the poplar harca story r e b u i l d i n g n e i g h bo u...

Rebuilding Neighbo u r h o o d sThe Poplar HARCA S t o ry

167A East India Dock Road London E14 0EATelephone 020 7510 0 50 0Facsimile 020 7510 0 5 50w w w. p o p l a r h a r c a . c o . u k

The Poplar HARCA Story

R e b u i l d i n gN e i g h bo u r h o o d s

R e b u i l d i n gN e i g h bo u r h o o d sThe Poplar HARCA Story

01

I n t r o d u c t i o n

This is the story of how a part of London’s East End is emerging from years of neglect. It is ani m p o r tant story because the regeneration of Poplar is being achieved through a new approach thatothers wish to imita t e .Poplar HARCA was the first housing company set up to run former local authority housing in anu r ban area. However its remit – and its strength – extends beyond the regeneration of bricks andm o r tar with an extensive programme to ensure the social regeneration of the area.H A RCA stands for Housing and Regeneration Community Association. It is important to make surepeople have good, secure homes but Poplar HARCA believes that it is just as important to makesure that other things that affect local people are dealt with. Long term change and improvementsin the area will only come about through a programme that links housing issues to jobs, education,health, sport, arts and so on.This is achieved through the network of HARCA centres – one on each estate – where local peoplemeet for community events, playgroups, training, advice and a range of other services.This publication tells the story of Poplar HARCA and shows how it has been bringing about a quietrevolution in the East End of London which has left it well placed up to take up new ch a l l e n g e ss u ch as neighbourhood management.

Poplar HARCA has refurbished localhomes (below), worked with communitiesand built new homes (right)

03

Aims and objectives Poplar HARCA’s miss ion statement is “to work with lo cal people

to cr eate an env i ron ment where they want to live, and to wor k

w ith them to def i ne and ach ieve their own fina n cial and so cia l

a i ms.”

S even key aims have been identi f ied to help ma ke th i s

s tatement a rea l ity.

• en cou rage and develop the inves t ment in Poplar – from the

word go Poplar HARCA recog n i sed that a revival of the lo ca l

economy was a key to success:

• develop genu i ne pa rt ner s h i ps – with lo cal people and a

ra nge of other orga n i sations to improve and ex pa nd serv ices

in the area

• develop successful and eff ec ti ve neig h bou r hood and

hous i ng serv ices with all serv ice del i very agen cies in the

a r ea – ma ke sure that serv ices are av a i lable where people

w a nt them, not on the other side of the boroug h

• w ith our pa rt ner s, ma ke Poplar safe by faci ng the

cons iderable cha l lenge posed by cr i me and anti -so cia l

behav iour – safe es tates will also lead to be tter com mu n ity

pa rtici pation and so cial ha rmony

• br i ng about cha nge for the benef it of the area by

en cou rag i ng a cu lture that promo tes new ideas and ac tion

from lo cal people, our staff and other pa rt ners – value the

cont r i bu tion lo cal people

• develop approaches that support and en cou rage lo cal people

a nd staff to fulfil their po tential – for exa mple by prov id i ng

education and tra i n i ng opportu n ities

• ma ke the best use of Poplar HARCA’s resou r ces and obta i n

new resou r ces to support our aims.

The ba ckground –from local authority to HARCAL i ke ma ny lo cal au thor ities across the cou nt ry, Tower

Ha m le ts has a need for hous i ng inves t ment far greater tha n

the funds av a i lable or the amou nt of bor row i ng the

govern ment will sa n c tion.

Tower Ha m le ts is one of the most depr i ved areas in the

cou nt ry. Ma ny tena nts and leaseholders live on es tates that

desperately need repa i r, improvement and in some cases

demol ition and replacement. The sca le of the problem fa r

exceeds the resou r ces av a i lable to the cou n ci l.

The Tr easu ry ru les on publ ic spend i ng mean that cou n cils have

to att ract pr i v ate money to invest in the hous i ng sto ck. If a

publ ic bo dy bor rows money it cou nts as publ ic spend i ng, if a

pr i v ate sec tor orga n i sation bor row s, it do es not – and the

govern ment always wants to keep down the national debt.

The idea of sto ck tra ns f er first emerged in the 19 90 s, with

ma i n ly small district cou n cils tra ns f er r i ng sto ck to es tabl i s hed

or, more usua l ly, specia l ly set up hous i ng asso ciations.

Then, in the late 19 90s a variation on this ty pe of scheme was

i nt ro duced when the govern ment enabled lo cal hous i ng

compa n ies to be set up. The att rac tion of lo cal hous i ng

compa n ies to lo cal au thor ities was that they cou ld be set up to

be more direc t ly accou ntable to res idents than trad itiona l

hous i ng asso ciations.

Recog n i s i ng that it cou ld not add r ess the ser ious problems

of disrepair and so cial decl i ne on ma ny of its es tates,

Tower Ha m le ts opted to set up two hous i ng compa n ies –

but compa n ies that also had a clear regeneration role: in

s hort, HARCAs.

Poplar HARCA is one of these.

But bef ore Poplar HARCA beca me a rea l ity, there was a great

deal of consu ltation with tena nts. Es tates were on ly

t ra ns f er r ed to the new la nd lord if tena nts vo ted in favour of

the move.

