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Autumn 2012<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> Life<br />

m a g a z i n e f o r p o p l a r h a r c a r e s i d e n t s<br />

POPLAR<br />

2 0 1 2


contact<br />

Head Office<br />

167A East India Dock Road, E14 0EA<br />

info@poplarharca.co.uk<br />

Neighbourhood Centres<br />

aberfeldy<br />

Bromley by Bow<br />

Burcham street<br />

Burdett<br />

hind grove<br />

limehouse Youth club<br />

linc centre<br />

teviot<br />

trussler hall<br />

ASB<br />

Bidding for homes<br />

Parking contractor<br />

Emergency services<br />

police<br />

Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs)<br />

Bow east<br />

Bow West<br />

Bromley-by-Bow<br />

east india and lansbury<br />

limehouse<br />

mile end east<br />

crimestoppers<br />

general enquiries<br />

adult social care<br />

children’s services<br />

council tax<br />

environmental health<br />

healthline<br />

housing Benefit<br />

parking<br />

pest and noise nuisance<br />

streetline<br />

asB<br />

hate crime<br />

Useful Contacts<br />

0800 035 1991<br />

020 7510 0500<br />

020 7515 6794<br />

020 8709 9700<br />

020 7093 3549<br />

020 7538 2553<br />

020 7515 1005<br />

020 7531 6199<br />

020 7538 5748<br />

020 7987 5764<br />

020 7510 9770<br />

07960 031760<br />

http://bit.ly/reportASB<br />

5pm-9am<br />

0845 270 2400<br />

020 8803 2741<br />

999<br />

101<br />

020 8721 2807<br />

020 8649 3521<br />

020 8721 2041<br />

020 8721 2806<br />

020 8721 2852<br />

020 8721 2848<br />

0800 555 111<br />

020 7364 5020<br />

020 7364 5005<br />

020 7364 5006<br />

020 7364 5002<br />

020 7364 5008<br />

020 7364 5016<br />

020 7364 5001<br />

020 7364 5003<br />

020 7364 5007<br />

020 7364 5004<br />

0800 917 5918<br />

0800 917 5918<br />

Between 5.00pm and 9am only emergency enquiries will be dealt with.<br />

On a mobile it may be cheaper to call. Open weekdays 9am to 5pm.<br />

poplar harca official<br />

If team are patrolling they may attend reported incidents out of hours. If<br />

not, messages will be responded to the next working day.<br />

www.thhs.org.uk<br />

Estate parking enquiries if you think your vehicle has been towed or<br />

someone is parked in your bay.<br />

In emergencies when a crime is happening, someone suspected of a crime<br />

is nearby, or if someone is injured, being threatened or in danger.<br />

When situations do not require immediate response<br />

police@metpoliceuk www.met.police.uk<br />

http://content.met.police.uk/Borough/TowerHamlets/contact<br />

Call anonymously with information about crime<br />

Tower Hamlets Council @towerhamletsnow www.towerhamlets.gov.uk<br />

Information, advice and assessment for people with learning disabilities,<br />

physical disabilities, older people and support for carers<br />

Social services and education including child protection<br />

Information and advice regarding food safety, health & safety, animal<br />

wardens<br />

To find a GP and other health services<br />

Street parking, paying/appealing a fine, reporting abandoned vehicle,<br />

permits and information on mobility services<br />

Pest control advice and get help with problems, complaints or enquiries<br />

concerning residential and commercial noise.<br />

Commercial waste service, dumped rubbish, Enviro-Champions, flyposting,<br />

graffiti, litter and litter bins, pavements, potholes, recycling, rubbish<br />

collection, street cleaning and street lighting<br />

24 hours number<br />

24 hours number<br />

@poplarharca


POPLAR 2012 4<br />

Editorial..................................................................2<br />

News in brief......................................................3<br />

Nature watch ....................................................5<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> 2012.........................................................6<br />

Focus ......................................................8<br />

Community..........................................10<br />

Annual Repor t 2012 ........................12<br />

Universal Benefit .............................................14<br />

dear readers,<br />

You may have seen our names in previous issues of <strong>HARCA</strong> Life<br />

but we’d like to introduce ourselves to you properly, we are, Rouf<br />

Ahmed, Fran Jefcoate, Gordon Joly and Joan Parrott and together<br />

we are the resident editorial group.<br />

We meet regularly to help decide on the content of our next<br />

edition and try to ensure that as well as all the news you need<br />

to know, there are some fun items too.<br />

Do you have a story of local interest? Memories of growing up<br />

in <strong>Poplar</strong> or Bow or an historical fact you would like to share? We<br />

would love to hear from you and put your articles in print.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> Life is your magazine and with your help we can keep<br />

it fresh and interesting. We look forward to hearing from you,<br />

have fun writing your articles.<br />

Best wishes,<br />

rouf, fran, gordon and Joan<br />

1<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> and<br />

Bow Green<br />

Network<br />

launches 17<br />

Improving <strong>Poplar</strong>.............................................16<br />

Get Involved ......................................................18<br />

Your home.....................................19<br />

Young people....................................................20<br />

Your shout ..........................................................22<br />

Wordsearch.......................................................24<br />

Profile.....................................................................25<br />

from l - r: Joan, Rouf, Gordon and Fran<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

contents


editorial<br />

cover: <strong>Poplar</strong> residents Sadie and<br />

Makeda Sesay enjoying the <strong>Poplar</strong> 2012<br />

Screening event.<br />

photo: Rehan Jamil<br />

Editor<br />

Simone Bresi-Ando<br />

Design and production<br />

Syed Pasha<br />

Mahbub Rahman<br />

Contributors<br />

Helen New<br />

Becky Roberts<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> 2<br />

What a summer!<br />

Wow! What a summer we’ve had. I think even the most<br />

cynical of us have enjoyed the 2012 Olympics and<br />

Paralympics taking place in our back yard. We all joked<br />

about volley ball being a major attraction but when it<br />

came down to it, we embraced the diversity of sports and<br />

supported the athletes fully. Who’d of thought I’d hear<br />

grown men get passionate about dressage?! The<br />

atmosphere has been electric around east London and I<br />

hope some of you have been lucky enough to get to the<br />

Olympic Park.<br />

One of my many highlights was watching our hero, Mo<br />

Farrah, sprint home to victory on a giant screen at our<br />

‘<strong>Poplar</strong> 2012 Screen on the Green’ event at Langdon Park.<br />

There was a real sense of pride from everyone watching<br />

and a great vibe amongst the crowd which included you -<br />

our residents and also visitors from Germany, Switzerland<br />

and Jamaica. It was hard not to be truly inspired by the<br />

medals won, stories told and the personal journeys taken<br />

by these international superstars.<br />

So onto our journey. The challenge that myself and<br />

everyone at <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> will be rising to, is making<br />

