The former Leyton Municipal Offices have been officially recognised for their contribution to the regeneration of the local economy.  On 3rd July the successfully redeveloped building scooped the Special Award for owner Lee Valley Estates at the Leyton Town centre Awards ceremony.

Also known as the LMO, a £10 million investment programme has ensured the building has many uses.  The fully let Legacy Business Centre, run by Hiltongrove Business Space provides high quality offices to local businesses.  This has created space for over 80 jobs.

Affordable housing will be fitted into the LMO scheme  in the form of 2 and 3 bedroom homes.  The magnificent great hall, beautifully restored in its original colour scheme, will be available for local people to hire.  Upon reopening it will allow bookings of over 500 people for weddings, concerts and plays.  A new modern Indian restaurant and juice bar will open after winning a local 'Dragon's Den' style competition to find the right tenant.

Michael Polledri, Chairman of Lee Valley Estates said "We are truly delighted by this honour.  We have made long term commitments to the economic revival of our area.  Our desire is to provide first class offices, homes and facilities which everyone can benefit from".

HBOS sponsored the event and the bank's own Councillor Johar Khan was on hand to give out the awards.  It was organised by Leytonstone Business Forum's One Stop Shop's dynamic Fawaad Shaikh.  Hosts, the Leyton Enterprise Forum created this particular prize to distinguish a business "judged to have made the greatest contribution to the local area or community over the past year".

The Leyton Enterprise Forum was set up three years ago by joint chairs Eldridge Cooke and Umar Dadd.  It sits under the Waltham Forest Business Board structure.  The LEF's vision is to increase membership, attract inward investment and position Leyton Town Centre to take advantage of opportunities from the Olympics and Stratford.

Ends

For further information, contact Laura Cruickshank on 020 8885 8530 or at laura@lee-valley-estates.co.uk

Notes for Editors:

Lee Valley Estates, in association with Hiltongrove Business Space, acquired the former Leyton Municipal Office site, a Grade II listed building, in a £5 million transaction in November 2006.

The premises are at the heart of a new development on the site of these former council offices on Leyton High Road, E10.  Leyton underground station is only two minutes walk from the development.

The whole scheme, entailing investment in the region of £10 million, creates a substantial mixed-use development, providing new residential, leisure and business space, and will be a major driver in the regeneration of Leyton.  Before any formal marketing was carried out 25 of the 28 units were let.  It is now consistently 100% let.  Over 80 people are now employed at the Legacy E10 Business Centre.

It will form part of the permanent legacy of the 2012 Olympics, which will regenerate the wider area of East London, providing new homes, facilites and employment.  Lee Valley Estates is leading the development of the site.

In line with the Mayor's London Plan, the development will make use of the existing transport capacity, with excellent tube, bus and road transport links.  The Leyton underground station is only two minutes walk from Leyton Municipal Offices.

About Lee Valley Estates

• Lee Valley Estates has been established since 1987 to support economic development throughout the Lee Valley Corridor
• We have strong local roots and local commitment and we are based in the area in which we invest
• We currently provide almost 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 sq m) of secure and affordable workspace
• Primarily a provider of workspace, we have helped thousands of SMEs to prosper and grow
• London's changing development priorities mean that brownfield sites are being converted into mixed-use schemes, to serve the needs of communities
• Reflecting this trend, we are increasingly involved in large, mixed-use development schemes, providing homes and community facilities alongside workspace, to support sustainable regeneration
• Our interests focus in two main growth corridors: the Thames Gateway and the London-Stansted-Cambridge corridor

About Hiltongrove Business Space

• Hiltongrove Business Space is a group of companies established in 1994 offering managed workspace in the North East London area
• Our flagship business centre in Walthamstow E17 has helped create over 120 new jobs in the last five years and has played a significant part in the regeneration of the surrounding area