Covid-19 Economic RecoveryA statement of intent for our investment partners

Juniper House

Hill Group – who will reopen our Juniper House schemein Walthamstow.Taylor Wimpey – Score Centre in the South of theborough.Engie – a key partner in delivering our Sixty Bricksschemes.Countryside – who plan to reopen the Feature17 estaterenewal scheme in Wood Street, in June.

Construction companies are key to this ambition. Weunderstand tough decisions have been made to adapt toan unknown future. We are now seeing a welcome andcautious re-opening of many construction sites, followingrecent Government guidance. In our borough this includes:

Vistry (formally GallifordTry) – has confirmed it will reopen Blackhorse Mills (the L&G Build to Rent scheme).Willmott Dixon – has maintained activity throughout this period.

our dedicated COVID-19 webpages on the Council website. the Government’s financial business support scheme, which sets out what is available to support businesses.

held our first near virtual Planning Committee on 31 March 2020, enabling remote access with new technology. TheScore Centre project in Leyton, received a resolution to grant planning. This council partnership scheme with TaylorWimpey, will see the construction of 750 new homes, 50% affordable housing, along with a leisure offer, healthfacility, transformational public realm and cultural space, plus new commercial retail space.we held our next virtual Planning Committee on the 5 May 2020, under new Government rules and approvedseveral key schemes, which will all lead to construction activity.

Construction sector support We are providing local support to our businesses, including many contractors, who have approached the council. This isthrough:

ConfidenceTo provide confidence that we remain “Open for Business”, we:

Council led developmentsOn 23 April 2020, the Council’s Cabinet approved over half a billion pounds budget for a Capital Investment Strategythat will see key council led schemes and infrastructure brought forward to help the future prosperity of the borough.This ambition will require significant partnerships with the construction sector.

Construction support letter, from Waltham Forest Council Open for BusinessWaltham Forest continues to deliver on its key development, planning and economic growth ambitions; we are open forbusiness. Delivering large and small-scale developments across the borough, remains a key priority in ensuring inwardinvestment with new homes and jobs for our residents, the local economy and London.

A message from Member for EconomicGrowth and Housing Development

Cllr Simon Miller

W.hile there can be little doubt that

Covid-19 poses challenging times

for the development industry, we

have seen on numerous occasions how our

private sector partners have overcome economic

adversity and worked closely with us as a local

authority to deliver for Waltham Forest.

Over the years, our relationships have been

built on mutual confidence in one another, and

we know by working in partnership and adopting

a reciprocal approach that plans for building the

homes and developing the infrastructure our

residents need will not fall by the wayside.

To ensure our ambitious programme remains

on track, we worked closely with partners to

reactivate development projects as soon as it

was safe to do so, while prioritising the safety

of workers on our construction sites. This has

enabled work to restart on all previously paused

building projects. These projects will deliver 600

homes – more than half of which will be affordable.

The safety of those on-site is the most

important consideration, and we will work

together with our development partners to ensure

all those returning to work adhere to the strictest

social distancing measures and follow the clear

guidelines for safe working on our buildings sites.

Waltham Forest has accelerated its recovery

plans and is carefully planning for the future

economic consequences of Covid-19, evidenced

by innovations such as our Online Planning

Committee, where we approved 750 homes for

The Score development in Leyton. On 26 June,

our ‘Doing Construction Business in Waltham

Forest’ event will be targeted towards SMEs in

this sector, with further interactive investment

sessions to follow.

Our capital investment programme, worth over

half a billion pounds, will enable us to refocus

and re-imagine our major development schemes,

to ensure we deliver the best outcomes for our

residents in the context of ‘the new normal’.

This exciting programme of investment includes

plans which will help shape our cultural legacy

and our major schemes have the potential to

deliver around 5,000 homes, 50% of which will be

affordable.

As we enter uncertain times, Waltham Forest

remains a place with significant opportunities

for investment and in which our partners can be

confident of success. By further strengthening our

working relationships, we can ensure our borough

remains a great place in which to live, work and

do business, but we can only do this by working

with those who share our vision. We invite you to

join us on the next, exciting phase of delivering for

our residents.

W.ith plans for 18,000 homes

identified for delivery in the Waltham

Forest Local Plan, the Council

understands the need for urgency to restart

development projects which have been put on

hold during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Projects in 2020 account for more than 600

new homes, 350 of which will be affordable. Such

is the need to ensure these projects stay on track,

we have introduced fast supplier payments to our

contractors and subcontractors to offer support

in what we know has been a difficult financial

period.

We are looking to accelerate our Council

housebuilding programme by bringing forward

sites to deliver over 700 homes (350 of which

will be affordable). Our focus is on increasing the

delivery of affordable homes in Waltham Forest

and the Cabinet has approved the preferred

investment approach to regenerate the Avenue

Road Estate, potentially delivering 550 homes. We

are looking to start community-led housing pilots

to maintain pace of delivery and exploring new

technologies to deliver homes faster – considering

how modern methods of construction and

industry innovations can support this.

Engagement and consultation are critical

elements to understanding how we can deliver

for our residents, and we will be increasing

our virtual reach to ensure residents can stay

engaged with new projects. We know the needs

of residents have been affected by Covid-19 and

in particular, we are having to adapt the way in

which we work. Homeworking is set to become

more commonplace in the wake of the pandemic,

and new developments should enable this

functionality, while offering outdoor space for

people to enjoy.

ForewordCllr Simon Miller, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Housing Development

Housing and development

Above: The Motion housing development in Leyton

Our housebuilding programme will continue to deliver investment opportunities over the coming months. Check investwalthamforest.com for details. A full Invest Waltham Forest Investors’ Brochure with live opportunities will be issued in July.

