Woodberry Down Community Organisation

September 02, 2020

At its Annual General Meeting on 3rd September the WDCO Board discussed the Phase 3 proposals due to be considered by Hackney Planning Committee later in September.  They had a presentation from the Independent Tenant and Leaseholder Adviser. This covered the discussions with partners that had been had on phase 3 and the options considered regarding the Street Plane Tree outside the Happy Man Pub. Under the planning application the tree would be removed.  The Independent Design Adviser was also in attendance to answer questions. 

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Following discussion by Board members there was a secret ballot on whether to support, oppose or abstain on the planning application. The decision of the Board, by 12 votes to 4 with 2 abstentions was to support the planning application

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Click on image for Board presentation 

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June 29, 2020

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Please click on the logo for more details 

March 29, 2020

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Please click on the logo for letter from Cllr McKenzie

March 29, 2020

If you are having difficulty paying because your income has been affected, Hackney Council will work closely with you to ensure you get all the financial help you are entitled to and give you time and help while the full impact of the outbreak remains unclear.

Please contact Hackney Council as soon as you can. It is important that you work with them quickly so we can advise you on what benefits you could be entitled to and help you solve the problem.
 

How to contact Hackney:

Use one of the following ways:

* By telephone on 020 8356 3100

*By email at income.services@hackney.gov.uk

*Through someone who helps you, such as a friend, carer or advice agency like Citizens
Advice. Hackney Council will ask them for proof that you have given them permission to discuss your account first.

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Please click on the logo for more information. 

April 10, 2020

Manor House Development Trust have opened their kitchen doors in the Redmond Community Centre to run a free food delivery service. Their workers and volunteers are preparing, cooking, and delivering healthy and nutritious hot meals straight to some of the most vulnerable residents in Hackney, Woodberry Down. 

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How will it work? 

Food is being cooked and prepared in their certified kitchen by professional kitchen chefs and volunteers. These tasty meals are then be sent on their way on cargo bikes and delivered by their non-contact volunteer couriers. No need for the residents to leave their front doors, they will come to them.

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They need to raise £1,500 so they can reach as many community members in need of their service right now. £5 can feed a family of 4!  Give what you can. Your community needs you.

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Click on the logo to go to their JustGiving page and please donate. 

April 05, 2020

Site Closure Update 

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Berkeley Homes are back on site. They wrote to WDCO following the letter from the Secretary of State Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to the Construction Industry  where he stated that  providing they follow the Public Health England guidelines, it is safe to operate in the workplace.

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Click on the logo for a copy of the letter from the Secretary of State Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

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 Berkeley Homes have agreed to allow limited works to continue on site from Monday the 6th of April. This will involve around a fifth of the workforce and will be concentrated on priority works to complete new homes that are very close to being occupied by new Woodberry Down residents.

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Berkeley Homes say that they have instigated strict working rules in accordance with the Construction Leadership Councils (CLC) Site Operating Procedures, as well as providing parking facilities on site to mitigate the use of public transport, They have also implemented packed lunches to be delivered for the workforce to avoid the need to leave site during the day.

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WDCO Chair William Sheehy asked that they ensured access to the site for workers was via Green Lanes and that staff would stay on site rather access the wider neighbourhood. This they agreed to do. Because of fears of potential Coronavirus spread Billy also emailed local ward Councillors for Hackney’s view of building work continuing. When he gets a reply the website will be updated.  

April 01, 2020

For more information click on the logo. 

March 29, 2020

Site Closure 

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Due to the current Covid-19 situation construction works are to cease on Phase 2 sites as of Monday 30th March 2020.

Berkeley Homes will retain security to ensure the site remains safe and will advise in due course as to when the sites will reopen.

March 29, 2020

Coronavirus – get help and support

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If you or someone you know would like assistance from a volunteer, please call the Hackney coronavirus helpline on 020 8356 3111 (8am-5pm Monday-Friday). 

March 27, 2020

Spring Park play area has been closed and securely fenced off until further notice. 