sure the <strong>Poplar</strong> area is well placed to take advantage of<br />

the regeneration opportunities that will come with the<br />

Olympic legacy over the months and years ahead.<br />

What will be your legacy?<br />

Let me know on @stevestride_ph<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> Life is published four times a year. The next issue is due out in December<br />

2012. If you would like to contribute something, such as a story, poem, photo, letter<br />

or recipe, please get in touch before November 9, 2012 and send to<br />

contributions@poplarharca.co.uk or phone 020 7510 0848.<br />

Printed on 100% recycled paper.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> Life editorial group<br />

Rouf Ahmed, Fran Jefcoate, Gordon Joly, Joan Parrott<br />

harca life is published by poplar harca, 167a east india dock road, london e14 0ea<br />

and distributed to 8,600 homes in poplar.<br />

For large print, audio or braille phone 020 7510 0535<br />

Haddaad Jeclaan lahayd akhbaar ku qoran Soomalli fadlan soo wac 020 75100535


Have you ‘liked’ us on Facebook and do you ‘follow’ us on Twitter?<br />

DID YOU kNOW that <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> has a presence on Facebook<br />

and Twitter? Since 2011, the communications team has been<br />

updating our fans and followers on news and snippets of trivia and<br />

facts about the area. We want to grow our numbers so please take<br />

a minute to ‘like’ or ‘follow’ us so you can keep up to date too.<br />

We are also working hard towards revamping the current <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> website to make it more interactive and user-friendly than<br />

present. We are creating it with residents views in mind and hope for<br />

launch before the end of the year. Watch this space…<br />

Do your bit to bring cheaper<br />

energy to the borough<br />

SOME OF YOU could see cheaper energy bills<br />

thanks to T.H.E Community Power, a new<br />

energy co-operative. By buying energy in bulk,<br />

T.H.E. Community Power will give local<br />

people the chance to switch providers and<br />

benefit from a cheaper energy tariff.<br />

All residents have to do is sign up now via<br />

www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/energy or calling<br />

free phone 0800 508 8364 to express your<br />

interest. Registration is free and only takes<br />

five minutes, there will be no obligation to<br />

switch. Once 5,000 households have<br />

expressed their interest by registering, T.H.E.<br />

Community Power will negotiate with energy<br />

providers to secure a cheaper deal on your<br />

befalf.<br />

no more towing<br />

3<br />

poplar harca official<br />

@poplarharca<br />

Aberfeldy gets healthy<br />

IN EARLY SUMMER, a Lottery funded programme<br />

called ‘Well London’ spoke to 150 residents<br />

from the Aberfeldy estate and asked them what<br />

made a healthy community. The aim was to<br />

involve residents to deliver projects, access<br />

training and develop solutions to local health<br />

problems. If you are interested in finding out<br />

more, being involved or volunteering for this<br />

project, please contact: Vicky Coakley or Patrick<br />

Harrison on 020 7515 6794.<br />

On 1 October the law changes and <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> will no longer be able to tow away vehicles<br />

parked on our estates. We have no control over this.<br />

If someone is parking in your bay you should call 01992 764520 and let our<br />

contractor, Elite Car Parking, know. They will issue you with a number to<br />

display in your vehicle so you will not receive a parking ticket if you park<br />

somewhere else on the estate until whoever is parked in your bay drives<br />

away. The vehicle parked in your bay will be ticketed, and we will be treating<br />

repeat breaches as anti social behaviour and using enforcement powers to<br />

tackle people who break the parking rules on our estates.<br />

if you have any queries about this, or anything else to do with parking, please<br />

call 0800 035 1991.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

news in brief


news in brief<br />

A summer of action<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> was successful in court obtaining six<br />

Injunction Orders against young men causing serious<br />

trouble in and around the Aberfeldy Estate.<br />

In July, two of the group were banned from Jura House<br />

and the surrounding area and one received a<br />

suspended six-month jail sentence for a breach of a<br />

previous injunction <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> had obtained<br />

against him. In August, interim injunctions were obtained<br />

against three other members of this group who were<br />

each banned from parts of the Aberfeldy estate. One of<br />

them has been banned from the whole of the Aberfeldy<br />

area with an exclusion order now in place.<br />

All of the orders have a power of arrest attached – this<br />

means if we prove a breach of the order, the individuals<br />

can be arrested and risk a jail sentence for contempt of<br />

court. We are also considering serving notices for<br />

possession in a number of cases which could lead to<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong><br />

shortlisted for<br />

Sustainable<br />

Housing Awards<br />

POPLAR <strong>HARCA</strong> HAS been shortlisted for two<br />

awards in popular industry<br />

magazine’s ‘Inside<br />

Housing’s Sustainable<br />

Housing Awards<br />

2012’.<br />

We have been selected in the ‘sustainable<br />

housing partnership of the year’ category for our<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> and Bow EcoHomes Pilot where we<br />

worked with Tower Hamlets Homes, the Institute<br />

for Sustainability and the Optimum Consultancy.<br />

We were also nominated for the ‘transformation’<br />

category for our work on Leopold Park with PRP<br />

Architects and Thompson Landscaping.<br />

We will let you know how we get on in the<br />

next efdition of harca life. Wish us luck!<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> 4<br />

Six injunction orders obtained<br />

against troublemakers<br />

people losing their homes. This is because tenants and<br />

leaseholders are in breach of their contracts with <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