REBUILDINGNEIGHBOURHOODSThe PoplarHARCAStory

02

New kitchens as part of manyrefurbishment sch e m e s

Two-thirds say y e s to first LHCThe race to become the first local authority housingcompany appeared to over this week after tenants votedin favour of plans by the London Borough of To w e rH a m l e t s .The borough was the first to put the company idea to aballot after winning a £23.3 million government dowry inthe first round of the estates renewal challenge fund…Tower Hamlet’s housing director Bob Brett said: “This isthe first ballot of its kind to have taken place in thiscountry and residents have made the right decision. Th eH A RCA can spend millions of pounds improving thesee s tates and the local environment because it can accessfunding that is unavailable to the council.Housing To d a y, 24 April 1997

Housing company on the verge of registrationThe transfer of more than 1,800 homes from the LondonBorough of Tower Hamlets to Poplar Housing andRegeneration Community Association (HARCA) looksc e r tain to take place soon after more than two-thirds of itspotential tenants ba cked the transfer.Public Finance, 2 May 1997

A second successful ballot the following year led to a further

2,500 properties being transferred to Poplar HARCA,

although a third ballot was unsuccessful despite ‘yes’ votes

in some areas.

After the initial transfers another 200 homes transferred to

Poplar HARCA in early 2001 following a ballot initiated by

local residents.

Where did the money come from?Poplar HARCA’s or ig i ns and subsequent grow th owes a go o d

deal of its success to the innov ati ve way that fund i ng was

a r ra nged for the new orga n i sation.

Because of the work that needed to be done, the properties

were tra ns f er r ed with a negati ve value of £45 million. In to ta l

the new la nd lords recei ved £69 million (in th r ee rou nds) from

the govern ment ’s Es tates Renewal Cha l lenge Fu nd.

Private funding successThe Poplar HARCA in Tower Hamlets has become the first sta n d -

alone urban local housing company to secure private funding

with a £90m deal.

Inside Housing, March 1998

With this ‘start up’ money assured, Poplar HARCA set about

raising a further £90 million, a figure that would eventually

rise to £95 million in private finance.

There was a great deal of inter est from lender s. Lenders wer e

att rac ted because there was a high level of dema nd for

hous i ng in the area and Poplar HARCA had a well thoug ht ou t

development prog ra m me for repairs and new bu i ld.

A lthough there had been some con cerns that pr i v ate funder s

wou ld not come forw a rd, Poplar HARCA had th r ee compe titi ve

bids to chose from. From the fund i ng off ers subm itted, a

sy nd icate cons i s ti ng of Ba nque Pa r i bas and Abbey Nationa l

Tr easu ry Serv ices was selec ted. They prov ided a com bi nation

of project fina n ce and long term fina n ce.

The loan arranged ultimately consisted of a £69 million, 30-

year loan provided by Abbey National and Halifax

complementing £26 million project finance provided by

Paribas through a ten year extendible revolving credit line.

At the time of the deal Abbey National’s head of social

housing, Rita Jobbins, commented; “Although a lot of money

had to be spent, the location and the social cohesion was

what attracted us. It’s not just a question of spending

money on housing, it was the whole community

regeneration package.”

05

Building up to the ba l l o t sTower Ha m le ts cou n cil was, to coin a ph rase, ‘be t ween a ro ck

a nd a ha rd place’. The need for inves t ment in the hous i ng sto ck

ou ts t r i pped the av a i lable resou r ces despite the cou n ci l ’s

success in br i ng i ng in funds from schemes such as Es tate

A c tion and the Sing le Regeneration Budge t.

The sca le of the problems led the cou n cil to develop a hous i ng

a nd regeneration com mu n ity asso ciation strateg y. The

asso ciation was to be a cha r itable compa ny and a so cia l

la nd lord reg i s ter ed with the Hous i ng Cor poration. The na me

su m med up the bel ief that the sol u tions to the problems faced

by its res idents lay in compr ehens i ve regeneration, not simply

s to ck improvement.

The strategy was based on sto ck tra ns f er, pu mp - pr i med by

dow ry fund i ng (Es tates Renewal Cha l lenge fund i ng that wou ld

go from the govern ment to the asso ciation on tra ns f er) and

w ith pr i v ate fina n ce ra i sed by Poplar HARCA itsel f.

A no ther importa nt cons ideration was to ma ke sure there was a

cas t- i ron accou ntabi l ity struc tu r e: it was to be clear that th i s

w as not a pr i v ati sation exer ci se.

The or ig i nal strategy was developed in con ju n c tion with Eas t

Tha mes Hous i ng Group. Subsequent ly, ad v i sed by

consu lta nts HACAS, the cou n cil developed its ideas into two

rou nds of successful bidd i ng for money from the (then )

Depa rt ment of the Env i ron ment ’s Es tates Renewal Cha l lenge

Fu nd, lead i ng to an allo cation of £50 million. It was

a ntici pated that this wou ld enable a further £90 million of

pr i v ate inves t ment to be lever ed in.

The first test of the pla ns wou ld be the response of tena nts.

The first ba l l o t sLe tter boxes on the La nsbu ry North, Lincoln North and Bu rde tt

es tates, saw plenty of use in the lead up to the first ba l lo ts.

