Residents are doing it for themselves!

On Saturday, 11th April East End Homes was scheduled to hold an Open Day for residents to drop in and learn about the housing association’s plans to redevelop the Holland estate. Residents of Brune, Bernard, Barnett and Carter Houses duly turned up: many of them had concerns about the proposals and wanted to discuss these with their landlord and with fellow residents.

The landlord’s intentions see to be to demolish some of the blocks and replace them with high density development, not all of which will be flats for rent. Many of the residents have lived on the estate for most, if not all, of their lives and want to stay. However, some report that they have spoken to East End Homes privately and been told that if demolition goes ahead, residents who have moved out will not be offered an opportunity to return to the new properties that will be built.

Residents arrive – to find a notice on the office door cancelling the meeting.

Unfortunately, when residents arrived at the Open Day at the East End Homes offices on Commercial Street they found a notice on the door cancelling the event. Residents were left to organise their own Open Day. They set up a stall and held discussions with residents and members of the public who came along and with passers-by.

Residents across East End Homes are becoming increasingly worried about East End Homes’ apparent disregard for its residents. The landlord had not initially planned any collective consultation with residents about the future of their estate. Seventy residents from the estate attended a public meeting on Easter Monday and called for the landlord to let them know what was going on. As a result, East End Homes scheduled two Open Days, on 8th and 11th April. The Open Day on 8th April began well enough, but East End Homes shut the event down early – apparently because residents were asking too many questions. The second Open Day was then cancelled without notice. Last year, East End Homes unilaterally changed its constitution to reduce the amount of resident input to the Board and the organisation generally.

The estate has a good community feeling.

Residents will present a petition at the next full council meeting of Tower Hamlets Council on Wednesday, 15th April putting forward their concerns about how East End Homes has treated residents and informing the Council of the scale of opposition to the landlord’s plans.

•For more background to this story, see: http://eastlondonnews.co.uk/residents-protest-at-east-end-homes-redevelopment-plans/

•ELN has contacted East End Homes for comment on this issue.