Innovative community space tackling waste to open in Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust (HWFI CDT) and Halcyon Development Partners (‘Halcyon’) are pleased to announce a partnership that will see 119 Wallis Road, in Hackney Wick, become a circular economy hub filled with businesses and community groups taking action on food and food packaging waste.
The Loop: Circular Economy Hub, will officially launch in the new year, and is the latest edition of, Re Route, the local green action programme, to test, trial, scale and grow ideas and business initiatives that seek to reduce the amount of waste and emissions in the local area.
The Loop will help circular economy businesses scale their operations in the area by connecting them with like-minded peers and helping them trial new processes and undertake R&D activities locally. The physical site will also ensure that circular products and services are accessible to the local community (e.g. finding new uses for locally-generated waste, or connecting tenants with relevant research initiatives).
The Loop is complementary to the Future Industries Demonstrator accelerator programme, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with objective to scale cleantech SME products and services in east London. This programme is delivered by a consortium of partners: SHIFT London, Plexal, HWFI CDT and UCL.
In practice, The Loop will be a physical micro demonstrator hub for the circular economy providing desk space, studio, operational and café /bar/exhibition and event space. The Loop is part of a bigger programme being implemented by the HWFI CDT and our partners across the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area. Re Route is a programme designed by local people and businesses aimed at tackling climate change by coordinating local action and working together collaboratively. The HWFI CDT has been working on Re Route for over 2 years, having successfully secured funding from the Greater London Authority High Street For All investment and London Legacy Development Corporation to develop it.
The Loop will be situated at 119 Wallis Road in the interim period until Halcyon’s redevelopment plans for the wider site are brought forward.
“Accessing a warehouse in the heart of Hackney Wick to showcase this innovative project and get people involved is a fantastic opportunity. We are grateful to Halcyon Development Partners for working with us to bring the project alive. We see lots of ways we can work with the community, local business and innovators to secure more spaces across East London like this to deliver sustainable initiatives and engage more people in this agenda. The more we can demonstrate at a small scale or for a temporary period, the more momentum we build.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with he HWFI CDT and are excited to see The Loop come forward on our site. We are keen to ensure the site promotes local activation and vitality and The Loop project will bring significant innovation for the benefit of the local community and economy”
This innovative project is the second of the HWFI CDT spaces. Earlier this year the HWFI CDT launched the Textile Reuse Hub and Sustainable Young Makers Programme, with partners Yodomo at the Trampery, Fish Island (with support from the Trampery, Peabody and Hill) providing a physical space for textile reuse initiatives, community education and supporting young people from the local area to establish their own creative businesses using sustainable approaches.
