Ilford News
The latest Ilford news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Redbridge Crime Figures: Wanstead Shoplifting Up 173%
Recorded violence in Redbridge rose 12.5% in the year to August 2026 and shoplifting 27.5%. Wanstead Village had the biggest rise of the 22 wards, all ranked.
More stories
What's On
Ilford Ratha Yatra 2026 (Past): Chariot Parade, 4 October
The Ratha Yatra chariot leaves Valentines Park at noon on Sunday 4 October for Redbridge Town Hall. Free festival to 5pm; rolling closures on Cranbrook Road.
Bins
Redbridge Food Waste Bins Reach Every House by December
Every Redbridge house not yet on food waste collections joins in November or December. Letters land October to November. Flats come later, separately.
Housing
Harrison Gibson Ilford: Work Starts on 326 Social Rent Homes
Work has started on the empty Harrison Gibson store on Ilford High Road: 326 homes, every one for social rent, after two earlier schemes for the site stalled.
Water
Thames Water Outage: Redbridge Asks Firm to Face Scrutiny
Redbridge councillors want Thames Water to answer in public for August's Woodford burst mains. Next scrutiny meeting: 30 November. What else Full Council agreed.
Business
New Ilford Businesses: 60 Companies Formed in Two Weeks
60 new companies registered in Ilford from 21 August to 4 September, from a bakery to an arts studio. Plus the Redbridge firms in this month's Gazette notices.
Council
Redbridge Council This Week: 17 Objections in Goodmayes
A Goodmayes food hall's alcohol licence bid, opposed by 17 residents, is heard on 1 October. Schools Forum shares £230,500 for falling rolls that morning.
Wanstead
Wanstead School Petition: 2,179 Names Debated Tonight
Councillors debate the Wanstead High School and pool petition at 7pm tonight. Officers recommend they simply note it, and the pool still has no agreed design.
Planning
Redbridge Planning: No More Call-In From 31 October
Three neighbour objections or a councillor's call-in can force a public planning hearing today. From 31 October neither can. Councillors vote on it tonight.
Traffic
Cambridge Park Yellow Box: £868,954 in Fines Since 2023
Redbridge has issued 13,329 tickets at the Cambridge Park and Blake Hall Road box junction since 2023. Adjudicators keep allowing appeals against them.
Planning
Ilford Town Centre Plan: 6,000 Homes, 784 Built Since 2018
The new plan for Ilford wants 6,000 homes by 2050. Its own audit says 784 were built after 2018 and half of tall schemes are stalled. Comments close 30 October.
Jobs
Redbridge Claimant Count Up to 12,735 as London's Falls
12,735 people in Redbridge claimed out-of-work benefits in August, up 350 in a month. Only 11 of London's 33 boroughs rose, and Redbridge rose the third fastest.
House Prices
Redbridge House Prices Fall 2.7% to £481,297 in July
The average Redbridge home lost £13,153 in a year to July, the third monthly drop in a row. Last month's 3.6% rise has also been revised down to 2.5%.
Schools
Redbridge Plans 330 Fewer School Intake Places by 2031
Redbridge wants 150 fewer Reception and 180 fewer Year 7 places as rolls fall. Closure is a last resort, but 23 of its 54 maintained schools ran a deficit.
Ilford
Kenneth More Theatre Reopens in December After £1m RAAC Fix
Ilford's Kenneth More Theatre reopens in December, two years after RAAC closed the auditorium. More than £1m spent, but the panto is still a foyer show.
Hainault
New Rush Hall School to Grow From 80 to 140 SEND Places
Redbridge's only SEMH special school has 103 pupils in 80 places. The council has approved a statutory notice to take it to 140 from September 2027.
Planning
Hermon Hill, South Woodford: 124 Object to 9 Flats
Officers recommend approval of nine flats and a shop on the old Fir Trees pub site despite 124 objections. Redbridge Planning Committee decides on 16 September.
Planning
Ilford HMO for 24 Ran Unlawfully From April 2024
A former Ilford children's home has housed up to 24 people without permission since April 2024. Officers now recommend approval at the 16 September committee.
Redbridge Council
Redbridge Parking Permits: £39.50, Lowest in London
Independent benchmarking found Redbridge charges London's lowest resident permit. Its own review now wants emissions pricing and the borough's first car pound.
Redbridge Council
Redbridge CCTV: 820 Cameras, 456 Arrests in a Year
A report to Tuesday's committee counts 820 cameras, 5,770 incidents and 456 arrests captured in a year. Two in five were spotted by operators, not reported.
Licensing
Goodmayes Snooker Club Faces Losing Licence on 7 September
Redbridge's licensing team wants the Goodmayes Snooker Club licence revoked over alleged unlawful gaming machines. Police agree. Hearing 7 September.
Housing
Redbridge Supported Housing Needs to Rise 47% by 2030
Redbridge projects support needs among homeless households up 47.1% by 2030. A 12-week consultation on its first supported housing strategy opens in late October.
Wanstead
Wanstead High School: No Contractor as Term Starts Thursday
Redbridge admits the collapsed contractor's work fell short, and apologises. Still no new contractor and no completion date. The petition has hit 1,156.
Ilford
Ilford Community Hall Opens at Janice Mews, Room for 60
Redbridge has brought a hall off Kenneth More Road back into use for community groups. Room for about 60, a kitchen, step-free access, one email to book.
Wanstead
Wanstead Leisure Centre: 477 Sign as Pool Loses End Date
The council promised late 2025. A petition opened on 18 August has 477 signatures, and Redbridge has said nothing new since its contractor collapsed.
Redbridge Council
Redbridge Petitions: Every One This Year Was About Parking
All seven petitions Redbridge formally received in 2026 were about parking or road safety. Here is what the council did about each, and what it refused.
Licensing
Ilford Takeaways Bid to Serve Until 5am, Police Object
Four Ilford-area food venues asked to serve hot food to 3am or 5am. Police objected to three, and two sit in a zone where refusal is the default.
House Prices
Redbridge house prices rise 3.6% as London drops 2.5%
The average Redbridge home reached £495,977 in June, the third-biggest annual rise of all 33 London boroughs, while the capital as a whole fell. Terraces led at 4.7%.
Jobs
Redbridge jobless claims: under-25s up 23% in 2 years
Redbridge's claimant count barely moved in July, at 12,650. But claims by 18 to 24-year-olds are up 23% in two years, one of the five steepest rises in London.
Food and drink
Maison Noor Ilford: all 8 kitchens inspected so far rated 5
Eight of the 15 kitchens registered at the Chadwick Road food hall were inspected on 30 July and every one came back with the top hygiene rating. Seven more are still waiting for a first visit.
Water
Woodford water outage: what Thames Water must pay you
Homes cut off for more than 12 hours after the 9 August bursts are due £50, plus £50 for every further 12 hours, credited automatically within 20 working days. The rules, the sums and when to chase.
Schools
Avon House School Woodford Green closes, administrators in
Avon House School in Woodford Green shut on 7 August. Its Companies House record now reads In Administration: the new filings and the six charges still outstanding.