There were new s le tter s, consu ltation do cu ments, flyers for

mee ti ngs, literature for and aga i ns t, and the ac tual ba l lo t

paper s. A video ex pla i n i ng the tra ns f er was av a i lable in Eng l i s h

a nd Benga l i, with text av a i lable in Soma l i, Ca ntonese and

Vie t na mese.

It was a ca mpa ign in the true sense of the word: there wer e

s t rong feel i ngs on either side of the issue and diff er ent

orga n i sations did what they cou ld to get their message to as

ma ny res idents as poss i ble. And some of the information

ci r cu lated by anti - t ra ns f er ca mpa ig ners was inaccu rate, so

that led to more leaf le ts to cor r ect misinformation.

A com mu n ity consu ltation team wor ked ha rd to keep tena nts

i n f ormed, ex plain issues and ans wer ques tions. The message

w as that tra ns f er was the best hope for ge tti ng the much

needed improvements to homes so oner rather than later.

One th i ng is clea r: it wou ld have been diff icu lt for any res ident

to have been unaware of what was goi ng on and easy for them

to find out what tra ns f er wou ld mean to ind i v iduals and the

a r ea in genera l.

But people know when lo cal and general elec tions are – that

do es not ensure a good tu rn- ou t. There was, ther ef or e, some

con cern about the ba l lot itsel f. However, there was a 66 per

cent tu rn- out (hig her than at the general elec tion) and 72 per

cent of vo ters sa id ‘yes’ .

A nd that mea nt the sta rt of pa rt two of the Poplar HARCA story

as 1, 830 homes were tra ns f er r ed to the compa ny.


04

A training course at a neighbourhood centre.

Young people taking part in a drama workshop at a neighbourhood centre.

• 2 ,108 homes insu lated

• 114 ref use disposal sys tems improved

• 1, 242 new front do ors fitted

Bef ore the tra ns f er the cou n cil appoi nted ‘mas ter pla n ner s’ to

ca r ry out su rveys of the es tates and identify problems to the

fabr ic of the bu i ld i ngs and other lo cal issues such as cr i me. Thei r

main aim was to pro duce a plan that wou ld give the bu i ld i ngs a

30 year life, improve the env i ron ment and ma ke the areas saf er.

Tena nts were then consu lted on the proposals bef ore the first

ba l lo t. Some schemes were even ca r r ied out bef ore the ba l lot so

people cou ld see what wou ld be done.

A f ter the ba l lo ts work began in ea rnes t. More de ta i led su rveys

were ca r r ied out and there was further consu ltation with

r es idents th rough mee ti ngs, drop - i ns and show flats. Then

cont rac tors were hired. It to ok arou nd a year to get sta rted, bu t

cont rac ts were spl it be t ween internal and external work so that

w here th i ngs cou ld get underw ay and lead to improvements for

tena nts, they did.

A sys tem ca l led des ign and bu i ld was used for the cont rac ts. Th i s

is a two -s tage pro cess: first, the cont rac tor is selec ted and then

the cl ient (Poplar HARCA) works with the cont rac tor on the

de ta i l s. The cont rac tor then gives a gua ra nteed ma x i mum pr ice

w h ich ensu r es the prog ra m me will be del i ver ed within its budge t.

This sys tem wor ked well and for the last two years of cont rac ts

w as improved further to br i ng cont rac tors in at an even ea r l ier

s tage. This has allowed cha nges to the way cont rac ts are ru n

a nd has fr eed up more money for the improvement prog ra m me.

The prog ra m me is on ta rget to be comple ted in Ma r ch or Apr i l

2002. The work set out in the or ig i nal proposals will have been

done within the £100 million budge t.

07

A word about rentsThere was a great deal of consu ltation with tena nts about rents.

One of their main con cerns had been that tra ns f er wou ld lead to

h ig her and hig her rents. The ag r eed way forw a rd was not to

have one la rge incr ease linked to the comple tion of

i mprovement works – a pol icy fol lowed by some other tra ns f er

asso ciations – but to opt for gradual annual incr eases. This was

seen as bei ng more aff ordable to tena nts.

Tena nts were given a gua ra ntee that rents wou ld not go up

more than £2.25 pl us inflation for six yea r s. This formu la wou ld

br i ng Poplar HARCA’s rents up to a similar level as that cha rged

by other lo cal reg i s ter ed so cial la nd lords.

At the end of the gua ra ntee per io d, it is intended to incr ease

r ents on ly in line with inflation, subject to the govern ment's new

r equ i r ement for rent ha rmon i sation in the so cial hous i ng sec tor.

How has the money been spent?Work to improve and ma i ntain the properties and the lo ca l

env i ron ment has been goi ng on since the sta rt. Most of the

money is bei ng inves ted in ref u r bi s h i ng the hous i ng on the

es tates, giving it ano ther 30 to 50 years of life. On ly about ten

per cent of the sto ck will be demol i s hed, pav i ng the way for 500

new homes.

The fol low i ng gives an idea of what had been done up to the

su m mer of 2001.

• 158 blo cks ref u r bi s hed

• 2 ,759 homes ref u r bi s hed

• 4, 232 new kitchens ins ta l led

• 2 , 550 bath ro oms improved

• 4, 076 domes tic elec t r ics repa i r ed or improved

• 1, 207 ent ry phone sys tems ins ta l led

• 24 new lifts ins ta l led

• 108 new ro of s

• 9 , 883 new window s

• 1,100 new heati ng sys tems

• 1, 857 new boi ler s

REBUILDINGNEIGHBOURHOODSThe Poplar HARCAStory

06

Refurbished homes in the ???? area.

