At the start of the 2022, the resident-led Learning Forum made its final recommendations regarding the future of the Barking Riverside Community Interest Company, the legacy company that will eventually own and manage the public areas at Barking Riverside for community benefit. Following an estate consultation exercise, which confirmed that the recommendations made by the Learning Forum were supported by a wider cross section of residents living at Barking Riverside, the BRL team has been busy behind the scenes enacting the changes that will enable the CIC to be restructured.

Since the start of the year, resource has been invested to explore the most efficient and robust way to transition from the previous CIC structure to the new model designed by the Learning Forum. This thorough process has involved extensive legal support, provided by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, BRL’s retained property lawyers. This has ultimately included redrafting the CIC’s constitutional documents, an important step in making the Learning Forum’s vision a reality.

On 7^th April 2022, the current CIC Board held a meeting to formally agree the legal process for dissolving the current CIC, as well as approving the new Articles of Association. The current CIC Board will now follow a structured process to cease trading, and the new CIC Board will begin to appoint Members and Directors as per the governance arrangements outlined by the Learning Forum. Work is also underway to submit all necessary documentation to Barking and Dagenham Council, discharging a significant planning obligation associated with the CIC.

After almost 2 years of intensive development work, it is hoped that the new CIC Board, which will be resident-led, could meet as early as July 2022. This is a huge achievement, not only for BRL and local residents, but for housing developments across the country. Finding solutions that make legacy vehicles inclusive and self-sustaining is a huge question that the wider development industry has struggled with, and we hope the Barking Riverside model can become a best practice case study for other communities.