5th Studio have completed work for the London Borough of Waltham Forest on the council-led regeneration of the Ive Farm Sports Ground in Leyton. The site's 4.9 hectares had been largely inaccessible and neglected for many years despite its Metropolitan Open Land designation. The completed scheme replaces the former derelict sports pavilion alongside a range of new sports pitches and landscaped spaces.
The redevelopment includes two all-weather multi-use sports pitches that address a critical shortfall in outdoor sports provision for schools, club and community use across the borough. The project also includes an international standard beach volleyball arena, 60m sprint track, landscaped perimeter jogging trails, community allotments, new and relocated pedestrian and cyclist bridges across the Dagenham Brook, and an outdoor petanque area. The design also incorporates a comprehensive sustainable drainage system with a landscaped reedbed area to store rainwater.
The new sports pavilion provides four team changing rooms, officials changing rooms, lockers, and a cafe and community space supporting Ive Farm and the neighbouring Leyton Jubilee Park as key green spaces for the borough.
The scheme opens up the site as publicly accessible open space and provides crucial links in the network of cross-borough pedestrian and cycling routes.