March 26, 2020

Coronavirus update 26th March 2020:

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Woodberry Wetlands will be closed from 3.30pm on Thurday 26th March.

The London Wildlife Trust have come to the decision to close the reserve for the time being. The paths and in particular the boardwalk at Woodberry are too narrow for us to be able to guarantee the required two metre social distancing guidelines.

March 26, 2020

Click on the logo to get more information on:

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• Support for vulnerable residents

• Find support services map

• Support for renters

• Support for businesses

• Employment support

March 25, 2020

Covid-19 (Coronavirus) update:

Citizens Advice East End has put in place the following temporary changes to protect their service users, volunteers and staff.

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From Tuesday the 18th March 2020 and until further notice:

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No face to face advice and support is offered. To access their support you can:

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Text: HELP to 07860041410
Email: advice@eastendcab.org.uk

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They provide free, confidential and impartial advice for communities in Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets on the big issues affecting people’s lives.

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Click on the logo for more details on their service updates. 

March 25, 2020

What Hackney have done

• set up a volunteering and community task group to link up with Hackney’s Humanitarian Assistance Group

• set up a programme with Hackney’s established community and voluntary sector to make sure that Hackney’s hundreds of trained and DBS checked volunteers are being deployed where they are most needed

• lifted restrictions from voluntary groups on how they spend the grants we allocate them

What Hackney are doing

• setting up a dedicated phone-line for those who are vulnerable and need help, especially those who do not have easy access to online support

• working closely with Hackney’s Food Poverty Justice Alliance to develop their support and make sure they are ready for the challenging weeks ahead

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For information and how you can help click on the Hackney logo. 

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March 23, 2020

To protect both residents and their staff, Hackney Council will not be undertaking routine repairs inside Council homes from 24th March.  They will continue to undertake emergency repairs where there is a risk to the resident or a possibility of serious damage to your property.

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Where they do need to undertake repairs in an emergency, they will ask you to stay at least 2m from the operative, and their operatives will not accept food or drinks offered by residents or pass handheld devices to residents to sign-off visits. 

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For Hackney Council updates on the Corona Virus click on the Hackney logo or visit https://hackney.gov.uk/coronavirus

March 19, 2020

For more information click on NHG logo. 

February 20, 2020

Berkeley Homes gave a presentation on their Apprenticeship Programme on Woodberry Down. Currently there are 28 apprentices on site, around 50% of which were with sub contractors.  It was also beginning to help diversify the workforce in 2018 26% of the apprentices were female and  44% BME , whilst in 2019 13% were female and 60% BME.  

Click on picture to see presentation

October 16, 2019

The October WDCO Board heard from Social Life about a survey of resident opinions that had been carried out to see what people felt about the regeneration and the neighbourhood. The idea is to stay over time the impact that the relationship has on people's lives and life chances. 

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Click on the picture to see presentation. 

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October 16, 2019

Simon Donovan from Manor House Development Trust updated the  October WDCO Board on the work that they do and their organisation. 

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Click on the picture to see presentation. 

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September 18, 2019

The September WDCO Board heard from Berkeley Homes about how they intended to get lorries into and out of the phase 3 site to demolish the old housing and build new homes.  Building near where people live is always difficult but Woodberry Down has particular issues as there are three schools on the estate. The aim of the plan was to minimise disruption for residents whilst ensuring an efficient build timetable. 

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Concern was expressed about how residents will cross Seven Sisters Road, at the junction with Woodberry Grove as the site hoarding will reduce pavement widths, also WDCO reps asked that Berkeley Homes do not have lorries coming on site when the schools are opening and closing. 

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Click on the picture to see presentation. 

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September 18, 2019

The September WDCO Board heard about community parklets. These were green community spaces made up of an underused parking space on a road or the estate.  Initially for 6 months they might last longer.

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Click on the picture to see presentation. 

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In August WDCO and their partners celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the start of building new homes on Woodberry Down. 

