Seven Kings Community Hub

"Our vision for the Seven Kings area is for its strong, diverse communities to come together, share and support each other so that every resident can be safe, well and thriving in a cared-for environment."

Developed in partnership between residents, local organisations and Redbridge Council, the Seven Kings Community Vision aims to share the community’s ambitions for the future of Seven Kings, Chadwell, Goodmayes, Mayfield and Newbury.

The Vision paints a picture of the local area, its goals and priorities for change, and makes recommendations for how the council, residents, other partners and the new Hub should work together to shape the future of the Seven Kings area.

There are ten community goals identified in the Vision:

• increased sense of belonging to an area with a shared identity
• reduction in isolation, especially among older and younger people
• increased community spirit, with people looking after one another
• increased collective efforts to keep streets clean, tidy and inviting
• increased access to nature and green spaces
• improved mental health
• increased personal development, learning and growth for residents
• thriving high streets with fewer fast-food outlets
• reduced youth violence
• improved safety and respect for women and girl

The Seven Kings Community Vision requires that residents, community groups, faith leaders, voluntary sector partners and public services work collaboratively to provide a joined-up network of activities, services and opportunities to support residents to thrive.

You can read a summary of the document here, or the full report here.

Seven Kings residents joined forces with Redbridge Council to find solutions to community issues at an event at Krystel Banqueting Suite in Seven Kings.

Local residents, council services and community organisations came together to connect and learn how they could better support each other. Council departments present on the day included Revenues and Benefits and Community Health and Social Care. They shared and gained insight into the issues and barriers experienced by local people and partners.

Redbridge Council Community Hubs team organised the event to get people working together to tackle issues raised by local residents. The issues local people wanted to talk about included support for young parents and children, the cost of living, breaking through barriers of language and judgement, and connection.

The event resulted in some attendees receiving health and welfare support, funding opportunities for local community groups, new strong connections with local charities and partners, arranging for food to be provided for vulnerable individuals and volunteering opportunities. A Seven Kings Working Group will be set up by the Council who will work closely with this group to develop a local approach to supporting local people.

Local resident Hafiza Ahmed said: “I found the community gathering really meaningful and felt moved by all the work that gets done behind closed doors. I learnt that being involved with this kind of get togethers can be powerful!"

Event attendee Amana Basith added "The event showed us there is a need for more conversations and networking.”

Guests were generously hosted by Krystal Banqueting Suite, as well as partners such as the Greater London Authority’s Civic Futures Programme, Art Clubbers and KOREO.

This was the second Seven Kings community gathering, which looked to continue the conversations raised in the last event in September 2021 at the former Homebase site in Seven Kings. The insights gained across both events will feed into the development of the future Seven Kings Community Hub, which will provide residents access to services on their doorstep and a flexible space to run their own activities.

Get involved and keep updated with Seven Kings activities here.

Below is a photo gallery of the event:

Young people from Seven Kings have been awarded for their role in a youth co-design process feeding into the creation of the Seven Kings Community and Health Hub with Redbridge Council. The 10–16-year-olds provided their views on designs and functions of the new building planned for Seven Kings High Road.

The award ceremony at Redbridge Central Library saw the young people celebrate their achievements and the changes their opinions have led to. The event was attended by the young people and their families, Redbridge Council Chief Executive Claire Symonds and Corporate Director of Strategy Julian Ellerby, and architects Pollard Thomas Edwards Partner Patrick Devlin.

Thanks to all the young people involved. Your energy, enthusiasm and ideas have been invaluable.

Below is a photo gallery from the event:

Joins us Saturday 30th July at Krystal Banqueting Hall

Join us at an event where residents and council services will work together to find solutions to community issues.

Redbridge Community Hubs programme is redefining the relationship between the council and residents.
We have been engaging with the community in Seven Kings, enabling leadership and listening to what people want for the area.

We want to understand what type of spaces will help to connect groups and organisations with residents and the council to improve access to quality services.

The topics to be discussed are:

 Support for young parents and children.

 The growing impact of the cost of living.

