We are now building our brand new, first-class campus in Redbridge for the East London and Essex Jewish community, following approval of our planning application in October 2023.
The new development will be on the site of the current Redbridge Jewish Community Centre (RJCC), formerly known as Sinclair House. Jewish Care has long been committed to building this development in the Essex area. For us, this is not just about physical infrastructure, but the development of the right provision to meet current and future demand for all Jewish Care services for the local community in Essex and East London.
The site in Redbridge will comprise a beautiful, first-rate, purpose-built 66-bed care home, which our Vi & John Rubens House in Gants Hill will relocate to, a wonderful, first-class, modern, and fully accessible community centre space and a centre for people living with dementia. The site will be Jewish Care’s campus in Redbridge, where our Social Work and Meals on Wheels teams will also be based, in addition it will provide some communal space.
Thanks to the incredible commitments from Lord Sugar and his family, together with the Ronson family via The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation, this much-needed care and community campus is now closer to becoming a reality for the local community. These two outstanding displays of generosity are the cornerstone donations for the project. The Sugar family have been long-standing supporters of Jewish Care, showing unwavering commitment to the organisation over many decades by generously supporting Jewish Care’s services in Essex and East London, in addition to their ongoing support for the wider organisation. Gerald Ronson CBE and Dame Gail Ronson DBE too have been avid and incredibly generous supporters of Jewish Care showing exceptional commitment over many years.
Alongside these commitments and funds already raised by the Redbridge Aid Golf Society, we have been hugely supported by Hamberley Developments Limited and Patron Capital as our Development Coordinator.
We have now launched a campaign to raise the remaining £5 million from the local community, which is expected to be needed to complete the project.
Jewish Care is grateful for the key role the local community has also played in showing their support for the project during the planning application process and hopes this will continue through future campaigns.
Following the tender process, we have appointed a construction company who are safely preparing the site and working hard to ensure it is safe and secure for demolition, with construction expected to begin in January 2024. The aim is to open the campus in mid-2026.
Jonathan West, Jewish Care’s Director of Legal Affairs, Property and Procurement said:
“We have received planning permission for this new first-class development in Redbridge and are incredibly grateful to our generous donors for their commitments. The East London and Essex community have been fundraising for this project for many years and now this long-held vision will become a reality.
“This will be the final campus and will complete Jewish Care’s strategic vision whereby multiple campuses across London and the South-East support our community.
“With so many Jewish families using our services in the area, we will be able to give this long-established community a first-class care and community campus designed to meet their needs, now and into the future. We will also continue our commitment to ensuring that the development is as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible.
“The memories made at Redbridge Jewish Community Centre are so important to us and to the community, so we have carefully preserved the memorabilia from decades of community life at RJCC, also known to many as Sinclair House or as ‘Club’ to many, which will be displayed at the new Redbridge campus when it opens.
“We look forward to updating the community with further developments in the coming months.”
In the meantime, RJCC’s Day Centre and adult Community Centre, will continue in the interim at Woodford Forest United Synagogue until the new site is open. Our centre for people living with dementia, and our MIKE youth leadership programme, will also continue to operate from within its own dedicated space at Vi & John Rubens House until the new campus is open.