Car park project brings big community benefits
The completion of the new multi-storey car park at Whipps Cross Hospital marks more than just a new building — it’s a project that has delivered real, lasting benefits for local people.
Working in partnership, Barts Health NHS Trust and Integrated Health Projects (IHP) set out to ensure the construction work supported the community around the hospital in Waltham Forest. Together, they delivered £4.79 million in social value, exceeding their original target by more than 12%.
One of the biggest successes has been the refurbishment of the Forget Me Not Dementia Hub Café in Leyton. The café now has new equipment, a safer layout and a more welcoming space for people living with dementia and their carers. Volunteers and donated materials helped make the transformation possible. The café will also offer accredited training and work experience, helping people build skills and confidence.
The work also invested in young people’s futures. IHP worked with Leytonstone School to run careers sessions, mock interviews and work experience placements in areas including construction and digital engineering. Local people benefited too, with new jobs, an apprenticeship and several work placements created through the Walthamstow Job Centre.
Importantly, the experience has helped shape how future hospital developments will work — with clearer plans, earlier conversations with the community and a stronger focus on what will make the biggest difference locally.
As well as delivering social value, the car park itself marks the first phase of the wider Whipps Cross redevelopment.
Officially opened in October last year by the MP for Chingford and Woodford Green Rt, Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Councillor Grace Williams, the Leader of Waltham Forest Council, it provides 500 spaces in total — including accessible bays and electric vehicle charging — supporting both staff and visitors, and helping prepare the site for a future new hospital.
The car park was delivered by IHP, the joint venture between VINCI Building UK and Sir Robert McAlpine, and demonstrates the role construction can play in supporting inclusion, creating opportunities and giving back to the communities it serves.
Pictured (top): students visit the construction site at Whipps Cross last year, and below: a talk about construction at Leytonstone School.
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