E s tate rangers work closely with police in the area.

Who runs the company?The idea of Poplar HARCA was always to give res idents a big

say in how the orga n i sation was run and what it wou ld do.

The main boa rd now has 18 direc tor s: five cou n cil direc tor s

nom i nated by Tower Ha m le ts cou n ci l, seven res ident direc tor s

( i n cl ud i ng one leaseholder direc tor) who are elec ted by other

r es idents, and six independent direc tors with a ra nge of

r elev a nt skills and ex per ien ce. One of the independent

d i r ec tors is nom i nated by East Tha mes Hous i ng Group.

Two other tiers of boa rds ensure that the demo cratic struc tu r e

of the orga n i sation reaches rig ht into the hea rt of the es tates.

Each es tate elec ts an es tate boa rd from its res idents to

r epr esent them, and each es tate boa rd nom i nates

r epr esentati ves to the Joi nt es tate pa nel, the cross- es tate

deci s ion- ma k i ng bo dy.

It is the Joi nt es tate pa nel that nom i nates the seven res ident

d i r ec tors to the main boa rd.

In 2001, the boa rd elec ted a res ident, Ch r i s ti ne Sca r le, as Cha i r.

Resident involvementIn add ition to these struc tu r ed ways of invol v i ng res idents,

Poplar HARCA is also keen to develop a mo del of ac ti ve

pa rtici pation. Pioneer ed by pa rt ner orga n i sation the Brom ley

by Bow Hea lthy Living Cent r e, this approach says that mor e

can be ga i ned by prov id i ng the support for ind i v iduals and

g roups to get on an do th i ngs for themsel ves than from any

nu m ber of com m ittees and mee ti ngs.

Fu nded by the Hous i ng Cor poration and the Es mee Fa i r bu rn

Fou ndation, Poplar HARCA is ru n n i ng a resea r ch project into

tena nt invol vement over the next th r ee years toge ther with the

S ou th Bank Un i ver s ity and Bom ley by Bow Cent r e. The idea is

to try new ideas alongs ide some of the more trad itiona l

approaches and share lea rn i ng as the poject prog r esses.

The Poplar HARCA neighbo u r h o o dc e n t r e sThe vision for the area was that each es tate wou ld have a

neig h bou r hood centre that wou ld be the hub for a ra nge of lo ca l

ac ti v ities. A Com mu n ity Area Direc tor (CAD) wou ld be based at

each cent r e. CADs wou ld be respons i ble for their es tate, ge tti ng

to know the people, their problems, their needs and their hopes.

But CADs wou ld also have a wider role to bu i ld up the capacity of

r es idents to ta ke pa rt in ru n n i ng the area and to ta ke ad v a ntage

of the opportu n ities that inves t ment in the area wou ld br i ng.

Each area now has a com mu n ity plan drawn up in

consu ltation with res idents se tti ng out the pr ior ities and

aspi rations of lo cal people.

Com mu n ity Area Direc tors were not put in place to run all the

serv ices, but they are there to nego tiate with other serv ice

prov iders to ensure that the needs of the com mu n ity are

bei ng me t.

Cent r es were also to prov ide a ra nge of bas ic education and

t ra i n i ng skills, toge ther with serv ices such as playg roups and

cr è ches that wou ld ma ke it eas ier for pa r ents to ta ke ad v a ntage of

the cou r ses on off er. The cent r es are all lo cated next to scho ol s,

a l low i ng them to share ma ny faci l ities such as play areas.

I mporta nt ly, these neig h bou r hood cent r es were also con cei ved

as places where people wou ld drop in for ad v ice or a chat.

The first centre to open its do ors was the Linc, on the Lincol n

es tate. This opened in the su m mer of 19 9 8. It was fol lowed by

the Bu rde tt centre in 1999, the Aberf eldy (funded by SRB4) in

2000 and the Tev iot in au tumn 2001 (also funded by SRB 4). In

the Brom ley area, the com mu n ity regeneration ac ti v ities are

del i ver ed on behalf of Poplar HARCA th rough a pa rt nership with

the Brom ley by Bow cent r e, where it funds some ma nagement

pos ts. A tempora ry centre operates in La nsbu ry while a new

joi nt neig h bou r hood and hea lth centre is developed with

extens i ve des ign input from lo cal res idents.

09


08

Fitting a new kitchen in a flaton the ???? esta t e .

Residents’ efforts tobrighten up the area havewon a national award – thisis a window box on theBurdett esta t e .

The esta t e sPoplar HARCA covers seven es tates, each with its ow n

d i s ti n c ti ve cha rac ter i s tics despite the com mon backg rou nd of

ma ny res idents.

A b e rfeldy esta t e• mos t ly 3 stor ey flats that are a com bi nation of new bu i ld and

r ef u r bi s hed homes

• the es tate is isolated by the A12 to the wes t, A13 to the sou th

a nd the Ri ver Lea to the east and north.

