Wanstead Youth Centre

Redbridge Council is proposing to deliver a new Education Hub at Wanstead Youth Centre, securing its future for use by generations of children, young people, and local community groups.

The building dates from the mid 1940s and requires significant structural work to bring it up to a good standard. In April 2022, a survey of the building revealed that essential repairs were estimated to cost £2.4 million. Moreover, the centre, which used to host private events, incurred a loss of nearly £90,000 from 2022 to 2023.

With council budgets under significant pressure, following a decade of government austerity reducing grant settlement funding by over half, Redbridge Council has had to innovate to find a way to fund repairs to the centre, while offsetting operating costs.

In September 2023 Redbridge Council published a report recommending a way forward for the centre, which includes the delivery of education services, a tuition centre, and an Early Years Play and Development Centre, alongside shared community use.

The proposals include renovating the building and co-locating education services to create an education hub serving the west of Redbridge. Additional funding would be secured through the council's Education Service to deliver the scheme.

The building on Elmcroft Avenue was temporarily closed to outside hirers in October 2023, so surveying works could begin. This work is ongoing.

Redbridge Council's leisure partner, Vision RCL, who previously managed the centre, worked with businesses and groups previously hiring space at the centre to help them relocate to alternative venues. Kids In Charge, a childcare service which was based at the centre, has now moved to Nightingale Primary School.

In November 2023, Redbridge Council published a follow-up report, seeking approval to proceed to public consultation on the Education Hub proposal. This was agreed at the Cabinet meeting on 29 November 2023. This report provided a full business case for the proposal, setting out how the building could become financially sustainable in the long-term, whilst maintaining ongoing community use at evenings and weekends. The full report is available in the downloads section of this page, alongside the feasibility study showing a high-level indication of the proposed new floorplan.

Redbridge Council is now consulting with the community, to hear the views of local people. Please fill in the short survey below to help shape the future of the centre.

Redbridge Council is also organising public engagement events. To find out more about the proposal and ask any questions, please join us at any of the three public engagement sessions on the following dates:

• 23 January at 18:00 - In person
• 1 February at 18:00 - In person
• 8 February at 18:00 - In person
• 15 February at 18:00 - Online (Link to the online meeting)

The meetings will be attended by representatives from the Council’s Education & Inclusion Team, who will be able to explain the detail and reasoning behind the proposals. The meetings will be held at the Centre itself:

Wanstead Youth Centre

144 Elmcroft Ave,

London E11 2DB

All interested parties are welcome at these meetings and there is no need to pre-book.