The event was held at Woodberry Wetlands and like all birthdays included a cake!

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William Sheehy, Chair of WDCO, welcomed progress made to date but emphasised that there was still work to be done. 

• He looked forward  to partners to design even better homes for the remaining 350 Council tenants and their families waiting to be rehoused. 

• And stressed that all partners must work together to create a successful neighbourhood for the whole community 

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Click on the picture to see video of the regeneration produced by Berkeley Homes

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WDCO July Board got an update from Berkeley Homes on progress to a new retail strategy. The good news is that empty shops should soon be relet but Berkeley Homes accepted that they needed a better approach to improve the shops on Woodberry Down. Click on picture to download their presentation. 

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A Woodberry Down multi use games area (MUGA)  has been extended and had a 4G astroturf installed. Arsenal in the Community will be running training sessions twice a week on Tuesday and Thursdays from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. Just turn up. 

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Woodberry Down Community Organisation, Berkeley Homes, Notting Hill Genesis, and Hackney Council reps visited Aberdeen Heat and Power to see how they have successfully provided affordable heat and hot water to residents in Aberdeen ensuring that none of their residents suffer from fuel poverty. The aim is to create a Community Interest Company on Woodberry Down to ensure all residents across all tenures have affordable heat. The WDCO representatives that went to Aberdeen reported back on their experiences to the March 2019 WDCO Board. Click on picture to see presentation

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At its February 2019 Board meeting​, WDCO heard about the proposals to create a neighbourhood system for health and social care in Hackney. Board members welcomed the proposals and questioned the Health professionals on their experience of the GP Practices at the John Scott Health Centre. 

Click on Picture to see Presentation.

Woodberry Down Community Organisation (WDCO) received a presentation from Berkeley Homes on their plans for Phase 3. This is due to be submitted to Hackney Council shortly for planning permission. 

Click on picture to see presentation.

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Woodberry Down Community Organisation, Berkeley Homes, Notting Hill Genesis, Hackney Council and Manor House Development Trust attended the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Awards on 2nd November 2018 and won two awards  Best Regeneration Project and Project of the Year 2018.  

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Woodberry Down Community Organisation (WDCO) recently launched the completed book telling the story of the Community "Save the Reservoirs Campaign". The successful campaign started following the intention of Thame Water to drain both the East and West Reservoirs and build new homes on them. Using  £10,000 awarded to them  by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) WDCO used these funds to write a book using resident memories and materials on “How We Saved the Reservoirs.” We also produced a video of the campaign including interviews with activists and historic footage. 

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Both the book and video can be downloaded from this website.

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A new pub has opened in Woodberry Down, The Naturalist. This Youngs Pub is in Spring Park and can be accessed from Woodberry Down Road. The pub was opened by the Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville. The newest section of Spring Park also includes a "poster park", these poster boards allow art to be exhibited out in the open. The first exhibition was curated by WDCO and focused on the history of the estate as it approached its 70th anniversary. 

Following the WDCO Retail Survey, Berkeley Homes introduced a Fish and Chip van at their summer screenings, Movie Weekend. This proved successful with residents and so WDCO have been lobbying Hackney Council and Berkeley Homes to make it a permanent feature. This has taken longer than we hoped but is now in place every Thursday from 3pm-8pm at the Rose Garden on junction of Woodberry Down and Woodberry Grove, opposite Sainsbury's

WDCO Board Member, Jackie Myers, recently received an award from the Mayor of Hackney, Phillip Glanville. This was for her work of setting up a Play Streets Group on the estate. Play Streets encourages children to play out in the open. often in roads that have been closed for the day to traffic. On Woodberry Down they encourage children to play in Riverside Gardens near the water ball fountain.

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​They run from spring to autumn, on the 1st Sunday of every month. In 2018, the dates are Sunday 1st April 6th May, 3rd June, 1st July, 5th August, 2nd September and 7th October. The times are 3 to 5 pm.  