<strong>HARCA</strong>. This also counts for anyone that if anyone who<br />

lives or visits a <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> tenant or leaseholder<br />

and is involved with anti-social behaviour.<br />

With residents’ support, <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> will always take<br />

action against anyone whose behaviour is unacceptable.<br />

Our success in these court cases were due to local<br />

residents providing evidence and officers working<br />

closely with the Police to identify those responsible. If<br />

you want to report ASB you can do so by contacting<br />

your housing manager on 0800 035 1991.<br />

Walks with<br />

Gordon Joly<br />

P oplar<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

resident, Gordon<br />

Joly is hosting<br />

night walks<br />

through <strong>Poplar</strong>,<br />

on Saturdays for<br />

residents on<br />

October 6 and<br />

13 from 6:30pm<br />

to 8pm.<br />

The walk will<br />

highlight recently<br />

installed lighting<br />

schemes<br />

including Chrisp Street Market,<br />

Lansbury North, Devon’s Estate and<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> Library. The walks will begin and<br />

end at <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong>’s head office at<br />

167a East India Dock Road.


Autumn time<br />

THE DAYS ARE getting shorter as nature<br />

prepares for autumn, leaves will very soon<br />

be turning to all those earthy shades from gold<br />

to brown and our summer visitors such as<br />

swallows, swifts and martins are on their way to<br />

Africa for the winter as well as in a few weeks<br />

the pipistrelle bats disappearing to go into<br />

hibernation.<br />

You might think that there’s nothing much to<br />

see at this time of year but there’s still a lot of<br />

activity going on. The squirrels are very busy<br />

preparing their winter dreys and collecting food<br />

for the lean months to come, the Canada geese<br />

are to be heard honking loudly as they fly<br />

overhead in that distinctive ‘V’ pattern and all the<br />

creatures are eating as much as possible to put<br />

on weight for winter.<br />

I know a lot of you don’t like spiders but I find<br />

them most fascinating creatures; their webs are<br />

works of art, so beautifully strung especially<br />

when dew is on them from a damp autumn<br />

morning. You’d have to be up very early to catch<br />

them and it’s also the best time to spot fungi,<br />

they love the damp conditions and if you look<br />

closely at most grassy areas; you’ll spot various<br />

types from the tiny fairy-ring campignon<br />

mushroom (pictured above) to the much larger<br />

field mushroom. Our woody areas are full of a<br />

manner of weird and colourful fungi but please<br />

remember, that although most are harmless, we<br />

do have some poisonous<br />

ones too and it takes an<br />

expert to know the<br />

difference.<br />

Insects had a bad time at the<br />

start of the summer due<br />

to all the rain we had,<br />

particularly the bees<br />

who have been in<br />

decline for the last<br />

couple of years. They<br />

need all the help they<br />

can get so I’m going to<br />

be putting ‘bug hotels’ out for shelter as a lot of<br />

insects hibernate too. Bug hotels are little<br />

clusters of hollow tubes that you can hang from<br />

a fence or hide in a corner, ideal for ladybirds,<br />

moths and some types of bee to snuggle down<br />

until spring. We forget about insects when we<br />

think about wildlife but they have such an<br />

important role to play in pollinating our flowers,<br />

fruits and crops; we’d be in terrible trouble<br />

without them.<br />

Our green spaces are teeming with life, I hope<br />

you get out there and enjoy exploring them this<br />

autumn.<br />

5<br />

By Fran Jefcoate<br />

See your article here – write about something<br />

you want to share and we’ll publish it in a future issue.<br />

Send it to: contributions@poplarharca.co.uk<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

nature watch


poplar 2012<br />

POPLAR 2012<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

E14 and E3 came together for the biggest olympic weekend<br />

HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS turned up to<br />

watch history being made, records<br />

broken and British medals won at ‘<strong>Poplar</strong><br />

2012: Screen on the Green’ over a<br />

weekend in early August, this was one of<br />

the only free screenings of the Olympics in<br />

London.<br />

The event held at Langdon<br />

Park was an opportunity for<br />

the local community and<br />

international visitors to<br />

celebrate the most exciting<br />

weekend of the London 2012<br />

Olympics.<br />

A crowd of 1500 people attended<br />

over the two days and included a<br />

mix of the local community and<br />

visitors from as far as Germany,<br />

America and Holland. The<br />

atmosphere was electric despite rain<br />

at some points.<br />

6<br />

Paul Augarde, project manager for <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

2012 said: ‘Even the rain could not deter<br />

the enthusiasm for our amazing athletes,<br />

who were breaking records just


down the road in Stratford. There was a<br />

lovely international vibe at <strong>Poplar</strong> 2012. We<br />

were delighted to bring the Olympics to a<br />

community that inspired London to be<br />

chosen as the host for London 2012.’<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> resident Sandra Chalmers said:<br />

‘Thank you very much for organising <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

2012. We had a great time on Saturday and<br />

Sunday. The park came alive with cheers and<br />

clapping when Murray won Gold! WELL<br />

7<br />

DONE and THANk<br />

YOU for a great<br />

community event.’<br />

We would like to<br />

give a huge thank<br />

you to Tower<br />

Hamlets Council<br />

for their full<br />

support with<br />

this event.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

poplar 2012


focus<br />

National Fraud<br />

Initiative<br />

POPLAR <strong>HARCA</strong> IS committed to protecting public<br />

funds. We participate in the National Fraud<br />

Initiative (NFI) data matching exercise carried out by<br />

the Audit Commission. An estimated £450 million of<br />

fraud and overpayments have already been<br />

identified.<br />

Data matching involves comparing computer<br />

records held by one public body against other<br />

computer records held by the same or another<br />

public body to see how far they match. This is usually<br />

personal information. Computerised data matching<br />

allows fraudulent claims and payments to be<br />

identified.<br />

Our participation in NFI will assist in the prevention<br />

and detection of fraud against <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> and<br />