 Breaking through barriers of language and judgement.

 Connection and communication.

This event is a collaboration between Redbridge Community Hubs, the GLA Civic Futures Programme, Art Clubbers and KOREO.

Register here to participate by Thursday 28th July 2022.

Young people from across Seven Kings have completed a youth co-design process to feed into the creation of the Seven Kings Community and Health Hub with Redbridge Council. The 10–16-year-olds met to share their aspirations for the Hub, and input their views and preferences on designs of the interior of the new building planned for Seven Kings High Road.

The Hub, which will act as a central access point for a range of community, cultural, health and council services in one location, is the first of the Community Hubs to be built as part of an exciting programme across the borough designing hubs with local residents.

From February 2022 to May 2022, the 31 young people met on six occasions to review and input into the plans. The group trialled an innovative interactive digital walk-through of the building, which allowed them to move around different parts of the building, change the interior from a range of options and feedback on their views.

They also debated the value of and decided on the creation of a dedicated youth-led space within the Hub, and fed in on how they might use the other spaces within the Hub. The young people visited the Hub site, and met councillors and architects. They will be accredited for their learning at a ceremony in June.

Seven Kings resident Harsh Tailor, aged 13, said: "The co-design sessions have been really fun. It’s the best thing I've ever done. At school when we are asked questions, they just want us to recite facts and what we've learnt off by-heart, but this is the first time I've been asked for my opinions and that they care about my opinion. It makes me happy to have an impact on where I live. It's great to have something I've said have a positive impact on society and to know I've done my part. My advice for anyone considering taking part is, don’t be shy, go headfirst into it!"

The youth co-design was the fourth phase of the Seven Kings community engagement, taking the number of residents involved in the process to over 1000. In previous phases local people have also decided on design priorities, how it will be run and what will be in the hub building due to be built on the car park and lorry site near Seven Kings train station.

Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal, said: "I want to thank all the young people involved in moving this exciting programme forward. Their participation has helped shape the new Hub and will benefit young people across Seven Kings. As a council we’re committed to involving young people in decision-making and embedding the rights of children in all our programmes as part of our work to make Redbridge a Child Friendly Borough.”

Aneeq Ansar, aged 12, said: “I've never done this type of thing before, but it was good experience that I can add to my CV. It will help me be more confident about this type of activity in the future.”

The Seven Kings Community and Health Hub will include library and children’s services. Redbridge Council is looking to hear from users of Seven Kings library and Thackeray Drive Children’s Centre to better understand how the moves could impact them. They are encouraged to complete the survey as part of the public consultation closing on 29 July.

View a slideshow of photos from the youth co-design.

The Community Hub team has kicked off its youth co-design process providing young people with a stronger voice on the design of the Seven Kings Community Hub. The 10–16-year-olds from across the Seven Kings wards are taking part in workshops until May. These will take place in a variety of locations including on the site of the Seven Kings Hub, the Town Hall and Redbridge Central Library.

The exciting co-design process will see young people inputting into designs, meeting councillors to learn about representation, and understanding the role of a Council and public servants in the democratic process. The youth insight and input will be used to inform the planning for the Seven Hubs Hub and ensure there are spaces for young people to use.

14-year-old Seven Kings resident Mohamed Tei Selmane said: “The co-design process has been interesting and we’ve worked on a diverse range of things. It’s really good to be part of something big, and to know that you're doing something for yourself and the community. I’ve appreciated being able to speak directly to the architects and people who will be able to affect change and design the hub, rather than have my voice communicated to them via someone else.”

The young people will also be flexing their creativity and producing videos of their experience of living in Redbridge and get the opportunity to showcase them. The group will explore how they can be involved in the area moving forward.

10-year-old Yusuf Muvarak said: “It’s been good to get an insight into the Hub and what it will be like, as well as to help plan it. I want to be an architect when I'm older, so it was useful to speak to the architects who gave us an insight into what they do. I learnt from them and now better understand important information about architecture.”

“Want to meet other people locally who are willing to take positive action, share skills and create a positive local community in IG3 (Seven Kings and Goodmayes)?

