Inward Investment & Enterprise

Home Inward Investment & Enterprise

Contact us

The Council's Inward Investment Unit (IIU) promotes the boroughs' development and investment opportunities, working with regional regeneration agencies, potential investors, property agents, architects, and property consultants. Contact our dedicated Inward Investment Unit to discuss your specific requirements.

Our Invest Ilford website, launched in 2011, won a national IT award in 2010. This investment resource provides information about Ilford the place, its excellent transport connectivity and much more. Also available is a virtual fly threw of the town centre and 3D animation with due diligence for over 20 development opportunity sites, together with planning briefs for a number of the sites.

Investment opportunities

Redbridge's commercial centres offer excellent investment opportunities to developers, investors or businesses seeking to establish or relocate their business.

Ilford - a metropolitan town centre, with a Crossrail station designation. Ilford has a progressive business community with Business Improvement District status.
Gants Hill regeneration initiatives include a £7.2m TfL urban development scheme publication of a development sites prospectus, Valentines Triangle (pdf 7.44 MB).
South Woodford - connected to the Central Line.
Barkingside - connected to the Central Line with excellent shopping and leisure. An improvement plan has been published by the Council outlining its plans for regeneration.
Seven Kings - Crossrail station designation.
Wanstead - connected to Central Line with excellent shops and restaurants.
Hainault - location of the Manford Way shopping centre and its Industrial Park is designated a Business Improvement District.

Town Centre Health Checks

The Planning Policy Unit carries out periodical checks against a number of indicators used to determine a town's economic health.

Ilford town centre Health Check (pdf 2.9mb).
Gants Hill town centre Health Check (pdf 622kb).
South Woodford town centre Health Check pdf 2.6mb).
Wanstead to follow shortly
Seven Kings to follow shortly
Ilford Lane to follow shortly

Business improvement districts

Hainault Business Park successfully achieved BID status in 2005. Businesses voted for a second 5 year term In March 2011.
Ilford Town Centre - successfully achieved BID status In 2009. The BID company has delivered many new town centre improvements.

A location of choice to International organisations

Bombardier, located in Ilford are a global transportation company, present in more than 60 countries, on 5 continents, operating across two sectors; Aerospace and Rail transportation. Bombardier operate from a maintenance depot for rail rolling stock, located in Ilford. A likely location for a future Crossrail depot.
Barnados, the UK's largest children's charity has its head quarters located in Barkingside.

Business advice and support

New or existing businesses can access free advice. Visit our Business advice and support pages.

The Council has engaged East London Small Business Centre to offer free advice, business counselling, training and possible access to funding to pre-start up businesses in the Borough.

Jobs & skills

The IIU's Enterprise team develops a number of schemes in collaboration with its partners, aimed at helping residents access training and employment opportunities, to raise skill levels and to address pockets of long-term unemployment in the borough. For details about how you can access free employment and skills workshops, visit our Work Redbridge pages.

Supporting 'enterpriseRedbridge', the economic group of the Redbridge Strategic Partnership.
Developing Apprenticeship schemes within the local business community.
Managing the Work Redbridge project, offering information and support to residents seeking employment, training and volunteering opportunities.
An Employment, Skills and Enterprise Plan (pdf 443kb) has been published.

Promoting Redbridge

We work with investment agencies, building design, development and business agencies to promote the borough. Ilford High Street looking East

Publication of a Gants Hill development sites prospectus, 'Valentines Triangle' (pdf 7.44 MB).
Launch of our Invest Ilford web site
Redbridge in the spot light - at the New London Architecture's Transforming the Boroughs' exhibition.
Publishing articles in the New London quarterly's property and design magazine.
North East London Strategic Alliance.
North London Business Ltd.
London Anglia Growth Partnership.

Shopping in Redbridge

Search our shopping website for retail and other businesses operating in our commercial centres.
Find out more about the 'Buy With Confidence' campaign which aims to encourage residents to use local shops rather than travel outside of the Borough.
The Redbridge Card covers leisure activities, general purchases and parking. Find out how to obtain a discount card and search for participating businesses in your area.

Visit Redbridge

Why not come and see why Redbridge is such a unique place, with two thirds of the borough consisting of green and open spaces with many parks and forests to explore. View our Visit Redbridge pages to plan your trip

Share this page: Was this page helpful?