Town centres have always been crucial to growth and prosperity.  Ilford, with a current resident and visitor population of over ¾ million is poised to renew and regenerate. With new transport systems, high quality housing, retail and leisure facilities, Ilford will provide the impetus for wealth creation and prosperity for all of Redbridge.  With your help and support, we are determined to promote Ilford as an exciting, vibrant and cosmopolitan town centre in which people will seek to live, work and invest.

Our thirty-year plan for Ilford town centre

Ilford Town Centre is relatively prosperous and currently has a catchment population of nearly ¾ of a million people. A population surge is expected in the next ten years due to its strategic position within Thames Gateway. It is vital it expands it's services and enhances it's status accordingly.  New housing will be especially important. Development of 250 residential units in the town centre is already underway and additional development of some 180 units per year is foreseen for the next 15 years

We have set ourselves ten objectives for Ilford's future:

1. Perform Metropolitan and Local Roles. To fulfil it's role as a Metropolitan Centre in the context of the London Plan and - as Redbridge's main centre - Ilford needs to provide a wider range of quality services as well as retail
2. Serve Thames Gateway and East London. Ilford should become a leading town centre, attracting visitors and users from the whole Thames Gateway area
3. Be known for it's urban quality. The centre must be distinctive from other centres in East London, in the quality of it's environment and in it's mix of uses, services and facilities
4. Introduce new uses and facilities. Ilford needs to continue to provide opportunities for housing, leisure, cultural facilities, hotels, restaurants, business and conference facilities as well as related education and community services
5. Develop specialist retail and markets. As well as increasing it's mainstream retail, the centre also needs to expand its specialist shopping and provide opportunities for specialist markets and festivals
6. Improve access and connectivity. We need to address comprehensively the issues of congestion, access to car parks, and location of bus stops and improved provision for pedestrians and cyclists
7. Improve urban space, approaches and streetscape. We need to improve the environment and strengthen the identity of the centre through public spaces, clear gateways to the centre, a strong treatment of street layout and design, and active frontages on ground floors
8. Build civic pride. We must strengthen the confidence in the future of Ilford as a major part of the life of the Borough and to enable civic and social life to be expressed more fully in the town centre
9. Create a unique physical catalyst.  The early implementation of a significant element of physical change to the fabric of the town centre could assist in making clear our commitment to the strategy and encourage further investment/development
10. Strengthen town centre management. Town Centre Management, pioneered in Ilford, plays a major role in the current success of the centre and will need increased funding and extended terms of reference to support the implementation of the strategy.