June 18, 2017

The Mayor of Hackney and Cllr Selman have issued a joint statement regarding the attack today at Finsbury Park Mosque. 

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Residents will notice extra Police Officers patrolling the City over the next few days. Within Hackney, the Council's CCTV and enforcement officers will be providing additional support to places of worship and cultural centres in the borough. 

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Please click the link below to read the statement in full. 

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http://news.hackney.gov.uk/joint-statement-finsbury-park/

June 15, 2017

At the WDCO AGM, Board members quizzed reps from Genesis Berkeley homes and London Borough of Hackney

And WDCO are looking to ensure a comprehensive partnership response to resident fire safety concerns  raised following the tragic fire in Grenfell Tower in West London. The Chairs Annual Report summarises our concerns and Hackney and Berkeley Homes have already put out some information. Below you will find a summary of the information that has been circulated. 

Woodberry Down residents 

In light of the recent tragic events in Central London, we would like to take this opportunity to reassure all residents that the upmost diligence is carried out ensuring all buildings on this development have working fire detection and suppression systems in place and the buildings are built in accordance with British Standards for safety and compliance. 

Premier Estates have issued the below notice to all their residents in the last 24 hours -

We carry out annual risk impact surveys, general health and safety surveys and fire risk assessments for each building to ensure that all areas comply with the relevant regulations. We engage with external contractors who test the systems and issue testing certificates to further assure us that the life safety systems in place are working and operating. Furthermore, the estates team, carry out daily and weekly checks to ensure that the systems are operating correctly.

Please be assured, we continue to review our procedures and drills for all estate staff to ensure the development which you live in is fully maintained and a safe place to live. All of the estate staff on site are trained and aware of what to do in the event of a fire and or any other major / minor incident or disaster.

Further to the communal detection and suppression systems, each flat is fitted with a smoke detector, which is wired to the main distribution board located in your flat, this detector is also fitted with a rechargeable battery, in case of a power cut.  It is the responsibility of the occupant to test the operation of the smoke detector once per month, by pressing the test button hard once. If the unit is bleeping intermittently you will need to change the battery.

With regards to the fire safety procedure at Woodberry Down, there is a Defend in Place Policy agreed and approved with the London Fire Authority, whereby residents who are not in the apartment that the fire has occurred are requested to remain in their apartment unless directed to leave by the fire and rescue service.  Rest assured, the property has been built with adequate fire compartmentation which has been designed to resist the passage of fire.

In the unlikely event that an evacuation is required, close all doors behind you (if possible) and exit via the communal stairwells if it is safe to do so. You should also notify the fire brigade at the earliest opportunity by calling 999.  The evacuation assembly point for all blocks is located outside the Redmond centre (Kayani Avenue, London N4 2HF).

External Cladding Building Fabrics used at Woodberry Down –

There are various material fabrics that have been used on completed phases so far. A large majority of blocks of 8 storeys and below are of brick construction. This fabric is non-combustible and provides no fire risk. Where there has been aluminium and GRC panels used, these are specified as Class O flame retardant. The backing insulation behind all the rain screen cladding is treated with a fire retardant and therefore not a fire risk.

The two tall towers that have been constructed and occupied have a combination of metal/glass/terracotta cladding around them. These panels were fabricated off site (unitised) and lifted up onto the building. The letter below is from the Contractor responsible for this Tower Cladding and is self-explanatory.

At every floor level, and party wall locations, there is a fire break installed between the edge of the concrete floor slab and the back of the cladding panel. This is rigorously checked and signed off as part of a quality procedure before the fire break is covered over by flooring or ceiling construction.

All cladding designs have been approved and signed off by Building Control and our Warrantee provider, Premier Warrantee.

Fire Strategy for Tall Buildings at Woodberry Down –

Sprinkler systems are required in individual apartments when a building is over 30m high. This equates to 10/11 floors so our Residence Tower and Skyline Tower are both fitted with sprinkler systems.

