Blog
Posted 5 years ago
The new community space will be on the ground floor of the courtyard building on Site 2, fronting the new public green area. It will be a 740 square metre flexible space. There will be opportunities for activities to ‘spill out’ into the public green area when the weather is good. Though several ideas have been suggested, there are currently no agreed proposals for how the space should be laid out and used.
Before we make any decisions about what should happen in the community space, we wanted to understand what facilities and services exist in the area. During our public engagement that took place earlier in the summer, before the planning application, we carried out two surveys relating to the community space, and have used the results from this to inform our suggestions in the survey below. Alongside this, we have also been meeting with local stakeholders and service providers to understand their thoughts on what is needed at this location.
One suggestion explored by the architects following initial consultation is a hybrid space that could be used for a diverse mix of uses, ensuring the centre:
Potential activities that could take place in this space include:
Opportunities and Constraints
The space will have its own connection to the loading bay at the rear, but there is no space available for parking, aside from 6 accessible parking spaces on Site 2. This prevents the space being used as a doctors’ surgery or health centre (as parking is required for these). The Council is very aware that there is strong local demand for a new primary health care facility and is working hard to try to identify a suitable local site for this. Because space is limited, we think that this space is probably unsuitable for use for sports, though exercise and gym activities could be possible. 
Architect’s idea of how the space could be divided
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please share your priorities for the proposed community space in the survey below.
In addition to online engagement around the use of the community space, we are also holding an in-person event at Lea Bridge Library on 23rd November from 4pm – 8pm.