A .critical element to success has been

.our ability to continue making key

.decisions during Covid-19. We are proud

to have set up a virtual Planning Committee

using technological innovations, where we have

approved around 1,000 homes, half of which

will be affordable. This includes The Score

development in Leyton, with 750 homes planed

(350 affordable), supporting 200 new jobs.

A virtual cabinet meeting led to the approval

of a capital investment programme worth over

half a billion pounds in April. Council-led projects

through this will cement a cultural legacy in

Waltham Forest after the borough’s successful

year as the first ever London Borough of Culture.

We will be seeking planning permission to create

a local comedy theatre with a national profile at

the historic former EMD Cinema site in June and

continuing work to repurpose our Town Hall

Campus for housing and a community hub.

Our combined major schemes have the

potential to deliver around 5,000 homes across

the borough, 50% of which will be affordable.

Elsewhere, we continue to work with our NHS

partners to deliver a new ‘world class’ hospital at

Whipps Cross and a community of 1,500 homes .

Our vision is a development programme that

delivers the greatest return on investment for our

residents and businesses.

Decision making and Capital Investment programme

Transport

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we are

working closely with London’s key

transport providers, including Transport

for London (TfL) and Network Rail, to ensure

people can use the networks safely and that social

distancing measures are effectively in place.

To support new housing and development,

it is essential we invest in new and sustainable

transport infrastructure to improve the network

and accessibility of our major growth areas in

Waltham Forest.

While Covid-19 may impact our immediate

capability to invest in transport infrastructure such

as Leyton and Walthamstow Central Underground,

we will continue to lobby Government and find

creative solutions to bring forward planned

investment with potential partners.

Right: Leyton Station

Opposite: Plans are moving ahead to create a

new comedy theatre at the former EMD Cinema site

Further details of our capital investment and pipeline opportunities can be found at investwalthamforest.com

▶ More information about connectivity in Waltham Forest

locally self-sustaining and self-supporting, with

local people and local businesses coming together

to make the borough an economic success story.

Reimagining, repurposing and reviving our high

streets will be critical in achieving this.

Meanwhile use for our vacant and public

buildings provides an opportunity to boost the

local economy and invest in cultural events and

initiatives to enliven the high street and ensure

they remain prosperous, accessible and enjoyable

for all.

T.he financial strain faced by businesses

.during Covid-19 is significant and we

.recognise that there will be incidences

where some have to completely change the way

they operate and others will have to cease trading

altogether.

Our strength is in the diversity and shared

ambitions of our business community. As well

as offering financial support through Covid-19

, our business support programme, Forge - in

partnership with Creative United - is delivering

workshops, one-to-one coaching and networking

events and enabling access to strategic plans for

growth and sustainability. The Council is working

hard to further strengthen its offer for our

businesses.Our next steps will include launching a

toolkit to help businesses with creative planning,

introducing a free employment support including

a ‘Rapid Employment Service’ to get people

back into work and developing a business startup

support scheme to kick-start new businesses.

It is critical that we offer support for our young

people and we will achieve this by increasing

access to our Adult Learning Services to develop

new skills and further opportunities through our

Opportunity Bank to take up apprenticeships and

develop careers.

Re-opening the high street

Support for businesses

Above: Signature Brewery in Blackhorse Lane

Opposite: Walthamstow High Street

A.s the high streets reopen in Waltham

.Forest, protecting businesses and

.residents by ensuring social distancing

measures and other Covid-19 guidelines are

adhered to is our top priority. Planning creative

uses for vacant spaces and enabling safe trading

will help support our high streets bounce back in

the wake of the pandemic.

We will work with our businesses to attract

customers and visitors. There is a need to kickstart

local economic growth and this is a role for the

local authority. We want our new economy to be

▶ More information about businesses in Waltham Forest

▶ More information about businesses in Waltham Forest

Days which saw people turn out in their

tens of thousands to events during

Waltham Forest’s year as the first ever

London Borough of Culture in 2019 may seem

like an increasingly distant world the longer the

Covid-19 lockdown continues. But there can be

no greater testament to our cultural success story

than the memory of how the community came

together last year through music, dance, art and

performance.

C.ulture remains at the core of life in .Waltham

Forest, and we will continue to .invest in our

assets and people, pushing ahead with our plans

to create a comedy theatre in one of our most

historic venues – the EMD Cinema – and nurturing

Ensuring Walthamstow Wetlands and our

network of parks have remained open to

the public for exercise and wellbeing during

Covid-19 has been challenging, but we are a

borough that recognises that open spaces play a

vital part in residents’ lives.

Waltham Forest has successfully encouraged

people to walk and cycle by developing the

necessary infrastructure and safety measures

during the last decade. Enabling sustainable

travel is high on our agenda – we have delivered

around 30km of safe cycle routes across the

borough. Elsewhere, we are adapting the

recommendations of the Climate Emergency Culture and heritage

Climate and open spaces

young talent through initiatives such as our Future

Creatives programme.

As well as supporting 30 organisations through

the Council’s new Virtual Culture Programme,

we are planning to re-open our cultural spaces

and venues (such as the William Morris Gallery,

1 Hoe Street and Vestry House) once it is safe to

do so.

We are developing and getting ready to launch

an arts and events programme for 2020 and

2021, which is open to our residents and show

the unique strengths of Waltham Forest.

Commission so that its outcomes support a post-

Covid-19 environment .

Our vision to continue ensuring we protect

our environment includes supporting job

opportunities for the low carbon sector , building

energy efficient homes and developing a package

of support which enables residents and employers

to implement energy efficiency measures in their

homes and local businesses.

Right: The Engine House at Walthamstow Wetlands

Opposite: William Morris Gallery during Waltham

Forest’s year as the London Borough of Culture in 2019

▶ More information about culture in Waltham Forest

▶ More about Waltham Forest’s Climate Emergency Commission.