Communities and Local Government has awarded the London Borough of Redbridge the sum of £2.3 million to help realise a transformation of the area.

Awarded via the Growth Area Funding (GAF) initiative, the sum will be used to acquire land as part of a broader project to overhaul local planning, with a new landmark public square and improved street design.

One element of award-winning forward-thinking plans, the local authority will revamp Unity Square and install a new Town Square, which will assimilate the cultural quarter of Ilford, with the larger Redbridge area, complete with 5,500 new homes.

Progressive Ilford, as the vision is known, won the Mayor of London’s Planning Award for “the best conceptual regeneration project contributing to the future of London” and plans for Unity Square won £2 million in GAF funding last year.

“This is an important project for Redbridge, helping to support continued housing and economic sustainable growth for the town,” said Baroness Andrews, the Lord’s minister for housing and planning, commenting on today’s announcement.

“This is a significant milestone in a larger project of transforming Unity Square and the wider Ilford and Redbridge area,” she added.

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