FROM ATIK NIGHTCLUB TO NEARLY 300 HOMES: HUGE SOUTH STREET REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.

30th September 202630th September 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Atik, Housing, Romford, South Street min read

One of Romford’s best-known former nightclubs is going to make way for a huge new co-living development, with plans to demolish the former ATIK nightclub in South Street and replace it with 285 residential units across buildings ranging from six to nine storeys.

The proposal has now been approved and will see the complete demolition of the existing building at 108 South Street, on the corner of Havana Close, close to Romford Station.

In its place will be a large co-living development designed specifically for single-person households.

The plans propose six storeys along South Street, rising to eight storeys in two sections, with a nine-storey element at the north-west corner of the site.

The development would contain 285 individual co-living units.

Each resident would have their own private room with a kitchenette and bathroom, while a range of communal facilities would also be provided.

These include shared lounges, co-working areas, a gym, concierge facilities and roof terraces.

The proposals also include active ground-floor frontages, with café and community spaces, alongside a new public square and improvements to the pedestrian environment around Havana Close.

The development would be effectively car-free, with the plans providing one wheelchair-accessible parking space and extensive cycle storage.

The location is particularly significant, sitting immediately next to Romford Station, which provides access to the Elizabeth line, Greater Anglia services and the Liberty line.

The former nightclub building has now been closed for some time and has fallen into a state of disrepair, with boarded and smashed windows and overgrown areas around the site.

But for many Romford residents, the building is much more than an empty former nightclub.

The building itself has a long history stretching back decades.

It originally opened as the Havana Cinema in 1936 before becoming an Odeon cinema.

It later became part of Romford’s nightlife scene, operating under a number of different names including Time & Envy, Liquid & Envy, Fiction and eventually ATIK.

ATIK opened at the venue in 2018 before the nightclub closed in February 2024.

The building has also been associated with some of the biggest names in music and entertainment during its cinema years, with performers including The Beatles and David Bowie appearing at the venue.

Now, is very different.

The developers behind the scheme say there is a growing demand for professionally managed shared accommodation for young professionals and single households and believe the site represents a major opportunity because of its location next to the railway station.

They say the redevelopment would also bring new community facilities and help improve the currently underused Havana Close area.

Among the issues discussed have been the size of the rooms, disability access, evacuation arrangements, community safety, security and the operation of the proposed 24-hour concierge.

There have also been questions surrounding noise and vibration from the railway, with the close proximity to the tracks requiring consideration of soundproofing and the impact on future residents.

Planning discussions have also considered the cultural and social history of the former nightclub and whether this should be reflected in the new development.

Questions were raised about the viability of the proposed co-working facilities and the location of delivery bikes, while the involvement of the council’s Arts and Culture Strategy and local museum services was also discussed.

A venue that was once associated with cinema, music and Romford’s nightlife could instead become a major residential development containing hundreds of individual living units.

The plans are part of the continuing transformation of Romford, with the town centre increasingly seeing proposals for taller residential developments and new forms of housing, particularly around the railway station.

For those who remember the building as the Havana Cinema, the Odeon or one of its many nightclub incarnations, the redevelopment will d mark the end of another chapter in the history of South Street.

The question now is what the future of this prominent Romford site will ultimately look like, and how the proposed 285-unit development will fit into the changing face of the town centre.

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