Hackney Council has now appointed Nicola Hudson to project manage 55 Morning Lane. Before this, Nicola worked on Woodberry Down Estate in the North of the borough. In 1999, Hackney Council decided that this award-winning council estate must be demolished. Woodberry Down is a ‘regeneration’ project rather than a new build. But it involves three things that must be avoided at 55 Morning Lane:
- Inauthentic consultation: Paul Watt’s research about Woodberry Down evidences how often “residents did not feel that they were being asked to engage in a genuinely dialogical and participative process because the key decisions had already been made: ‘We had all of these consultations, but the deal’s done. There will be rows and rows of Woodberry Down flats, every inch of it will be covered because they [council] see money so it’s going to happen. Consultation is just part of the propaganda’”.
- Dishonest consultation: The London Tenants Federation documented in 2017 that at Woodberry Down, “there was no ballot of residents. …. Meetings were held on different parts of the estate, conducted by a PR firm. There was no talk of private homes being developed. Everyone thought they would have new council homes on the estate. Everyone was told they would only have to move once”. In reality, none of the new flats are council homes; they are managed by Genesis Housing Association; and some people have had to move three or four times. A lot of other promises did not materialise such as resident representation on the management board.
- State-led gentrification: As the timeline has extended to 2032, the number of projected housing units on Woodberry Down has increased from 4,500 to 5,557, with only 1,088 for social rent. Despite delays in building most of the promised social-rent homes, developer Berkeley Homes has built its 23-floor shiny tower blocks of private flats – with a residents-only swimming pool and gym. Overall the regeneration reduces the proportion of public housing on Woodberry Down from 67% to 20%. As Paul Watt says, this is “extensive state-led gentrification masquerading as estate regeneration”.
morninglanepeoplesspace.org 