Bow Bridge and Coventry Cross• mos t ly 4 and five stor ey flats bu i ld bef ore 1940

• bo th es tates have a sig n i f ica nt nu m ber of eth n ic minor ity

r es idents

B u r d e t t• mos t ly flats, with a few ma i sone ttes and houses

• s ig n i f ica nt Bengali com mu n ity

La n s b u ry• a com bi nation of 4 and 8 stor ey flats and ma i sone ttes

• 25 per cent of res idents are pens ioner s

• pa rt of the es tate was bu i lt as pa rt of the 1951 Fes tival of Brita i n

• La nsbu ry West es tate is ma naged by a tena nt ma nagement

orga n i sation

Lincoln esta t e• a com bi nation of ma i sone ttes, flats and co ttages

• w ide diver s ity of res idents

• the area su ff er ed great ly from bomb da mage du r i ng the war

Teviot esta t e• cons i s ts of 3 stor ey flats and ma i sone ttes

• mu lti - e th n ic popu lation

Safety firstHigh cr i me rates have been a feature of life in Poplar for ma ny

yea r s. On ce a sta mpi ng grou nd for London’s ga ng la nd

‘ celebr ities’, the area now faces the more mo dern cr i mes

r elated to drugs and ha rass ment. As in ma ny other areas of

u r ban Brita i n, res idents’ fear of cr i me is as sig n i f ica nt a

problem as the ac tual cr i me.

Com mu n ity saf e ty has always been high on Poplar HARCA’s

agenda and the orga n i sation works with res idents and

pa rt ners to tack le the ma ny diff er ent aspec ts of cr i me and

cr i m i nal behav iou r.

H A RCA pays to put bobbies on the streetExtra bobbies on the beat has become a reality on theLincoln estate because of a new initiative between Po p l a rH A RCA and Scotland Ya r d .For the first time in London a pool of police officersworking extra overtime are regularly patrolling the BowCommon estate at key times as part of a six month trial –paid for by Poplar HARC A .On top of this they are visiting East End victims of crimeto ch e ck they are getting the support and help they need.East London Advert i s e r, 4 January 2001

In Ju ne 19 9 8, Poplar HARCA int ro duced es tate ra ngers pat rol s

on es tates to prov ide reassu ra n ce to res idents and has pa id for

ext ra pol ici ng in the area.

A tena n cy en f or cement team ma kes sure that where people

are shown to have broken tena n cy ru les – ha rass i ng

neig h bours for exa mple – firm ac tion will be ta ken. This tea m

works with the pol ice, the cou rts and the cou n cil to ta ke the

ac tion, incl ud i ng ev ic tion and prosecu tion, necessa ry to

pro tect the ma jor ity of tena nts from the minor ity who com m it

a nti -so cial behav iour ac ts. The team has publ i s hed help and

ad v ice on issues such as noi se nu i sa n ce or anti -so cia l

behav iou r.

Poplar HARCA joi ned for ces with the pol ice, Tower Ha m le ts cou n ci l

a nd Vic tim Support in 2001 in a scheme that aims to ma ke it

11

One of the key (histor ic) problems of the area was that people

d id not know how to get out of the histor ica l ly hig h

u nemploy ment into jobs – some 70 per cent of lo cal res idents

are in recei pt of benef its. To help cha nge this situation an

employ ment and tra i n i ng team was set up. Poplar HARCA also

lo oked to employ lo cal people wher ever it cou ld.

Poplar HARCA has a budget of £1 million a year for com mu n ity

r egeneration work. For the first th r ee years this was funded

from rental income – equ i v a lent to £2 a week for each

household. From April 2001 this has reduced to £1 a week, with

the short fall bei ng ra i sed from a varie ty of other sou r ces. Mor e

i mporta nt ly this core fund i ng can help to lever in subs ta ntia l

add itional fund i ng from the lo cal statu tory agen cies,

govern ment depa rt ments and cha r itable trus ts.

Real people, real helpThe success of Poplar HARCA’s com mu n ity regeneration wor k

has been demons t rated ti me and ti me again over the yea r s.

The fol low i ng are just a couple of exa mples of how the rig ht

k i nd of support has hel ped lo cal people help themsel ves.

M. was made redu nda nt just bef ore Ch r i s t mas 2000. She had

wor ked for the sa me small compa ny for ma ny years as an

ad m i n i s t rator, but had no know ledge of the cu r r ent IT sof t w a r e

used by most employer s.

M. lives on the Lincoln es tate and popped into The Linc cent r e

to find out what was on off er. She immed iately sig ned up for a

level 1 IT cou r se to update her skills. During the job sea r ch

sess ion she was hel ped to pro duce a CV which hig h l ig hted her

new IT skills. She sent her CV off to a vaca n cy ad verti sed in the

lo cal paper and was ca l led for interv iew and got the job. M.

s ta rted work in Ju ly 2001 as an Ad m i n i s t rator for a

cons t ruc tion compa ny. M. also passed her IT cou r se

ass ig n ments and ach ieved the RSA Cla it Level 1 qua l i f ication.

P is a sing le pa r ent who ca l led in to the Bu rde tt centre seek i ng

ad v ice about se tti ng up her own bus i ness. The Small Bus i ness

Centre had off er ed her a sta rt up loan if she pro duced a

bus i ness pla n, but she did not know how to do th i s. The ad v i ser

at the Bu rde tt centre wor ked th rough her ideas with her, gave

her resea r ch tasks to comple te and sug ges ted the struc ture of

the pla n. The ad v i ser wor ked closely with her to comple te the

plan which she pr esented to the Small Bus i ness Centre who

gave her the loa n. The Bu rde tt ad v i ser also put her in touch

w ith a women’s enter pr i se project that conti nues to off er her

support and the tech n ical ad v ice she needs.

