Work to commence on new £25m Romford leisure development

Building work is about to begin on the £25m retail leisure development in the heart of Romford town centre after Havering Council completed its land-swap deal with Morrisons.

​The scheme aims to regenerating the area and provide competition-level sporting facilities for the entire borough.

In November 2015, the council entered into a supplemental contract with Morrisons, which required the foodstore to complete demolition works on the Western Road site with the aim of handing the land back to the Council by April.

As this has been completed, the Council is now working with the contractor, Willmott Dixon, in preparation for construction of the leisure development.

Contracts were completed on Thursday 31 March, giving Morrisons the land of the old ice rink site on Rom Valley Way in Romford.

Willmott Dixon, will begin surveying and preparing the land on Western Road this week, with building work on the leisure development expected to start in the early part of May.

Councillor Roger Ramsey, said: “This is a very proud moment for Havering residents, who have waited an awfully long time for this news. The development will secure competition-level ice-skating and swimming for future generations, and provide first-class fitness facilities for all.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank residents for their patience, especially the London (Romford) Raiders Ice Hockey Club, and all the parents who are taking their children to other ice rinks with the old rink closed. We are aiming for the development to be complete by early 2018.”

Chris Tredget, managing director of Willmott Dixon in North London and the Home Counties, added: “This is a fantastic project to work on and will leave a real legacy in the local community. We have seen how much effect leisure schemes have on local propensity and also generating income for councils as people flock to use the facilities. This will bring huge opportunity to Romford and we are delighted to be working for the council to deliver this scheme.”

The development involves a number of partners, including Sport England, which has put £2m into the project, Saunders Boston chartered architects, CBRE property consultants, and Sweett, which provides services for the construction and management of building projects.