other organisations within the public sector. To view<br />

this and find out more, please visit<br />

www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi<br />

YOUR NAME IN<br />

LIGHTS?<br />

We're looking for<br />

residents interested<br />

in taking part in a<br />

fantastic new film<br />

celebrating <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

and its community.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> 8<br />

Equality and<br />

diversity charter<br />

POPLAR <strong>HARCA</strong><br />

HAS now signed<br />

up to the Chartered<br />

Institute of<br />

Housing’s equality<br />

and diversity charter.<br />

The charter is a framework that aims<br />

to help identify what outcomes a fair<br />

and accessible housing service can<br />

deliver.<br />

By signing up to the charter, we want<br />

to make public our commitment<br />

towards greater equality and diversity<br />

in housing.<br />

To view the framework please visit:<br />

www.cih.org/equalityand<br />

diversitycharter<br />

Young stars,<br />

old hands and<br />

wannabes<br />

may apply!<br />

We are<br />

looking for<br />

people who<br />

are passionate<br />

about the <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

area and have a<br />

willingness to work with a professional film<br />

team. No acting experience necessary, just get<br />

in touch.<br />

If you're interested, please contact Paul Augarde with your<br />

name, address and contact details to:<br />

paul.augarde@poplarharca.co.uk or call: 020 7005 7618


The true cost<br />

of dumping<br />

POPLAR <strong>HARCA</strong> WILL spend more than<br />

£300,000 of your money this year clearing<br />

furniture and other items dumped on our land.<br />

This costs each of our 8,776 tenants and<br />

leaseholders over £34 each year! An amount<br />

we are sure you would want us to plough back<br />

in to the services we provide for you.<br />

Dumping spoils the quality of your home<br />

environment and puts lives at risk as it increases<br />

the chances of accidental fires and arson. It may<br />

also hinder the evacuation of people and access<br />

of emergency services if a fire does start.<br />

IT’S AWIDE MISCONCEPTION that young people<br />

are not interested in discussing policies and<br />

services which impact the area where they<br />

live. But at <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> we don’t believe<br />

that and we are consistently impressed by<br />

the work our young residents do to develop<br />

the local area.<br />

We have developed a Youth Empowerment<br />

Board (YEB) where residents aged 16-25<br />

years can ensure their views and opinions<br />

are not forgotten or overcrowded when<br />

discussing key matters. The YEB has the<br />

9<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> has a clear<br />

policy which forbids rubbish and bulk items<br />

being left in communal areas. If you need to get<br />

rid of large waste items Tower Hamlets council<br />

provides a collection service that costs £15 for<br />

up to five items. For residents in receipt of<br />

housing benefit, they are entitled to two, free<br />

collections each year. For more information or<br />

to book an appointment please call the council<br />

on 020 7364 5004.<br />

‘Young residents do not want to make a difference’…says who?<br />

Lansbury<br />

Gardeners<br />

opportunity to hold <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> to<br />

account by ensuring that they respond to the<br />

needs of an residents. Members of the YEB<br />

have been involved in many initiatives<br />

including policy development, presenting at<br />

conferences, designing a multi-purpose world<br />

class youth centre and tackling ASB.<br />

If you are aged between 16 -25 years, live<br />

within the <strong>Poplar</strong>, Bow and Mile End area and<br />

would like to be involved in the YEB please<br />

contact, Aleef Ahmed on 020 7510 0587 or<br />

email: aleef.ahmed@poplarharca.co.uk.<br />

LANSBURY GARDENERS IS a voluntary gardening organisation with a<br />

focus on growing food which is run solely by residents. The<br />

organisation has received funding from <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> in the past which<br />

has been used in a variety of ways.<br />

In the summer, the organisation started Lansbury Young Gardeners, an<br />

after school club for children aged 8 to 12. As well as gardening, the<br />

children spent part of session creating art, often with a link to the<br />

gardening theme. In addition to the weekly gardening sessions, there are<br />

organised fruit picking trips and outings to the beautiful and inspiring<br />

gardens at RHS Wisley in Surrey and RHS Hyde Hall in Essex. Check out<br />

www.lansburygardeners.org.uk to see what the group does.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

focus


community<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

Camera, Lights,<br />

Actions!<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> has been awarded funding<br />

from First Light to re-produce the success of<br />

2011 by devising another hat-trick of films<br />

created by young people living in <strong>Poplar</strong>. From<br />

September, it is kickstarted with a series of dance<br />

and drama workshops followed by a shooting and<br />

editing schedule which will culminate in a local redcarpet<br />

premiere at a cinema before Christmas!<br />

To see an example of the films that were produced in 2011 go to http://vimeo.com/17009111 and<br />

www.4shared.com/video/6v3KofVm/olympic_dreams.html<br />

For more information, please contact Tessa Dugmore on tessa.dugmore@poplarharca.co.uk<br />

Volunteering:<br />

my story by mike Watts<br />

MIkE WATTS IS the director of Elite Buildings Ltd, a local<br />

company that provides a lot of essential<br />

maintenance work for <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> as well as being a<br />

keen golfer who has played for over 25 years. He began<br />

playing golf when he was young with his father and<br />

carried this tradition on by teaching his son to play. Mike<br />

feels that golf is a great sport and one that can be played<br />

over a very wide age group and skill level.<br />

Mike was born locally and lived on the Teviot Estate whilst<br />

growing up and still lives in East London. In his spare time<br />

Mike volunteers as a community golf coach at the<br />

Orchard Community Golf organisation which encourages<br />

more children and young people to get involved in sport.<br />

Mike decided to volunteer as he wanted to contribute<br />

something to the local community that he grew up in.<br />

Mike has supported <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong>’s Vicky Coakley in<br />

providing after school golfing sessions for the local<br />

community in Bartlett Park on a weekly basis from May<br />

until July. Mike encouraged participants to partake in the<br />

inter-borough tournament that was held in Bethnal Green<br />

Gardens on July 21 as part of the school Olympiad<br />

competition. This is a competition that aims to highlight<br />

golf as a potential Olympic sport for the 2016 Olympics<br />

in Rio.<br />

10


<strong>Poplar</strong> youth get fit<br />

AN ExCITING NEW youth-led project in<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> is encouraging local teens to<br />

get active. Commissioned in partnership<br />

by Tower Hamlets public health and the<br />

council, the ‘Get More Here Now’ project<br />

has been led by local young people<br />

working with <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> and ‘Leaders<br />