There is also a requirement to install a wet riser (one that is permanently filled with water) when a building is over 50m high (15/16 floors), so again both Towers are fitted with wet risers as opposed to dry risers.

Berkeley Homes (North East London) Ltd

June 2017

September 06, 2016

Hackney residents will be electing a new Mayor on 15th Sepetember. The candidiates from the main political parties will be at the Redmond Centre on 7th Sepetember to tell you their policies and answer your questions. Everyone Welcome!

May 22, 2016

The architects working on the plans for Woodberry Down Children's Centre have produced updated designs.

The planning application has now been submitted, so look out for consultation letters and notices over the next couple of weeks. 

June 03, 2016

The annual fun day at Woodberry Down will be on Saturday 4th June from 1pm-4pm. The event will be held at The Green, Rowly Gardens. There will be entertainment, kids activities, free food and much more.

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April 30, 2016

Woodberry Wetlands will be offering free guided tours of the reserve over the bank holiday opening weekend on Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00. The tours groups will meet outside Lizzy’s at the Coal House Café located at the end of the boardwalk from the main entrance to the reserve. The main entrance is located at 226 Lordship Road (via New River Path), London N16 5HQ. MAP  No booking necessary.

Spanning 11 hectares, London Wildlife Trust’s long term project of habitat improvement and heritage restoration is situated upon a stretch of the New River and engulfs Stoke Newington East Reservoir in Hackney. Originally built as storage for fresh drinking water in the early 19th century, the reservoir and its surrounds more recently became recognised for their importance to wildlife and named a site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. In addition to its inherent wildlife, the site supports important historical buildings which were formerly in grave need of conservation and enhancement. The Grade II listed Coal House, a former coal store and kitchen, has undergone complete restoration and will now be open for the public to enjoy as a visitor centre and café at Woodberry Wetlands. Two other important heritage structures, the Ivy Sluice House and New River Bridge also stand on the site.

April 13, 2016

The West Reservoir Centre sits just off Green Lanes next to the Castle Climbing Centre. The Centre runs a youth club which provides young people the opportunity to participate in dinghy sailing, kayaking and canoeing.

Open to Children aged: 8 - 17 year olds Activities include: Canoeing, Kayaking and Sailing. All sessions work towards National Governing Bodies Awards: RYA – ‘Youth Sailing Scheme’ British Canoeing – Star Award Scheme’.

March 31, 2016

Wates are looking for applications for their Building Futures programme it is aimed at those aged 19+ and unemployed looking for a career in construction.

If you are interested in this opportunity please contact: 
James Thompson on 07525 592272 or james.thompson@ixionholdings.com for more information.

Closing date for applications is Friday 13 May 2016

March 17, 2016

Following a WDCO Board presentation from Nigel Minto at Hackney Council on the Housing and Planning bill that is currently going through parliament, WDCO has passed a resolution to oppose the bill.  The presentation that was given is available below. 

March 09, 2016

The next Woodberry Down ward forum will be held on Wednesday 9th March at 7pm at the Redmond Community Centre. The theme for the forum will be Woodberry Down's offer for young people. 

March 01, 2016

If there is anything you wish to discuss or report, you can do so by going along to this meeting. There you will be able to speak to officers face to face. They are interested to hear what is happening in your area.

February 18, 2016

Nick Walker head of programme management at Hackney Homes gave a presentation at the WDCO February board. The presentation outlined what works are going to be carried out and key dates for these works. For the full presentation see the link below.

February 18, 2016

The architects working on the Woodberry Down Children's Centre gave a presentation of their plans at the WDCO February board. See the link below for the presentation, which gives details of potential designs and layouts. 

January 26, 2016

Have your say on a  series of possible changes to Seven Sisters Road by following the link below. 

http://www.sevensistersroad.co.uk/

January 25, 2016

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement last week regarding a new fund of £140m of 100 regeneration estates Geoff Bell, chair of WDCO, was asked to participate in a discussion on regeneration. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03f4vyb