Community shapes Seven Kings Hub

Residents have been working with Redbridge Council to shape a new 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 and GP services, for Seven Kings, Newbury, Mayfield, Goodmayes and Chadwell.

Redbridge Council’s community hubs programme is partnering with local people to integrate different services, like GP surgeries, and facilities, like libraries, under one roof, and provide a place where residents can come together to run activities. The hubs will be tailored to local needs and improve the quality of services for residents.

The ‘Seven Kings Hub 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 will go to Cabinet on Thursday (11 February) for approval and then 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 resulted in between 600-700 residents shaping the Seven Kings Hub to date.

Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal, said: "The Seven Kings Hub is progressing well and I’m excited by its potential. We want community hubs to become the heart of our local neighbourhoods, places where people can meet, study, visit their GP or just relax in a community setting. The hubs will bring services together in one place, so they’re more accessible for local people. 

“We’re running in-depth co-design events so local people are involved in creating their own hubs from the very beginning: designing with the community for the community. This project is an important part of our plan to give residents more power over decisions that affect their lives and help preserve our services for the future.”

The Seven Kings Hub is one of five hubs planned across the borough, in addition to a new civic centre in Ilford. A co-design group of 40 residents for the Gants Hill Hub also met at the end of 2020, and developed ten principles to shape the design of the hub site.

Find out more and how you can get involved, please visit: https://letstalkredbridge.uk.engagementhq.com/community-hubs