Pocket park plan for 'forgotten' Ilford river

A new path will connect Ilford Town Centre to the River Roding

A £3m regeneration scheme in Ilford will reopen access to the "almost forgotten" River Roding, developers say.

The Ilford Arrival includes a new bridge, pocket park and a riverside walk, which the mayor of London's office hopes will open up long-neglected public access to the river.

Kam Rai, leader of Redbridge Council, said the project "shows how regeneration can be done differently, through genuine partnership with our community".

Funding was granted by the mayor last August through the £12m investment scheme the Greater London Authority's Civic Partnership Programme (CPP).

The CPP targets suffering areas to "combat long-standing inequalities that have been exacerbated by Covid-19, the cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency".

The latest stage of development in the project involved consulting with a group of girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 25.

Mr Rai said: "By working alongside young women and girls, we're not only creating better safer places, but also building trust and long-term civic pride."

Daniel Rea, founding director of Periscope, which is designing the Arrival, said: "Redbridge is one of London's greenest boroughs and Ilford is blessed with the River Roding and the Roding Valley.

"But, as it stands, what should be a public amenity is almost forgotten."

Mr Rea added: "Too often regeneration is something that is done to communities, rather than with them. This approach gives them real agency."

Participants have met several times since April to discuss economics and perceptions of the town centre.

The council said its plan open up access to the River Roding and the surrounding Roding Valley will be decided on in summer 2026, "where a formal decision will be made based on the findings of a comprehensive feasibility study".