Citizen-led regeneration

Roman Road Trust is a small but ambitious community and economic development company operating in the Roman Road area in Bow and Bethnal Green in Tower Hamlets, East London. It was set up to help improve the high street, and its vision is for a thriving local economy that gives the opportunity and space for communities to flourish.

Roman Road Trust believes a high street is much more than the shops on the main road, and that sustainable revitalisation of the high street can only succeed if it shaped and delivered in partnership with the wider community.

Using the principle of co-production, Roman Road Trust activates, facilitates and supports a network of citizen-led community development initiatives to help revitalise the high street with maximum social impact.

Projects activated by Roman Road Trust

A co-production model allows Roman Road Trust to work with a number of specialist partners on a wide range of projects. These include the local authority; local educational institutions (Queen Mary University, ELAM, Mulberry UTC, Central Foundation and all the primary schools); arts bodies (Chisenhale Gallery and Bow Arts); social enterprises (East End Trades Guild, Social Streets); community development groups (Public Works, Civic University, Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Forum), and housing associations (Gateway, Clarion).

This enables Roman Road Trust to deliver a holistic approach to community and economic development, helping to activate and support a multiplicity of projects that address the multi-faceted nature of community development including local governance, place branding, marketing and communications, community events, skills and employability, workspace provision, evening economy, heritage and culture, local planning and public realm development.