in Community’ over the past few months.<br />

The project group aims to increase<br />

confidence amongst their peers with the<br />

‘My Life, My Choice’ slogan and share<br />

favourite ways of getting active via social<br />

networks, be it skateboarding or dancing.<br />

The project participants have been on<br />

11<br />

quite a journey themselves in order to<br />

become ambassadors and now want to<br />

get the message out to their peers to<br />

promote exercise. The group has designed<br />

promotional material and recently staged<br />

a launch event led by eight young people<br />

who packed the day with all-age activities<br />

including a Zumba dance-off, hula hoops,<br />

an obstacle course, sack race and<br />

egg/spoon races.<br />

Get involved by visiting the group’s Get<br />

More Here Now Facebook page and<br />

upload your favourite way to have fun and<br />

get fit.<br />

Teviot gets ‘Mad About Meadows’<br />

L ONDON IN BLOOM’S: ‘Mad<br />

About Meadows’ campaign<br />

have teamed up with <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

<strong>HARCA</strong>, the Teviot Action Group<br />

kids’ (Unity) club and Meet The<br />

Species to improve the<br />

environment of the Teviot Estate<br />

by creating new wildflower<br />

meadows. The project was funded<br />

by the Big Lottery Fund’s ‘Awards<br />

for All’ programme and so far, nine<br />

wildflower areas have been created.<br />

The meadows have been flowering<br />

all summer, transforming what were<br />

once unloved and underappreciated<br />

grassland into colourful strips of<br />

wildflower meadows, swarming with<br />

bees and butterflies.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

community


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<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

annual report


universal benefit<br />

Do you know the benefit<br />

system is changing?<br />

THE GOVERNMENT IS changing the benefits<br />

system and these changes mean that some<br />

people will get less housing benefit.<br />

how many bedrooms do you have?<br />

From April 2013, if you have one or more ‘spare’<br />

bedrooms your housing benefit may be reduced.<br />

This could affect your if :<br />

l you are 16 to 61 years old<br />

l you only get a minimal amount of housing<br />

benefit (for example: if you are working)<br />

l you are sick or disabled<br />

You won’t be affected if:<br />

n you live in a one bedroom flat or bedsit.<br />

n you or your partner are old enough to receive<br />

pension credits – in April 2013, this age will be<br />

61 years and 6 months<br />

What is a ‘spare’ bedroom?<br />

Under the new rules, if you have more bedrooms<br />

than the Government says you need, you will lose<br />

part of your housing benefit. The Government says<br />

you need one bedroom each for:<br />

l an adult couple<br />

l any other person aged 16 or over<br />

l two children of the same sex under the age of<br />

16<br />

l two children under the age of 10 regardless of<br />

their sex<br />

l any other child<br />

l a carer (who does not normally live with you) if<br />

you or your partner need overnight care.<br />

It does not matter how you use any ‘spare’ bedroom,<br />

the new rules will apply even if:<br />

l you and your partner need to sleep apart<br />

because of a medical condition<br />

l you have a spare room for when relatives stay<br />

What happens if you have a ‘spare’<br />

bedroom?<br />

If you have one ‘spare’ bedroom your housing<br />

benefit will be cut by 14% of the rent you pay every<br />

week. If you have two or more spare bedrooms, you<br />

will lose 25%. You will then have to pay the<br />

difference between housing benefit and the rent.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> 14<br />

LiMit ON BeNefitS<br />

From April 2013, the overall amount of benefit you<br />

can receive will be capped.<br />

The Government will add up how much money you<br />

get from a range of benefits. This includes : housing<br />

benefit, jobseeker’s allowance, income support,<br />

employment support allowance, child benefit, child<br />

tax credit and carer’s allowance. If the total comes<br />

to more than the maximum amount allowed your<br />

benefit payments will be reduced.<br />

The maximum amount of benefit you will be able to<br />

receive will be:<br />

l £500 per week for single parents<br />

l £500 per week for couples with or without<br />

children<br />

l £350 per week for single people without<br />

children.<br />

This will not apply i.e:<br />

n you get pension credit or working tax credit<br />

n a member of your household is claiming<br />

disability living allowance, attendance allowance,<br />

industrial injuries benefits or the support<br />

element of employment support allowance.<br />

do you have a disability and need<br />

overnight care?<br />

If you are of working age, have a disability and need<br />

a ‘spare’ bedroom so that a carer can stay overnight<br />

you should contact Tower Hamlets council as soon<br />

as possible so that staff can help you keep more of<br />

your housing benefit.<br />

changes to council tax benefit<br />

From April 2013, if you are of working age and claim<br />

council tax benefit, the amount of support you<br />

receive may be cut. This is because the Government<br />

is reducing the amount of money available and<br />

asking local councils to run their own schemes.<br />

example<br />

Bob and sandra are both 46. they live alone in<br />

a 3-bedroom home. their rent is £120 a week.<br />

for benefit purposes the government says they<br />

need 1 bedroom.<br />

from april 2013 their housing benefit will be<br />

cut by 25%. they will now need to pay £30<br />

every week towards their rent.


