Last week, Hackney Council gave planning consent for phase three of the long regeneration of the huge Woodberry Down estate in Manor House. The project, which is being undertaken by Berkeley Homes along with Notting Hill Genesis housing association, has been the subject of some quite atrocious journalism in the past: the sort that ignores those parts of a complex and evolving picture that don’t conform to the ideological prejudices of the supposed reporter.
Every regeneration scheme is different. Not all have been done well, and each one has many dimensions to it. A feature of the Woodberry Down process has been the evolution of the relationships between the various interested parties, perhaps most notably the developer and the organisation representing estate residents. The On London mini-documentary embedded below is an attempt to tell part of that story and to draw out the lessons from it.
The film was edited and mostly shot by Max Curwen-Bingley. The interview with Tony Pidgley was filmed by Suhail Patel. The script, narration, interviews and some of the estate footage is the work of me, Dave Hill. Huge thanks to everyone who appears in the film and helped it to come about.
Watch On London’s documentary about the regeneration of the Aylesbury estate in Southwark here.
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