People who live and work in Tower Hamlets demonstrated their commitment to their neighbourhood by turning out in force at Woolmore Primary School on Saturday (3 November), to view the proposed regeneration options for Blackwall Reach. The event formed part of the wide-reaching public consultation commissioned by national regeneration agency, English Partnerships and Tower Hamlets Council.

Over 100 home visits have already taken place to understand residents' main aspirations in relation to the Blackwall Reach Draft Development Framework - a set of principles for regenerating the area, which has been prepared by English Partnerships and the Council.

Saturday's event was the first opportunity for the public to view a 3-D model showing possible options for the future regeneration of Blackwall Reach - an area bounded by East India Dock Road to the north, the Blackwall Tunnel Approach and East India Docks to the east, Aspen Way to the south and Cotton Street to the west. This area includes Robin Hood Gardens.

Stephen Cherry of Horden Cherry Lee, the architects behind the design options, explained the proposals to groups of people throughout the day.

There was also an exhibition on the regeneration proposals and in the morning local people attended workshops on specific topics including housing. During the afternoon, they put questions to the expert panel, which included representatives from English Partnerships and Tower Hamlets Council.

Stephen Oakes, Area Director at English Partnerships, said:

"We’re delighted so many local people were able to attend the event. There was much discussion about specific aspects of the regeneration project and people got the chance to see the model of the options for themselves.

"It’s not too late to get involved. The exhibition will be moving on to the community centre from today (Tuesday 6 November) so there’s still time to find out more."

A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets Council said:

"We expected a good response to the event following the number of requests for home visits, but the final turnout was excellent.

"On the day, a number of attendees volunteered for the Local Voices group, which will represent residents as community involvement progresses. However, we’d still like to encourage even more people to have their say so please get in touch by calling the freephone information line or visiting the website."

Residents can continue to make their views known by calling the freephone helpline, 0800 055 6340 or visiting the Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project website, www.blackwallreach.co.uk. The consultation team has also carried out more than 100 home visits.
ENDS

For further press information please contact:

Sarah Webster / Seamus O Keeffe
ING Media, PR agency for English Partnerships
Telephone: 020 7247 8334
Email: sarah@ing-media.com / seamus@ing-media.com

OR

Eloise Clarke
Tower Hamlets Council Communications Officer
Telephone: 020 7364 4754
Email: Eloise.clarke@towerhamlets.gov.uk

NOTES TO EDITOR

Blackwall Reach exhibition details
Members of the public can view the exhibition explaining the regeneration options prepared by the partners at the Community Hall in Robin Hood Gardens, E14 0HN. The exhibition panels will be on display from Tuesday 6 November to Friday 9 November from 5-6pm, and on Saturday 10 November and Sunday 11 November from 12-2pm.

Tower Hamlets Council
Tower Hamlets is a diverse, intense and fascinating place. Major opportunities such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Thames Gateway, Crossrail, City Fringe and the Docklands developments are all taking place within the borough.

At the time of the 2001 census 58% of the population in Tower Hamlets belonged to an ethnic group other than White British. A third or 33% of the population were Bangladeshi, 7% came from African/Caribbean backgrounds and the total White British population was 42%. The borough has the second youngest population in the country, with over 28 per cent of the population under 19.

English Partnerships is the government’s national regeneration agency delivering high quality, sustainable growth in England. We do this by developing our portfolio of strategic projects and acting as the government’s advisor on brownfield land. We also ensure that surplus public sector assets are used to support wider government objectives, especially those contained in the Sustainable Communities Plan. English Partnerships helps create communities where people can afford to live and want to live. Information on projects and programmes can be found at www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation are working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to establish the Homes and Communities Agency.

Scott Wilson Group plc, with over 5,500 members of staff, is an international consultancy offering integrated professional services in the transportation, property, environment and natural resources sectors. The Group has doubled in size over the past few years and from its UK headquarters currently controls a worldwide network of 80 offices, of which 40 are in the UK. The main international centres are located in China, Hong Kong, India, SE Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Southern Africa.

Within London’s large Planning and Environment Group is a specialist Social Regeneration and Engagement team providing a full range of stakeholder engagement, social impact assessment and equalities impact assessment services, as well as specialist input to master-planning and policy development processes. This group has worked on a number of high profile projects including: Skills for Sustainable Communities Training, Woodberry Down Regeneration and Sherford New Community, West Hendon Regeneration and Elland Area Action Plan.

Scott Wilson was awarded ‘New Company of the Year’ at the 2007 UK PLC Awards, ‘Major Firm of the Year’ at the 2007 NCE/ACE Consultants of the Year Awards, ‘Best Investor Relations for a New Issue’ at the Investor Relations Magazine Awards 2007 and ‘IPO of the Year’ at the 2006 Shares Magazine Awards.www.scottwilson.com

Blackwall Reach currently includes Robin Hood Gardens, Anderson House, Woolmore Street, Mackrow Walk, Delta Building, Indigo Mews and Bullivant Street