What should i do?<br />

If you are worried about being able to afford to pay<br />

your rent from April 2013 you should ask for advice<br />

now. If you don’t pay your rent you could lose your<br />

home. You can also:<br />

l consider moving to a smaller home or taking in<br />

a lodger<br />

l contact the council to ask about extra financial<br />

help. Council’s have a limited amount of money<br />

available to make discretionary payments<br />

towards housing costs.<br />

l make sure you are claiming all the benefits you<br />

can – for example, money to help with the<br />

costs of a disability, seek advice<br />

l try to find some paid work to increase your<br />

income<br />

account 3<br />

1-9 Birkbeck St, E2<br />

020 7739 7720<br />

account3.org.uk<br />

BYm<br />

21 Henriques St, E1<br />

020 7488 1831<br />

Bromley By Bow centre<br />

St Leonard’s St, E3<br />

020 8709 9737<br />

bbbc.org.uk<br />

citizens advice Bureau<br />

32 Greatorex St, E1<br />

020 7247 1050<br />

adviceguide.org.uk<br />

chinese association of tower<br />

hamlets; Sailor Pl 680<br />

Commercial Rd, E14<br />

020 7515 5598<br />

city gateway<br />

Ensign Court, 28 Ensign St, E1<br />

020 3189 0405<br />

citygateway.org.uk<br />

city Jobcentre plus<br />

60 Commercial Rd E1<br />

0845 604 3719<br />

consumer credit counselling<br />

service<br />

0800 138 1111 cccs.co.uk<br />

debt advice foundation<br />

0800 644 60 89<br />

debtadvicefoundation.org<br />

directgov website<br />

direct.gov.uk/jobseekers<br />

island advice rights shop<br />

296 Bethnal Green Rd, E2<br />

020 7739 4173<br />

island-advice.org.uk<br />

island advice centre<br />

Island House, Roserton St, E14<br />

020 7987 9379<br />

island-advice.org.uk<br />

legal advice centre<br />

University House<br />

104 Roman Rd, E2<br />

020 8980 4205<br />

legaladvicecentre.org.uk<br />

limehouse project<br />

Cheadle House,<br />

Copenhagen Place E14<br />

020 7538 0075<br />

limehouseproject.org.uk<br />

london community credit<br />

Union<br />

020 7729 9218<br />

londoncu.co.uk<br />

national debt line<br />

0808 808 4000<br />

nationaldebtline.co.uk<br />

osca somali advice project<br />

Concordia Community Centre<br />

420 Burdett Rd, E3<br />

praxis<br />

Pott St E2<br />

020 7729 7985 praxis.org.uk<br />

15<br />

example<br />

John and patricia have 4 children. 3<br />

girls aged 2, 4 and 8 and a boy of 7.<br />

they live in a 4-bedroom home.<br />

their rent is £150 a week.<br />

for benefit purposes the<br />

government says they need 3<br />

bedrooms.<br />

from april 2013 their housing<br />

Benefit will be cut by 14% - so they<br />

will need to pay £21 every week<br />

towards their rent.<br />

We know that many residents are worried about what all this<br />

could mean. Free confidential advice is available:<br />

poplar Jobcentre plus<br />

13 Dod St, E14<br />

0845 604 3719<br />

Quaker social action<br />

020 8983 5043<br />

quakersocialaction.com<br />

st hilda’s east community<br />

centre<br />

18 Club Row, E2<br />

020 7739 8066<br />

skillsmatch<br />

8 Heron Quays<br />

Canary Wharf, E14<br />

020 7364 3727<br />

south Bromley forum<br />

27 Aberfeldy St, E14<br />

020 7987 9584<br />

stifford tJrs<br />

The Stifford Centre,<br />

2-6 Cressy Place, E1<br />

020 7790 3632 stifford.org.uk<br />

tower hamlets law centre<br />

214 Whitechapel Rd, E1<br />

020 7247 8998 thlc.co.uk<br />

toynbee hall<br />

Toynbee Hall<br />

28 Commercial St, E1<br />

020 7247 6943<br />

capitalise.org.uk<br />

turn2us<br />

turn2us.org.uk,<br />

0808 802 2000<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

universal benefit


Improving <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

Stroudley Walk<br />

ON AUGUST 16, the council’s planning<br />

committee gave the go ahead for the<br />

regeneration of Stroudley Walk. This will mean the<br />

provision of 130 new homes to replace Warren<br />

House and other housing. The mixed tenure<br />

scheme will include new family homes as well as<br />

new shops and public realm works. We expect the<br />

work to start within the next 12 months.<br />

Chrisp Street Shopping Centre<br />

T ALkS ARE CONTINUING with our regeneration<br />

partners on the regeneration of Chrisp Street<br />

Market. We expect to have a scheme that will be<br />

ready to announce to the world by the end of the<br />

year, so watch this space for further information!<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> 16<br />

Bartlett Park consultation<br />

AFTER MANY YEARS of talks and planning<br />

with the council, <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> are<br />

about to begin a consultation exercise on the<br />

replacement of the Cotall Street block<br />

adjacent to Bartlett Park.<br />

The council owned block made the national<br />

press because of the squatters that moved in<br />

after the residents had left. The squatters<br />

caused much distress to local residents before<br />

and a major Police exercise was mounted to<br />

evict them so the block could then be<br />

demolished.<br />

The proposed scheme, backed by the Mayor<br />

of Tower Hamlets will include 150 new<br />

homes, many aimed at families to help reduce<br />

the overcrowding in the borough. The<br />

scheme will include a cafe as well as a<br />

Waterside Centre that will maximise the<br />

relationship between the park and the canal.<br />

Giving local people the opportunity to<br />

experience boating in the heart of <strong>Poplar</strong>.


The BBCs ‘Flowerpot Gang’ comes to Teviot<br />

AIRED IN EARLY September,<br />

BBC1’s ‘Flowerpot Gang’<br />

show with presenters Anneka<br />

Rice, Phil Tufnell and Joe Swift<br />

came to the Teviot estate to<br />

help the local residents<br />

transform an area into a<br />

working community garden.<br />

17<br />

Many varieties of colourful<br />

flowers have been planted,<br />

raised growing beds built,<br />

artwork created and benches<br />

made from reclaimed wood<br />

installed in order to transform<br />

the space into somewhere<br />

the community can enjoy.<br />

The project also provided a<br />

rare opportunity for<br />

residents, both old and young,<br />

to work together to create<br />

something both groups can<br />

enjoy. The garden will now be<br />

managed and developed by<br />

local residents.<br />

The garden was featured in<br />

the final episode of the BBC<br />

series.<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> and Bow Green Network launches<br />

