West Ham United has announced ambitious plans for a state-of-the-art redevelopment of the Foundation’s site in Beckton, Newham, as part of the Club’s ongoing investment in community programmes across east London.
The transformation of the Club’s official charity’s headquarters is seen as a significant step forward for the award-winning and much heralded Foundation, with the new building – which is scheduled to be ready for early 2025 – providing an incredible new hub for the Foundation’s ongoing work in serving the community.
The new facility will allow for increased delivery of youth activities, health programmes and learning and development programmes; create a Community Hub, with the facilities and services to meet the needs of the local community; and generate more opportunities to change lives in east London.
Furthermore, the expansion project will bring significant business and socio-economic benefits to the area, including job creation and apprenticeship schemes for young people.
The redevelopment is testament to the Club’s longstanding and ongoing commitment to the local community, trebling the footprint of the building in east London, increasing participant usage from 1,000 to 2,600 people per week, and reaching a broader cross section of the community than ever before, from parents and toddlers through to the elderly. The expansion of services will support social cohesion and enhance opportunities for groups at risk of disengagement.
Following a robust consultation and planning process, supported by the local community, council and partners, construction on the sustainable community hub is due to begin in Spring 2024 and will utilise a range of sustainable materials and green technologies.
Our trailblazing programmes will continue apace over the next 12 months, with delivery temporarily relocated to sister venues in Newham and neighbouring boroughs.
West Ham United Vice-Chair, Baroness Brady, said: “This is an exciting new chapter for the Football Club, our Foundation, and the whole community we are committed to serve.
“West Ham United is at the heart of its east London community, already serving the needs of 50,000 participants annually, but as our Club continues to grow, we want to expand the service and outreach to our community.
“It has long been a primary objective of the Club to provide a more accessible, multi-purpose, forward-thinking community hub that directly aligns with our efforts to improve life chances within and around our borough – and this new state-of-the-art facility will allow us to continue to grow and further serve east London, meeting the needs of our community, building partnerships and utilising insight and technology to create an environment where all can thrive.”
West Ham United Foundation CEO, Joseph Lyons, welcomed the news, commenting: “Over the past ten years we have been working towards our ambition to create a thriving community hub at the heart of east London, as a focal point of activity with our reach spanning east London, Essex, and international areas.
“The community site in Beckton has functioned well – particularly with the help of the launch of our 3G pitch in 2017 – but in recent years, as our work has advanced and need across our community has intensified, we have reached a stage where the building has become impractical and restricting.
“This new facility is the natural next step for us – everyone at West Ham United is excited about what the future holds for the Foundation, building on the amazing work that already goes on in our community, to maximise life chances and inspire better futures for all.
“I’d like to thank the Board for their unwavering commitment to the West Ham community, as well as the Football Foundation, Trust for London, Charity Bank and Newham Council, who have been key in backing our proposals for the redevelopment.”
