B2B Educators applied for the change of use of unit 2a of Romford Shopping Hall from commercial use to learning and non-residential use in March this year and, after being initially refused in April, renewed plans were approved by Havering Council in October.
In March, B2B Educators director Dr Attique Ur Rehman Shafq told the Recorder that he believed Havering had “great potential” and this fuelled his decision to move the business from Clements Road, Ilford where it had been located for the past two years.
Dr Shafq has revealed that the company hopes to welcome students to the new premises from January 19 next year for diploma courses.
He said he hoped to open this week and the professional training courses are ready to launch, although the team is in the process of fulfilling some planning conditions.
He said: “We are proud to be part of the Romford community and look forward to contributing positively by creating learning opportunities for the local community.
“Although our official opening has been slightly delayed while we completed a few final conditions set by the council, we are now in the final stages and expect to open very soon.
“Through our vocational and professional training and diploma courses, we aim to serve the community by helping young people gain the skills they need to enter employment.”
B2B will offer a range of courses, including health and social care, nursing, physiotherapy, business, IT and English language programmes.
Security training programmes will also be aimed at helping individuals improve their career prospects and supporting employment growth.
Dr Shafq added: “We believe this initiative will bring significant benefits to the local community and create meaningful opportunities for learners in the area.
“Our goal is to make high quality education and skills training accessible to everyone.”
The initial application was refused by Havering Council in April but Dr Shafq applied again for retrospective permission to change the use of the venue and start offering courses which was approved last month.
Despite sharing an address, the site of B2B Educators is not owned by Romford Shopping Hall and was previously a physiotherapy unit.
One of the original planning documents details that the site was previously granted permission to be used as a medical clinic in 2010 and since then the use class had not been altered.