IN MID-SEPTEMBER, the <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

and Bow Green Network<br />

launched with a lively and wellattended<br />

event for new<br />

members held at Tower<br />

Hamlet’s Cemetery Park. The<br />

independent network<br />

supported by <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong>,<br />

Tower Hamlets Homes and<br />

Tower Hamlets Cemetery<br />

Park, is a platform for groups<br />

and individuals to support each<br />

other in creating a more<br />

sustainable place and<br />

community within the area.<br />

The network involves local<br />

resident groups and individuals<br />

undertaking sustainable<br />

activities like community<br />

gardeners, walking groups,<br />

biodiversity interest groups,<br />

material reuse projects as well<br />

as initiatives to help reduce<br />

energy bills. Beyond providing<br />

practical face-to-face support<br />

between members it also<br />

offers an online forum helping<br />

residents to share knowledge,<br />

post events and collaborate<br />

with funding applications.<br />

Overall the network will help<br />

ensure that individual projects<br />

have the best chance of<br />

surviving while pulling people<br />

together with wide-ranging<br />

knowledge, skills and<br />

experience around this vitally<br />

important area.<br />

If you’d like to join this free,<br />

independent network or find<br />

out more, please contact:<br />

Nick Martin, Environmental<br />

innovation coordinator<br />

nick.martin@poplarharca.co.uk<br />

07957 491 030.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

Improving <strong>Poplar</strong>


i<br />

get involved <strong>HARCA</strong>18<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong><br />

D URING<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

THE SUMMER, we asked 3,000<br />

residents of <strong>Poplar</strong> and Bow, “What do<br />

you love about where you live?”<br />

We wanted to focus on the positive attributes<br />

of this very special part of London and the way<br />

we can build on those strengths in the<br />

community.<br />

We consulted children, young people and the<br />

older community to playgroups, bingo teams,<br />

gardening enthusiasts, estate boards and<br />

schools.<br />

They were asked to either draw or write what<br />

they love about where they live on colourful<br />

plastic postcard. The postcards were then<br />

displayed at our head office on East India Dock<br />

Road (pictured above)and on other buildings<br />

around the market.<br />

The project was a colourful and interactive way<br />

to celebrate the local area and highlight why<br />

we should all be proud to live in this undercelebrated<br />

gem of the East End.<br />

Lighter Linc - weekly healthy eating group<br />

LIGHTER LINC IS a weekly healthy eating group<br />

that aims to bring residents together to<br />

explore healthier lifestyles.<br />

Every Wednesday, the group meet to share<br />

and taste healthy foods, check their weight, BMI<br />

and blood pressure. The group also conduct<br />

walks, exercise sessions and often invite guest<br />

speakers are invited along.<br />

Last Christmas the group cooked a three<br />

course meal with all the trimmings. Each<br />

member brought something to cook and it<br />

was great to share each other’s recipes.<br />

If you would like you to get involved with the<br />

group that meet every Wednesday at 6pm,<br />

please contact Joan Parrott: 07946 062337<br />

The first two weeks are free and then £1 per<br />

week there after.<br />

It takes place at:<br />

Gayton House community room 1,<br />

Chilton Road, E3


fire safe – are you?<br />

kEEPING OUR HOMES smelling nice is a<br />

multi-million pound industry.<br />

We’re sold numerous gadgets<br />

such as scented candles,<br />

incense sticks, plugins, sprays<br />

etc. just to keep our homes<br />

reminiscent of a rather nice<br />

garden or dreamy tropical place. I<br />

doubt fire safety came into your minds<br />

when buying these things but, when<br />

using candles and plugins, firesafety should<br />

be at the forefront.<br />

Recently, several fires have occurred where<br />

plastic baths have been set alight by scented<br />

candles that have been placed on them. In<br />

order to prevent such incidents, it is important<br />

to always place your candles/tea lights in a<br />

suitable, fire-resistant candleholder. Always<br />

ensure the candleholder holds the candle/tea<br />

light firmly and do not position them on<br />

surfaces that can melt, such as bath surrounds<br />

19<br />

or are uneven.<br />

Plug-in air fresheners also<br />

present potential fire hazards<br />

and have caused a number<br />

of fires too. To reduce<br />

the chance of this;<br />

ensure the plug-in air<br />

remains upright and are<br />

never covered. Read the<br />

instructions on the packet carefully<br />

before use, to ensure you are using<br />

them safely and correctly.<br />

Remember, having a smoke alarm is a basic, free<br />

and lifesaving thing you can do. By phoning the<br />

London Fire Brigade on 0800 028 4428, they<br />

will visit you to perform a free home fire safety<br />

check and fit a good quality smoke alarm (fitted<br />

with a 10 year battery) - all free of charge if<br />

you don't already have one. You can also<br />

arrange a visit via their website: www.londonfire.gov.uk/homefiresafetyVisit.asp.<br />

Here are some frequently asked questions about smoke alarms:<br />

Q: how often should i check these and<br />

replace batteries?<br />

a. Test your smoke alarms monthly using the<br />

test button. If your smoke alarm is<br />

battery-operated, replace your<br />

batteries annually (unless you<br />

have a ten-year battery) or<br />

whenever required.<br />

Q. i have a ‘wired-in’<br />

smoke alarm fitted<br />

by poplar harca,<br />

what do i do if it<br />

doesn’t work?<br />

a. Contact us on our<br />

usual freephone number<br />

0800 035 1991 to report it<br />

and we’ll go from there.<br />

Q. my alarm is making a chirping noise. how<br />

can i stop this?<br />

a. Smoke alarms chirp if the battery runs low,<br />

this includes the ‘wired-in’ type which also<br />

have a back-up batteries to ensure that the<br />

alarm will still work during a power failure.<br />

Change your battery to stop the chirping.<br />

Q.is there anything else i can do<br />

to maintain my smoke<br />

alarms?<br />

a. Carefully vacuum<br />

them periodically. This<br />

reduces the dust build-up<br />

thereby helping to<br />

prevent false alarms.<br />

Q. how can i obtain a<br />

smoke alarm free of charge?<br />

a. On request from the London<br />

Fire Brigade by calling 0800 028 4428<br />

or visiting their website: www.londonfire.gov.uk/homefiresafetyVisit.asp<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