Something about PoplarPoplar is a small area, about a mile square with, bef ore the

t ra ns f er s, over 11, 000 lo cal au thor ity homes. The towers of

Ca na ry Wha rf over lo ok the es tates. The City of London is one

m i le to the west and the Mi l lennium Dome is just across the

Tha mes. To the eas t, the approach to the Blackwall Tu n nel

d i v ides es tates.

The Blitz to ok a heavy toll on Poplar and, toge ther with slum

clea ra n ce prog ra m mes, resu lted ulti mately in ma jor bu i ld i ng

prog ra m mes in the 1960 s. To a la rge extent it is these flats that

were in need of ref u r bi s h ment.

The area histor ica l ly has high levels of over crow d i ng and

u nemploy ment is hig her than the borough average. A hig h

proportion of res idents in work have sem i s k i l led and uns k i l led

jobs.

A sig n i f ica nt nu m ber of res idents are from minor ity eth n ic

g roups, pa rticu la r ly of Ba ng ladeshi or ig i n.


10

S taff and volunteers at neighbourhood centresprovide a range of advice to local people.

13

eas ier for vic ti ms of hate cr i me will find it to report incidents.

Th i rd pa rty reporti ng sites have been set up at eig ht lo cations

across the boroug h, incl ud i ng Poplar HARCA’s main off ice at

Ch r i sp St r eet ma r ket and the Linc neig h bou r hood cent r e.

The sites prov ide an initial poi nt of contact for vic ti ms of hate

cr i me, incl ud i ng racial incidents, domes tic violen ce and cr i me

aga i nst the lesbia n, gay, bi sex ual and tra nsgender com mu n ities.

P hys ical improvements to blo cks and the env i ron ment arou nd

them remove ma ny of the opportu n ities for cr i me – po or ly lit

s ta i rw ays or dark alleys for exa mple, while tech nology in the

f orm of 24 hour closed ci r cu it telev i s ion (CCTV) mon itor i ng was

i ns ta l led in some areas in April 2001. It is hoped to ex pa nd th i s

scheme in the futu r e. Two blo cks now have con cierges to

prov ide added secu r ity for res idents.

Teen told: Behave or you’re nick e d !P a rtners against crime secure first anti-socialbanning orderThe antics of an unruly Tower Hamlets teenager have beencurbed with the borough’s first anti-social behaviour order.Tyson Thompson, from the Lincoln area of Poplar hasbeen placed under the order for the next two years. He isbanned from entering any premises or private areaswithout the permission of the owner of occupier. He mustnot assault, abuse, intimidate, threaten or harass anyoneand faces prison if he steals, damages or interferes withany property. The order was secured by Poplar HARC Ahousing association on behalf of the council and isenforced by the police.East End Life, 4 Fe b r u a ry 2001

C o u rt evicts brothers for ‘torment of tenants’Two brothers who ‘tormented’ residents on an East Ende s tate for a year and a half have been kicked out with therest of their family. The 10 and 12-year old boys live onthe Lincoln estate, Po p l a r, run by Poplar HARCA. With thehelp of the police and private detectives the sociallandlord gathered enough evidence of anti-socialbehaviour to evict them. It was claimed in court that theboys had vandalised CCTV cameras, set fire to cars,graffitied walls and harassed and verbally abusedr e s i d e n t s .East London Advert i s e r, 18 November 1999

These measu r es are backed up by a de term i nation to ta ke the

s t rongest poss i ble ac tion aga i nst those who th r eaten

r es idents. Poplar HARCA to ok out the first successful anti -

so cial behav iour order (AS BO) aga i nst a lo cal you th to pro tec t

o ther res idents and property. It has also demons t rated its

w i l l i ng ness to ta ke firm ac tion by ev ic ti ng res idents proved to

have been respons i ble for hate cr i mes.

A tenant’s view Ch r i s ti ne Sea r le is the Chair of the Poplar HARCA boa rd. She is the

first res ident to chair the orga n i sation and the first res ident Cha i r

of an urban hous i ng compa ny.

Ch r i s ti ne has been invol ved with Poplar HARCA since the proposa l s

f or the tra ns f er of the hous i ng were first put to tena nts.

W hen Tower Ha m le ts cou n cil ca l led a mee ti ng about the future of


12

Improved security, including better lighting, has been afeature of the refurbishment sch e m e s .

es tates mea ns that they know the area, know the problems

a nd know the sol u tions.

A sepa rate team deals with ga rden i ng and bulk ref use. Hav i ng

a pr esen ce on the grou nd like this is integ ral to the Popla r

H A RCA approach - the added benef its of these eyes and ea r s

mean that any vandalism can be responded to prompt ly, and

m i nor diff icu lties nipped in the bud bef ore ge tti ng out of ha nd.

Working with part n e r sIn all aspec ts of its work, Poplar HARCA is very keen to ensu r e

that it do es the bits that it can do wel l. Other pa rt ners prov ide

o ther serv ices where they are already doi ng it wel l, and can do

be tter in filling a gap or can br i ng in add itional resou r ces. As long

as it all fits toge ther it is much more importa nt that needs are

tack led and improvements ach ieved than it is that Poplar HARCA

do es it, as the fol low i ng exa mples show.

