Thames Life Community Development Trust

Vision: A diverse and vibrant community where residents are driving change. Mission: To create positive spaces and opportunities for resident empowerment and wellbeing. We aim to: - Develop leaders: by offering increased skills development, training and volunteering opportunities for residents. - Nurture relationships: by creating impactful relationships between residents and partnerships with the local authority, developers, NHS, schools and others. - Exert influence: by connecting residents with decision makers to seek positive change for their community. - Support enterprise: by growing a network of community projects and businesses led by residents to address local need. Context Previously known as Thames Ward (South of the A13), Thames View and Barking Riverside wards are the site of one of the largest development sites in Europe, with 10,800 housing units planned for the Riverside development and a Borough Corporate Plan (2018-2022) that seeks to build an additional 50,000 homes, many of which will be across both areas. In a short space of time, the population has doubled, and is set to double again. The area is historically one of the most deprived in the Borough, ranking 13th of 17 wards according to the LBBD Social Progress Index, with some of the highest rates of childhood obesity and indices of deprivation in the country. The local context is therefore one of tremendous change in the built environment, acute social need and a window of opportunity to ensure ‘no resident is left behind’.