REAL WORLD Housing plus
The redevelopment of Hackney’s King’s Crescent Estate is putting the needs of the local community centre stage
The ambitious scheme now taking shape at King’s Crescent, opposite Hackney’s Clissold Park, is set to breathe new life into the area and transform this once rundown estate into a vibrant new quarter of north east London. So far, so predictable – most regeneration projects would lay claim to similar goals. But what makes this project distinctive is the sheer effort and energy that have gone into engaging with local people and giving them a say in shaping the future of their environment.
As Community Investment Manager for Higgins Construction, which is working to deliver the scheme in partnership with project lead Hackney Council, Jeff Joseph (BA Housing Studies, 2014) (pictured below) is responsible for what he calls ‘housing plus, or everything that isn’t bricks and mortar’ – which means ensuring that community involvement is genuine, meaningful and lasting. ‘Our company strapline is “Community at the Core of Construction”,’ he says. ‘And I really believe in that.’
Part of the programme of community engagement involves working with the residents’ association and tenants’ friends – an independent body that helps residents understand the logistics of regeneration. Residents are involved in every decision, from choosing the contractor to selecting the colour of their kitchen units, giving a real sense of engagement with the process and, ultimately, ownership.
Another key element is a commitment to providing training and employment opportunities for local people. ‘Over the lifetime of a project like this, we’ll run hundreds of educational visits and workshops, and offer valuable work experience to young people,’ says Jeff. ‘We also set ourselves a target of getting eight people into sustainable employment. In an area like this, where
unemployment is so high, those are really valuable opportunities.’ One site labourer has already been appointed, while two estate residents have been given either liaison or administrative roles (see box, opposite). Other vacancies are currently being advertised with LSBU and elsewhere.
Vision of the future The redeveloped site will also feature communal facilities, including a park with an area for allotments – ‘we have a lot of Turkish residents, and growing vegetables is very important to them,’ says Jeff. There will also be new walkways, roads and a new bus route, all aimed at opening up the formerly inward-looking estate and making it an integral part of the surrounding area.
Then too there will be new apartments overlooking Clissold Park, which will be for private sale. ‘They will look great,’ says Jeff, ‘and that gives the whole estate a real lift.’ Existing flats will be given an external refurbishment and makeover, with balconies and winter gardens creating a sense of space and light and dramatically improving residents’ quality of life.
Jeff believes that communication is the key to achieving a solution that meets the needs of the greatest number of people, and that embraces and celebrates change without alienating existing residents who, in some cases, have lived on the estate for much of their lives. ‘To me, successful regeneration means having a diverse community, with a mix of tenures living side by side,’ he says. ‘It’s based on collaboration and partnership, and it values the economic and social aspects of the contract just as much as it does the physical. My vision for King’s Crescent is of an uplifted, rejuvenated community that embraces its new environment – and that, hopefully, has learned some valuable new skills along the way.’
16 | SOUTH BANK | Autumn 2015
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