Swimming pool and school plans for Ilford town centre
Ilford High Road. Picture: Ken Mears - Credit: Archant
Proposals have been drawn for a swimming pool and school in Ilford.
Redbridge Council is looking at plans for a leisure centre complex, including gym and multi-screen cinema for the town centre.
Leader of the council, councillor Jas Athwal said as the Elizabeth line comes to the borough he is hoping to create a space that primarily residents can enjoy but also a scene that external people will be attracted to visit.
“Ilford is a deprived area and we want to give residents more opportunity as well as encouraging others to spend money,” he said.
“To do that, we need more infrastructure and these plans are not just about leisure facilities but a whole cultural quarter - we are also looking at a school.
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“Work has already started on re-jigging the gyratory system and planting more trees by the A406 so all the infrastructure can be easily accessed.”
Redbridge Council exclusively told the Recorder about the proposals after they announced that work will start on a third entrance at Ilford station to accommodate a projected increase in commuters living in the borough.
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“With 6,000 new homes being built by 2030, multi-million-pound improvements to the town centre (are) currently underway,” Cllr Athwal said.
As part of the proposals for the cultural quarter, the council is also looking at extending the Kenneth More Theatre to attract world-class companies and revamp the library, but the specific details for these two projects have not been finalised while the council go over the designs.
Leader of Redbridge Conservative Group, Councillor Linda Huggett said she will support the administration in their plans if they are best for Redbridge residents.
“He is repeating what he said in his Labour manifesto, and we will make sure that he can deliver on his pledges,” she said,
“We will be holding him to account but we will continue to work together for what is best for the borough and Redbridge residents.
