East London Food & Culture

Leyton Cricket Pavilion

Leyton Cricket Pavilion is not becoming a foodie hub anytime soon

Three years on from the application, the funding has fallen through and the plans on hold

And now some sad (and pretty frustrating) news for those of you who – like us – were beyond excited about the Cricket Pavilion becoming a destination food hall.

Back in 2018 we reported that, with “a hoped-for £1.5 million cash injection from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Leyton Cricket Pavilion is to be transformed into a rather ace-sounding foodie hub comprising a restaurant, café, training kitchen and market – all with an emphasis on healthy eating.”

Waltham Forest said back then that “a project manager has been appointed, with a conservation architect and a community engagement officer to be added to the team soon, after which a consultation period will begin.”

They also promised that the future of the site is “going to be led by the community in the area and there will be an extended engagement and consultation programme to help define and refine those uses. Cricket is an important part of the heritage of the site, so will be delivered in one way or another.”

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Fast forward nearly three years and the venue was due to open in August this year. This week we checked in with Waltham Forest on what was happening. They had this to say:

“Unfortunately the Heritage Lottery Fun application was not successful and so the food hub will not now happen. Alternative funding is now being explored to allow the necessary renovation work on the Pavilion to be completed.”

Surely a crowdfunder can make this happen? Does it really require a £1.5million budget to renovate? We questioned Waltham Forest further, but they’ve so far failed to respond.

As many of us know, there’s definitely the demand here: Leyton and Leytonstone are becoming increasingly known for high quality streetfood pop-ups, pies, pizza, local craft beer and general top food delivery services.

Not to mention the dozens of fine independent grocery stores, bakeries and wine merchants across the two postcodes. Let’s try and make it happen.

If you have any ideas for the Cricket Pavilion Food Hub please email us: info@leytonstoner.london 

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