Exciting update! The Common Room has officially opened its doors to the public after months of hard work. And how amazing do the colourful tiles look! We held facade design and tile-making workshops last year to hand-press each of the tiles. Thanks to ceramicists Simeon Featherstone and Anastasia Sledkova from PC-Projects, artist Veronica Rowlands, pupils from Old Ford Primary and of course – the people of Roman Road! The Common Room welcomes local residents every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 - 4pm until the end of May as a warm space for the community. Feel free to pop in to see the incredible impact of your generous donations. A huge thank you to each and every one of you for your support! We'll keep you updated on upcoming events in the new community space.

Swing by The Common Room TOMORROW between 2-4pm to make a tile for the facade of our brand new building. All ages welcome. No booking required - just pop in as you wish! For more info visit: https://romanroadtrust.co.uk/create-a-tile-for-the-common-room/

The Common Room flatpack was delivered on Valentine's Day! It took five team members two hours to unload the materials onto the site and our brilliant builders have now begun. Follow us on socials for more updates!

We're absolutely over the moon to announce that construction for The Common Room has begun! Our builders broke ground last week and the groundworks are well under way. It is so exciting to see the transformation of The Common Room taking shape! We’d like to thank everyone for their continued support and patience. We’ll keep you updated as the construction continues – but feel free to pop down and have a peek. For more info take a look at: https://romanroadtrust.co.uk/the-common-room-news/

Did you know..? The (old) Common Room has now been demolished! The brilliant people from Wates Group paid a visit to Roman Road to demolish and take away the old structure. This is a huge step forward in the transformation of The Common Room as this means the site is now clear for works to begin. Any reusable timber from the old structure was donated to Roman Road Adventure Playground and Abbey Gardens in Stratford — the old Common Room lives on! Check out the video to see the demolition...

Do you have a skill or secret talent to share with your community? Perhaps you are a keen gardener or an amazing cook? Or maybe you are a whizz with technology or have a passion for local history? Whatever it is, we want to hear from you! You don’t have to be an expert, just interested in giving back to your local community. Roman Road Trust invites you to one of our Neighbourhood Curriculum workshops on Wednesday 6th October or Wednesday 20th October. These workshops are an opportunity for local people to come forward and let us know what you can bring to The Common Room. The sessions will be facilitated by Roman Road Trust and Torange Khonsari from Public Works. The workshops aim to be fun and relaxed. This is a chance for you to begin thinking about how you can be involved in The Common Room once it is built. There will be cake too! 🍰 Find out more and how to book your free place: https://romanroadtrust.co.uk/neighbourhood-curriculum-workshops/

A big hello to all our supporters! Here’s what we’ve been up to…   Following our Facade Design Workshops in February, the ceramicists have created an amazing, unique design for the facade that will represent our brilliant neighbourhood. In June, we renovated furniture for The Common Room at DIY DEMOS as part of Chisenhale Dance's Encounter Bow Festival. Thanks to all those who came along to help sand a table and decorate a bench! In August, we’ve been out and about on Roman Road Market and will be popping up at local events in September. Keep an eye out for us and feel free to say hello! Alongside all of this we’ve been quietly making preparations for The Common Room build, including getting all the legal arrangements in place and starting important parts of the build process. Costs in the construction industry are currently very high, and so we are also in the process of raising some additional funds before we start the build itself to make sure that we can complete it fully.   Remember to sign up to our mailing list for more regular updates and local news:  https://romanroadtrust.co.uk/become-friend-roman-road/

You're invited! Residents are warmly invited to help co-design the facade of The Common Room at a Facade Design Workshop on Sunday 7th February, 11.00am-12.30pm. The front (or facade) of The Common Room will include handmade ceramic tiles. The design, colour and glaze of the tiles will be inspired by our local community - that's you! Join us to collaborate with other local residents to design a facade for The Common Room that represents our neighbourhood. Check our socials or copy this link to book your free place. Families welcome! http://romanroadtrust.co.uk/facade-design-workshop-residents/

Roman Around the Christmas Tree is this Saturday 5th December from 12-3pm. Swing by the Christmas Tree outside Idea Store Bow to chat to us about how The Common Room is progressing and find out what the New Year holds for the project. We'll also be placing handmade decorations from local schools onto the tree. Exciting! We'd love you to say hello but please remember to follow social distancing guidelines to keep our community safe.