Ilford High Road
I have been working on a project on Ilford High Road.
Wikipedia says the name is in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ilefort and means ford over the Hyle; an old name for the River Roding that means "trickling stream".
Ilford is part of the new London Borough of Redbridge which was created in 1965 with the amalgamation of Ilford with Woodford and Wanstead. Ilford was an important rural settlement to the East of London on the junction of the River Roding and the Roman road from London to Colchester. Archaeologists have found Uphall Camp one of the most important centre's in Prehistoric London nearby on the banks of the River Roding at Ilford Lane. Uphall camp is nearby and it is a very significant part of pre-historic London - http://www.molas.org.uk/
The River was navigable to Ilford and the area's rural character changed in the 19th Century with industries based around the Roding, With the arrival of the Railway in 1839 it developed an industrial aspect. Plessey was one of the biggest early electronics factory, which made Radios for Marconi and was a target for bombing in World War 2.
The area has a strong multi-cultural mix with 10% of the population being Jewish, 6% Muslim, 6% Hindu and with Polish and Irish communities. Redbridge calls itself 'the leafy suburb' and has 10 underground stations.
The High Road is a mile long, and like many high streets it needs support against increasing retail shopping in Malls and on the internet. It has a large number of shops, including major brands. It is close to the Town Hall and an excellent Library and Museum, The High Road has a reputation, that seems not to be deserved, for being unsafe at night – this may partly be because the High Road is not a centre of entertainment (apart from shopping) and does not have many pubs and only a few small nightclubs.
Thoughts about regeneration of the High Road
Redbridge is part of the 'Better Barkingside' initiative which is supported by the Mayor of London and a high street regeneration scheme involving Mary Portas – nicknamed on TV 'Mary, Queen of Shops'.
http://www.ilford.towntalk.co.
never-ending
is cut into distinct section each with their own 'atmosphere'.
it has a 'gradient' from branded shops at one end, to second hand shops and cemetaries at the other end.
it has lots of small business offices above the shops.
I
think it would be a great place for business startups - get your
business started up now and then when the Cross Rail bandwagon comes to
town, clean up the profits.
Also I think is neither booming nor failing - it is very
utilitarian - useful rather than lovely - you come here to get things
done quickly you go elsewhere to linger or get prestige items.
There
are lots of human resources around, library, museum, town hall,
theatre, restaurants, shops, soliciters, tech firms, churches, temples
all of which have some need to reach out to the populace and interact
with them.
There is a lot of space in the middle of the road, lots of stage like rooftops.
To
my mind it is calling out for events along the middle of the road which
brings the businesses/public utilities into contact with the people.
Utilitarian meetings advice centres, drop in shops, cookery
demonstrations, street theatre, spirituality, yoga demos, meditation,
debates, sermons, dance, fitness.readings, object handling.
It needs a catalyst something in the dead section in the middle might join the 2 parts together? Or a festival, market by the shops, food near the
restaurants, a running track near the fitness centre, yoga medition near
the churches?
Wikipedia says the name is in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ilefort and means ford over the Hyle; an old name for the River Roding that means "trickling stream".
Ilford is part of the new London Borough of Redbridge which was created in 1965 with the amalgamation of Ilford with Woodford and Wanstead. Ilford was an important rural settlement to the East of London on the junction of the River Roding and the Roman road from London to Colchester. Archaeologists have found Uphall Camp one of the most important centre's in Prehistoric London nearby on the banks of the River Roding at Ilford Lane. Uphall camp is nearby and it is a very significant part of pre-historic London - http://www.molas.org.uk/
The River was navigable to Ilford and the area's rural character changed in the 19th Century with industries based around the Roding, With the arrival of the Railway in 1839 it developed an industrial aspect. Plessey was one of the biggest early electronics factory, which made Radios for Marconi and was a target for bombing in World War 2.
The area has a strong multi-cultural mix with 10% of the population being Jewish, 6% Muslim, 6% Hindu and with Polish and Irish communities. Redbridge calls itself 'the leafy suburb' and has 10 underground stations.
The High Road is a mile long, and like many high streets it needs support against increasing retail shopping in Malls and on the internet. It has a large number of shops, including major brands. It is close to the Town Hall and an excellent Library and Museum, The High Road has a reputation, that seems not to be deserved, for being unsafe at night – this may partly be because the High Road is not a centre of entertainment (apart from shopping) and does not have many pubs and only a few small nightclubs.
Thoughts about regeneration of the High Road
Redbridge is part of the 'Better Barkingside' initiative which is supported by the Mayor of London and a high street regeneration scheme involving Mary Portas – nicknamed on TV 'Mary, Queen of Shops'.
http://www.ilford.towntalk.co.
Although it has some of the characteristics of a normal High Street it has certain aspects that make it distinctive because it is
Ilford High Road has some potential to take advantage of ideas against the emergence of Clone Town and perhaps towards the Weird Town end of the spectrum.
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