Rig ht from the sta rt Poplar HARCA chose not to es tablish a la rge

project ma nagement team to run the huge improvement and

new bu i ld prog ra m me. Ins tead, just enough in- house staff wer e

engaged to do a litt le fine tu n i ng along the way. East Tha mes

Hous i ng Group were broug ht in to act as Cl ient Development

Agents. It broug ht a depth of know ledge about the lo cal area,

tech n ical ex per ien ce and ex perti se. East Tha mes superv i sed

cont rac tor s, arch itec ts, su rveyors and other specia l i s ts,

cr eati ng tea ms that prog r essed the works on each es tate.

There was a clear need for intens i ve support for some

r es idents, beyond that already av a i lable from the statu tory

a nd vol u nta ry sec tor. Recog n i s i ng that excel lent floati ng

tena n cy support serv ices are already av a i lable from ex i s ti ng

orga n i sations, Poplar HARCA has tea med up with Lo ok Ahead

Care and Support and Tower Ha m le ts cou n ci l ’s Hous i ng Link

serv ice to meet these needs.

E xtens i ve pa rt ner s h i ps are in place with a ra nge of other

agen cies and serv ice prov ider s.


15

the es tate, she tu rned up with about 25 other tena nts to find ou t

mor e. Her main memory of that mee ti ng now is that they were told

that tra ns f er cou ld lead to money for repa i r s. Her first reac tion was

“ g r eat – maybe I’ll get my ro of fixed at las t ” .

“ It was all a bit con f us i ng to sta rt with. The main diff er en ce, I was

told, was that I wou ld become an assu r ed rather than a secu r e

tena nt. When this was ex pla i ned, I rea l ly cou ld n’t see what I had to

wor ry about because I have always been a good tena nt.

On the pl us side, there wou ld be a lot of money for repa i r s, new

houses to replace old flats and new com mu n ity bu i ld i ngs that we

wou ld have a say in ru n n i ng.”

Because of her ea r ly inter es t, Ch r i s ti ne was as ked to get mor e

i nvol ved. She joi ned a small group of res idents and cou n cil off icer s

to interv iew po tential ‘res idents’ fr iends’ and then bef ore the ba l lo t,

s he was as ked to be on the shadow boa rd.

The first ba l lot was a success and Ch r i s ti ne was a mem ber of the

i nterv iew pa nel that selec ted the sen ior ma nagement team of the

new orga n i sation.

W hen the compa ny was forma l ly set up she beca me a full direc tor

a nd ded icated a great deal of her ti me to ta l k i ng to lo cal people

bef ore the Rou nd 2 ba l lo t.

Providing Serv i c e sA cha l lenge for Poplar HARCA has been to develop very lo ca l,

es tate- based initiati ves that ref lect the needs of lo cal people,

w h i le at the sa me ti me en cou rag i ng people to mix across

es tate bou nda r ies to ta ke ad v a ntage of wider opportu n ities.

Each mem ber of Poplar HARCA’s sen ior ma nagement team is

‘ pa i r ed’ with an es tate so that they are fa m i l iar with the day- to -

day issues that aff ect res idents.

S erv ices are based on es tates. As well as the neig h bou r ho o d

cent r es that prov ide the focus for com mu n ity ac ti v ities, lo ca l

es tate serv ice tea ms ca r ry out clea n i ng, ga rden i ng and

r epa i r s. An es tate ra nger serv ice pat rols the es tates at nig ht

a nd over the weekend.

In 2001, neig h bou r hood hous i ng off icers were lo cated on

es tates

Chrisp StreetAll ‘HQ’ functions have been based here since the off ice was

opened in Summer 2000. Pr ev ious ly the orga n i sation wor ked from

u nsu itable tempora ry accom mo dation in and arou nd Popla r. The

new off ice is lo cated within the lo cal ma r ke t, where ma ny

r es idents shop or go for their lunch.

This is the ideal place for the Cus tomer Serv ice Team that dea l s

w ith all rou ti ne enqu i r ies whe ther by phone, in writi ng, in per son or

by ema i l. The team is also respons i ble for repair reporti ng and

chas i ng, ad v ice on rehous i ng options – in fac t, most of the th i ngs

that a res ident wou ld want to talk to their la nd lord abou t.

W h i le strong cent ral serv ices are importa nt, the real ac tion is ou t

on the es tates.

N e i g h bourhood OfficersAs they are gradua l ly fr eed from the rou ti ne enqu i r ies from

r es idents, Poplar HARCA's hous i ng ma nagers are spend i ng mor e

ti me on their patch, dea l i ng with more complex problems,

engag i ng in proac ti ve and pr eventati ve work and supporti ng

r es ident invol vement th rough the es tate boa rds. Like ma ny of

Poplar HARCA’s ac ti v ities, this role is new and it can be toug h, so

there are steep lea rn i ng cu rves for everyone. It is a wide

r espons i bi l ity to hold - need i ng to be aware of the property

( empty properties and le tti ngs), dea l i ng with the problems of

i nd i v iduals (anti so cial behav iour or rehous i ng needs) and

supporti ng demo cratic accou ntabi l ity of the orga n i sation.

