Minerva Works Circular Economy Hub, Greater London for Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation with Republic of Park Royal, Recollective, Absolute Beginners, Rescued Clay and Grace McCarthy

Minerva Works Circular Economy Hub, Greater London for Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation with Republic of Park Royal, Recollective, Absolute Beginners, Rescued Clay and Grace McCarthy

 

Minerva Works is a circular economy hub in Park Royal, initiated by OPDC in partnership with local creatives. The site will eventually host an energy centre using waste heat from local data centres, and is currently repurposed as a creative workspace run by The Republic of Park Royal until 2026. Enterprises such as Re-collective, Absolute Beginners, and Rescued Clay are transforming local waste from Park Royal — from HS2’s excavated clay and film sets to tyres and high-vis gear — into sustainable structures and products.

 

 

Describe the context of this initiative or project, its neighbourhood and the community it serves.

 

OPDC has a strong record of supporting local initiatives such as the Standard Road creative market, Park Royal Design District, Park Royal Women’s Group, and Reel Park Royal. The Minerva Road warehouse, one of the first sites acquired by the OPDC, offered a meanwhile opportunity to use OPDC’s property assets to strengthen the Park Royal business ecosystem and provide a shared space for creative enterprises. 
 
In partnership with the Republic of Park Royal, OPDC brought together local organisations advancing circular systems and creative practices using reclaimed materials. These include Recollective, a group of environmental activists, artists, and makers redirecting surplus materials from the local film industry to community projects. In under a year, they have diverted materials containing over 26 tonnes of embodied carbon from landfill and embedded 10 tonnes into community reuse projects. Rescued Clay, a new ceramics factory, works exclusively with clay recovered from London’s construction and development. Absolute Beginners, a community art and skills project, teaches young people to make goods from waste found in Park Royal. combining these exciting projects, as well as several other local creative organisations, under one roof fosters collaboration and creates opportunities for these innovative approaches to sustainable making to undergo a period of testing and development. By transforming the warehouse into a circular economy hub, OPDC has brought together pioneering creative enterprises to collaborate, test, and develop sustainable practices. The hub strengthens grassroots sustainability projects, expanding opportunities for education, training, and affordable access to reclaimed materials for the wider community.

 

Describe the intervention you’ve made, including its purpose and motivation. How will it contribute to climate resilience?

 

The building on Minerva Road was acquired by OPDC in April 2024 and long term, will be used as the site of the energy centre for an innovative new network using the waste heat generated by local data centres – a project that’s being delivered in partnership with Hemiko, a leading company in the field of sustainable energy. 
 
The Minerva Road site is not needed for this use until Summer 2026 and OPDC has used the opportunity to reuse the building as a circular economy hub in the meantime. The hub will continue to operate for the next year and OPDC will work closely with The Republic of Park Royal and the creative organisations using the space to maximise the benefits for both the local community and local businesses. 
 
Since its official opening in April 2025, the hub has salvaged over 65 tonnes of material so far, exceeding the annual target of 20 tonnes. It has also saved over 21 tonnes of carbon, and has donated and sold over 24 tonnes of salvaged material to community groups and local businesses, already exceeding the annual target of 14 tonnes.

 

Explain the environmental and social impact of the project.

 

The circular economy hub is operated by The Republic of Park Royal, who hold the head lease from OPDC as freeholder. The building was transformed into a collaborative workspace for local enterprises championing the circular economy. Among them are Re-collective, Absolute Beginners, and Rescued Clay—pioneering initiatives that are exploring sustainable ways to repurpose Park Royal’s waste streams. OPDC secured £28,800 of contribution towards the project to kickstart the programme; this is sourced from OPDC’s Carbon Offsetting S106 funding. 
 
Since opening in April 2025, the hub has attracted over 1,000 visitors including volunteering groups, primary and secondary school children and higher education groups interested in learning about the circular economy. The project has provided a springboard for the development of a Circular Economy School, building on the strong connections made with young people keen to learn how to turn waste materials into sustainable products – and gain real skills and experience for future careers in design, making, and the circular economy. The pilot programme is funded by OPDC and will run in early Spring 2026.