01.10.25, LONDON, Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for transport, the built environment, cities and local growth, has today announced the first project under the new Public Realm Innovation Lab.

The Public Realm Innovation Lab sees Connected Places Catapult working in partnership with the River Roding Health Corridor consortium: Arup, Be First (London Borough of Barking and Dagenham's wholly-owned regeneration delivery agency), Care City, Makower Architects, and NHS North East London. The project is funded by Innovate UK and will benefit from the consortium’s time and expertise. The Public Realm Innovation Lab aims to shape healthier placemaking practices and influence planning policy within broader urban regeneration efforts.

From today, small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply for funding and support to co-develop, trial and evaluate solutions that improve public spaces and enhance the daily lives and health of young people in Barking.

Applicants to the programme are asked to explain how their innovation responds to the challenge:

Helping children and young people achieve a healthy weight by making public spaces more inclusive, inviting, and connected.

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has the highest proportion of under-18s in England and Wales, with almost 29% of its residents aged under 18. It also faces one of the most significant childhood obesity challenges in the UK, with more than 31% of Year 6 children classified as obese.

The River Roding Health Corridor Consortium has identified the River Roding as one of London’s most undervalued natural corridors. Along the river lie pockets of green space and other open areas overlooking mud banks and tidal reed beds. The consortium believes there is vast potential for these spaces to support community health, yet they remain largely invisible and inaccessible to most local people.

The programme is looking for creative and sustainable ideas from SMEs. Three anchor sites along the River Roding have been selected as the first locations under focus: Harts Lane Estate, Barking Barrage and River Roding viewing platform. Up to four applicants will be selected to each receive up to £25k of funding alongside support from the Catapult and opportunities to engage with the wider consortium.

At the heart of the approach is a commitment to community-led innovation. The consortium is dedicated to ensuring that local residents are actively involved from the outset - shaping ideas, testing prototypes, making decisions, and identifying opportunities.

Prospective applicants have until 5pm on Monday 3 November to apply.

“We are very excited to be launching the Public Realm Innovation Lab’s first project, which will focus on ideas for public spaces that can promote healthier lifestyles for young people in Barking.

“Our partners on this project bring with them a deep understanding of the local context, an appreciation of the needs of the local community, and are experts in their respective fields. At Connected Places Catapult, our role is to provide a platform for innovation to flourish, drawing on our in-house expertise in supporting innovators to take their ideas from concept to commercialisation.

“If you have a groundbreaking innovation that could respond to our challenge, and that you want to test in a real-life environment, I encourage you to apply!”

Alan Welby, Managing Director for the Built Environment and Local Growth at Connected Places Catapult

“Engaging local communities in shaping public spaces leads to better design and a stronger sense of ownership. The Public Realm Innovation Lab reflects a shared vision in creating inclusive, vibrant spaces that promote healthier, more active lifestyles in Barking. We are proud to be working with this multi-faceted group of organisations considering opportunities for holistic, inclusive placemaking.”

Emily Woodason, Associate at Arup

“We are excited to be collaborating with Connected Places Catapult to bring innovative solutions to support healthy placemaking for communities in Barking.

“The River Roding was central to Barking’s formation and history, but the river has long been neglected. We hope that through this partnership we can bring back this incredible natural asset into a flourishing community space to support health and wellbeing.”

Anna Gibbs, Planning Policy Officer at Be First

“At Care City, we know from experience that the most effective and lasting change comes when communities are at the heart of the process. Through projects like Connect tackling social isolation with local people and Kailo, supporting young people’s mental health, we’ve seen the creativity, energy and resilience that communities bring when they are given the chance to lead. That’s why we are excited to be part of the Public Realm Innovation Lab. By listening to and working alongside young people and families in Barking, we can ensure that new ideas for healthier public spaces are not only innovative but also truly rooted in local needs, values and aspirations.”

Emily Brook, Director of Innovation at Care City

Heather Macey, Director at Makower Architects, said:

“We are proud to be a founding member of the River Roding Health Corridor consortium and to be working in strategic partnership with Connected Places Catapult to reimagine how the built environment can proactively support health.

“For the past six years, our practice has been embedded in Barking - working closely with Be First and the local community to shape more inclusive, equitable places. This new opportunity brings together design, innovation, and public health to test spatial interventions that tackle real-world problems in place. Issues like obesity, loneliness, anxiety, asthma and poor nutrition are deeply embedded in the social and spatial fabric of our cities. The built environment has a unique role - not just in responding to these challenges, but in proposing and enabling new ways of living that promote care, movement, connection and access to nature.”

“This partnership offers a rare opportunity to explore what a civic infrastructure for health could look like - transforming underused riverfront spaces into a living lab for preventative care, community engagement and long-term systems change.”

Heather Macey, Director at Makower Architects

“This is an exciting opportunity to address the root causes of poor health by working locally with partners and young people in Barking and Dagenham to make innovative use of public spaces. Working with young people in local neighbourhoods will help to empower our residents in Barking and Dagenham to lead longer, healthier lives.”

Zina Etheridge, Chief Executive of NHS North East London