Neig h bou r hood Off icers had run su rger ies from each

neig h bou r hood Cent r e, but the new move mea nt relo cati ng to be

based there most of the ti me. Bei ng on- the-spot great ly incr eases

their know ledge of what is happen i ng, the speed and

eff ec ti veness of their interventions and the opportu n ities for joi nt

wor k i ng with com mu n ity regeneration col leag ues.

Local Estate Service Teams A team of ‘Super Ca r e ta ker s’ works out of th r ee es tate bases,

ca r ry i ng out repairs and clea n i ng. They also respond to out of

hour emergen cy repa i r s. The ca r e ta ker s’ close contact with

REBUILDINGNEIGHBOURHOODSThe Poplar HARCAStory

14

There are after-school activities for local youngsters.

Centre staff provide regular housing surgeries.

N e i g h bourhood ManagementIn seek i ng to ach ieve a sus ta i nable regeneration of the area

that ref lec ts what lo cal people want, Poplar HARCA has long

seen the need for a closer integ ration of ex i s ti ng serv ices.

The govern ment's National St rategy for Neig h bou r ho o d

Renewal has ther ef ore been welcomed with open arms - and

Mo Mow la m, then cabi net off ice minister, chose to visit Popla r

H A RCA as pa rt of the publ ic lau n ch of that pol icy.

Hel ped by Poplar HARCA, lo cal res idents and agen cies have

been discuss i ng the fea r s, pr ior ities and opportu n ities that

neig h bou r hood ma nagement mig ht br i ng. As a resu lt a pic tu r e

of how neig h bou r hood ma nagement cou ld work in Poplar is

a l r eady emerg i ng, and some of the Com mu n ity Area Direc tor s

have been seconded to help these ideas develop. The boroug h’s

Lo cal St rateg ic Pa rt nership is also now bei ng put in place and

Poplar is bei ng used to pi lot some of the ea r ly ideas. The

govern ment ’s Neig h bou r hood Renewal Un it is also incl ud i ng

Poplar in its national study of pi lot projec ts.

Under the spotlightBecause Poplar HARCA is a new kind of orga n i sation that is try i ng

out ma ny new ways of wor k i ng, it is bou nd to att ract attention.

However, the nu m ber of off icial visitor s, int r ig ued res idents or

cu r ious col leag ues has been tru ly ama z i ng - on average abou t

th r ee visits each month. Poplar HARCA has hos ted visits from

govern ment minister s, sen ior civil serv a nts, heads of nationa l

a nd reg ional agen cies, orga n i sations and res idents who are

t ry i ng to ach ieve the sa me aims, orga n i sations and res idents

w ho are still weig h i ng up the options.

They can now all lo cate Poplar on that aer ial shot at the sta rt

a nd finish of East Enders each nig ht, but more importa nt ly

they are find i ng about what Poplar HARCA is try i ng to ach ieve

a nd the prog r ess bei ng made.

Poplar HARCA is keen to share its ex per ien ce and it wants to

hear about the ach ievements of others – and what they th i n k

of its ach ievements. It also wants to per suade those who

cont rol the pu r se strings or formu late national pol icy of the

long term benef its of its approach.

Into the futureThe initial ma jor works prog ra m me will so on be comple te.

More new homes are pla n ned, further improvements will be

phased over the com i ng years and ma i ntena n ce prog ra m mes

are bei ng put in place to pro tect this mass i ve inves t ment.

That pro tec tion incl udes prov id i ng pos iti ve opportu n ities for

lo cal res idents, incl ud i ng you ng people, so that they also

v a l ue and respect their homes, their es tate and other

mem bers of the com mu n ity.

There is a conti nu i ng need to att ract ext ra resou r ces to tack le

u n met needs, and Poplar HARCA is of ten compe ti ng with

o thers for these. Whe ther or not Poplar HARCA leads

neig h bou r hood ma nagement in Popla r, it will have a ma jor role

to play in any lo cal pa rt nership and is happy to conti nue to

think imag i nati vely, work with others and share resou r ces to

ma ke this wor k .

But just as importa nt is pro tec ti ng the inves t ment that lo ca l

r es idents are pr epa r ed to put into their com mu n ity. Popla r

H A RCA will ca r ry on with its com mu n ity regeneration

i n itiati ves, lo ok for opportu n ities to ‘join up’ its serv ices and

w ith those of other lo cal prov ider s.

Tower Ha m le ts cou n cil is cu r r ent ly cons ider i ng options for the

r est of its hous i ng sto ck and ca r ry i ng out extens i ve

consu ltation with res idents. Poplar HARCA bel ieves it has

s hown that it can del i ver the ref u r bi s h ment of homes, prov ide

i mproved serv ices and del i ver a mass i ve com mu n ity

r egeneration prog ra m me – while rents are now on average £6

a week less than the equ i v a lent cou n cil rents. The orga n i sation

ex pec ts that ma ny lo cal res idents will want to lo ok at the sto ck

t ra ns f er option closely. If they live in Poplar it hopes that they ' l l

w a nt to cho ose Poplar HARCA as their la nd lord and further

i n cr ease the orga n i sation’s abi l ity to ma ke life be tter.


16

Coventry Cross – unrecognisa b l efrom a few years ago.

the poplar harca story r e b u i l d i n g n e i g h bo u...

Documents