- Serve Thames Gateway and East London. Ilford should become a leading town centre,
attracting visitors and users from the whole Thames Gateway area
- Be known for its urban quality. The centre must be distinctive from other centres
in East London, in the quality of its environment and in its mix of uses, services
and facilities
- Introduce new uses and facilities. Ilford needs to continue to provide opportunities
for housing, leisure, cultural facilities, hotels, restaurants, business and conference
facilities as well as related education and community services
- Develop specialist retail and markets. As well as increasing its mainstream retail,
the centre also needs to expand its specialist shopping and provide opportunities
for specialist markets and festivals
- Improve access and connectivity. We need to address comprehensively the issues of
congestion, access to car parks, and location of bus stops and improved provision
for pedestrians and cyclists
- Improve urban space, approaches and streetscape. We need to improve the environment
and strengthen the identity of the centre through public spaces, clear gateways
to the centre, a strong treatment of street layout and design, and active frontages
on ground floors
- Build civic pride. We must strengthen the confidence in the future of Ilford as
a major part of the life of the Borough and to enable civic and social life to be
expressed more fully in the town centre
- Create a unique physical catalyst. The early implementation of a significant element
of physical change to the fabric of the town centre could assist in making clear
our commitment to the strategy and encourage further investment/development
- Strengthen town centre management. Town Centre Management, pioneered in Ilford,
plays a major role in the current success of the centre and will need increased
funding and extended terms of reference to support the implementation of the strategy.