Thursday 18th November
6pm to 8:30pm

Community gathering
Rakesh Aji is hosting a short film followed by a discussion, which could lead to the creation of a local social and environmental movement called a ‘transition town’. He recently spoke about sustainable resources at the Seven Kings Community Gathering.

Transition Town's are a global movement made up of local people who are passionate to help each other. The project is formed and totally driven by the community. What happens in the name of the project is totally driven by your passion, your skill, your willingness to step up and take action to make this a better world for all.

Other transition town initiatives have worked on areas such as:

- Food sovereignty (up-skill each other to grow your own food at home or in community spaces, food buyers coops, etc).

- Community food growing (community gardens or biodiverse rich low maintenance community forest gardening).

- Energy (sharing energy saving tips, forming your own local energy company, simple household insulation, etc).

- Transportation (encouraging the use of bikes, better local green transportation, etc).

- Health and well-being (many activities to help improve our physical and mental well-being).

- Waste management (reducing waste/landfill/plastics, recycling, composting, etc).

- Community building (all projects are done in a way to foster deep friendships and community).

- Collaborating with the Council (Supporting their climate emergency initiatives).

Venue
Join Rakesh on the 18th November at Climate Emergency Centre in Seven Kings (former Homebase), 706-720 High Road, Seven Kings, Ilford, IG3 8RS.

Register for this event here

If you have any problems registering then contact rakeshaji@gmail.com or Shiyara.Pambinezhath@redbridge.gov.uk

Agenda for the evening
6:00pm Getting to know each other
6:30pm Short film
7:00pm Group discussion
7:30pm Action groups (small themed discussions)
8:00pm Feedback and next steps
8:30pm Finish

Food to share
We invite you to bring food to share. There will be a tea station and biscuits based on donations. We recommend bringing your cup/mugs.

Sign up to join Transition Town IG3
If you are interested in this project but cannot attend on the 18th, then please still fill in this form, but indicate at the end that you cannot attend. We will contact you to see how we can ensure your attendance for future events. https://forms.gle/dE8dbRJFchqX2rgH9

Facebook group
We have also set up a Transition Town IG3 (TTIG3) Facebook group for non-essential communication. https://www.facebook.com/groups/238309221647570

Or

Sign up on the Community Hubs website here for other future events in the community.

Local people in Seven Kings hosted an event bringing the community together to discuss and tackle local issues. The event, supported by Redbridge Council’s Community Hubs team, saw more than 60 people attend an evening of community speakers, discussions, and dance and musical performances on 30 September.

The event provided local people a chance to meet and celebrate together, hear about the biggest opportunities and issues in the community, and consider how people can work together to address them. The event, at the former Homebase site in Seven Kings and now a ‘Climate Emergency Centre’, included Indian dance by D Bolly, piano performance by Fabio and food from Asiatique to showcase local talent.

The discussion topics were selected by local people in their conversations with Redbridge Council about what was important to them. At the event, attendees heard presentations from residents and had the opportunity to discuss topics including the environment, sustainable resources, developing green spaces, youth violence and safe spaces for young people, developing the creativity of local people and violence against women and girls.

Seven Kings resident Hamza Mubarak said: “The event was a great opportunity to connect to others in the community, discuss important local issues and how we tackle them. I led a discussion about how to make the environment a safer and better place for young people by creating dedicated safe spaces in the community. It was useful to bounce ideas off each other and plan how they can be brought to life.”

The event was part of a programme of engagement around the Seven Kings Community Hub being developed, which will feed into the development and design of the Hub. Interested Seven Kings residents should register and sign up to the mailing list to be kept up to date with developments and the follow up workshops.

For those interested in being part of Hamza's safe havens for young people project, more details can be found on his Instagram page @safehaven.ldn

I am Leah.

I am 21 years old.

I am studying to become a primary school teacher.

Come along to the community gathering on the 30th September to hear what I have to say about abuse and harassment towards girls and women which can be verbal, physical, mental and sexual.