The CRATE St James Street regeneration project comprises 32 organisations trading from units built off-site and lifted into place.
Once a car park used as a magnet for fly tipping, the location between St James Street and Bruner Road now offers a diverse range of eateries, including Vietnamese food at Hanoi Ca Phe, The Italian Bakery, Baggio Burger, vegan street food at The Green Grill and Shee Bakes, as well as Long & Short Coffee and local produce at Honeey.
They join hairdressers Cove 17 and No-LOGO Hair, Leyton Sport Massage, and PR and digital company Laura Ronnie Management to make for an eclectic new business hub in a part of Walthamstow where new housing developments are approaching completion. Pillars Brewery’s “Untraditional Pub” on the upper floor of CRATE completes the picture.
The launch event on Saturday 29 June featured family fun day activities and live music.
Councillor Simon Miller, Waltham Forest’s cabinet member for economic growth and housing delivery, said: “CRATE is a fabulous addition to an area already buzzing with creativity. The success of transforming this underused site in such a short space of time shows how focused we are on delivery at Waltham Forest and an integral part of that is choosing the right partners who share our vision.
“In providing space for small businesses to grow and fantastic amenities for new and existing residents to enjoy, CRATE is a great success story. Development needs to be planned carefully. It needs to be the right site at the right time with the right partner and CRATE shows that if you get these things right, regeneration can benefit the entire community.”