Seven Kings Hub takes shape

The residents ‘Seven Kings Hub Design Group’ have been working with Redbridge Council to shape a community hub for Seven Kings, developing proposals for how it should be run and plans for the interior.

The plans include a new large library, GP services and a place where residents can come together to run activities, for Seven Kings, Newbury, Mayfield, Goodmayes and Chadwell.

The Design Group consists of 35 residents from across Seven Kings who were independently selected as representatives for the area. They have been meeting via online workshops since October, looking at how the hub should be run, as well as its detailed design and layout.

An innovative partnership model was proposed, which would see the establishment of community leadership in the hub supported by Redbridge Council and local partners. Activities in the hub would be led by a joint team of residents, community enterprises, health services and charities in collaboration with the council. The proposal go to Cabinet on 11 February for approval and then will be further developed during the year with residents and partner organisations.

Residents sought the views of their friends and neighbours, and built on the work undertaken previously with residents and partner organisations to decide the overall design for the hub. This has resulted in between 600-700 residents shaping the Seven Kings Hub to date.

Photo: Architects image of how the café space could look. Credit to Pollard Thomas Edwards architects.