your home


young people<br />

My <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

by Pheobe Deary<br />

PHEOBE DEARY IS 17 and studies at Cambridge<br />

Heath Sixth Form. We recently visited her at the<br />

Aberfeldy centre where she is working towards<br />

getting the Duke of Edinburgh award. She is also a<br />

contender in the Tower Hamlets Young Mayor race.<br />

name: Pheobe Deary,<br />

age: 17<br />

college: Cambridge Heath Sixth Form<br />

What is your favourite subject?<br />

Politics because I like to get engaged with everyday<br />

news.<br />

What kind of projects are you involved with?<br />

I am involved with a Duke of Edinburgh project<br />

which means I get to be involved in lots of different<br />

things. We go on expeditions and residentials and<br />

we also get to work with the elderly community.<br />

We recently worked on community gardens and<br />

were involved with the BBC Show, ‘The Flowerpot<br />

Gang’.<br />

What are your hopes for the future?<br />

I hope to go onto university and study law.<br />

Who is your inspiration?<br />

THE CONSTRUCTION OF what<br />

will be the Spotlight Youth<br />

Centre and Langdon Park<br />

Sixth Form is well under way<br />

as the 'topping out' ceremony<br />

of the building, celebrated in<br />

July marks the final stages of<br />

the concrete structure being<br />

erected.<br />

The centre is a the<br />

culmination of a partnership<br />

between <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong>,<br />

Langdon Park School, <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

Boys and Girls Club and the<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

that tops it off!<br />

London Borough of Tower<br />

Hamlets and the result of a<br />

consultation with over 1,600<br />

young people from across the<br />

borough. It will boast state of<br />

the art recording, producing<br />

and performance spaces as<br />

well as creative programmes;<br />

all to be launched in 2013.<br />

This is part of our offer to aid<br />

the huge amounts of creativity<br />

in Tower Hamlets.<br />

The event consisted of<br />

speeches from Juliana Ben<br />

20<br />

I don’t really have an inspiration, I just like to<br />

motivate myself!<br />

What do you like about the poplar/Bow area?<br />

I like the youth centres and facilities, there are a lot<br />

of opportunities for young people.<br />

What would you do to change the area?<br />

I am not sure that young people in the area really<br />

take advantage of the opportunities open to them; I<br />

think that should be changed.<br />

spotlight Youth centre has its ‘topping out’ ceremony<br />

Salem, chair of <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong><br />

Youth Empowerment Board,<br />

Nahimul Islam, Young Mayor of<br />

Tower Hamlets and John Parry,<br />

a representative from Langdon<br />

Park School as well as input<br />

from Cllr Rania khan and Jim<br />

Fitzpatrick MP. A huge<br />

Spotlight banner was unveiled<br />

(pictured above) as a<br />

trowelled finish was applied to<br />

the final pour of concrete to<br />

the roof. Local Artists, ‘Armz<br />

and Outlaw’ also performed as<br />

the group walked to the roof.


Here is another chance for under 7’s to have fun and colour in this picture. Please send to<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> Life colouring competition, 167A East India Dock Road, E14 0EA by november 1<br />

2012. The prize is a £20 voucher for the Early Learning Centre. Please let us know if you want<br />

it returned. the winner of the summer competition was Josh from lansbury West. Well done!<br />

name:<br />

address:<br />

21<br />

age:<br />

phone (parent/carer)<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

young people


your shout<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> 22<br />

We asked local<br />

people which word<br />

or phrase best<br />

summed up the<br />

Olympic and<br />

Paralympic<br />

Games


23<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

your shout


wordsearch<br />

Find 15 autumn themed words in our grid below to win £25 worth of Love 2 Shop high street<br />

vouchers which can be spent at 85 leading retailers.<br />

send this page to the address below with your circled answers to the address below no later<br />

than november 1, 2012.<br />

harca life word search competition<br />

C/O Communications Team<br />

167A East India Dock Road<br />

London E14 0EA<br />

the winner of the summer issue’s word search was mr. laryea.<br />

APPLE<br />

AUTUMN<br />

BROWN<br />

COLOURFUL<br />

FALL<br />

FIREWORkS<br />

FOOTBALL<br />

HALLOWEEN<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> 24<br />

AUtUMN theme<br />

find and circle the following hidden words in the grid above<br />

JUMPER<br />

LEAVES<br />

ORANGE<br />

POPLAR<br />

PUMPkIN<br />

SOUP<br />

SUNSET<br />

YELLOW


Putting the spotlight on the Spotlight team<br />

THE POPLAR <strong>HARCA</strong> Youth<br />

Service now includes the<br />

Spotlight Youth Centre team. Helal<br />

Ahmed, the youth services manager<br />

will manage the centre, supported<br />

by strategic development managers,<br />

Blossom Young and David<br />

Pilkington. Together, Helal, Blossom<br />

and David will be responsible for making sure<br />

that <strong>Poplar</strong>’s young people get the world-class<br />

opportunities that they deserve.<br />

What do you think are the biggest challenges<br />

poplar harca has?<br />

helal: Continuing to provide a high quality<br />

service for local people and sticking to<br />

our commitment to provide a worldclass<br />

service for <strong>Poplar</strong>, Bow and Tower<br />

Hamlets young people.<br />

david: Helping young people to see there are<br />

other opportunities for them and to<br />

raise their aspirations.<br />

What do you love about working for poplar<br />

harca:<br />

david: In the organisation, there’s a real passion<br />

for change. We have a big vision for a<br />

small area, this is quite unique. I really<br />

like the way the centres and housing<br />

works together to help build a<br />

community.<br />

helal: As an organisation, we have set standards<br />

and won awards for our work. We have<br />

taken risks only when there’s been a<br />

benefit to local people – <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong><br />

puts money where it’s mouth is and it<br />

has paid off!<br />

from l - r: Blossom Young, helal ahmed and david pilkington<br />

25<br />

Blossom: There’s something about<br />

this community which draws people<br />

to it. It has its challenges – the<br />

deprivation but, there’s a drive in<br />

people in the area to make it better.<br />

if you could change one thing about<br />

poplar, what would it be?<br />

helal: I would cut some of the beauracracy in<br />

place to make things smoother and<br />

quicker to execute.<br />

david: Things are changing already; the<br />

regeneration of Chrisp Street, more<br />

infrastructure into the area which in turn<br />

attracts more people. But, I would also<br />

like to see more coffee shops.<br />

Blossom: There are lots of organisations doing<br />

the same thing, more collaborative<br />

working is needed. The gaps need to be<br />

recognised and then filled. I also think the<br />

distribution of resources are not always<br />

as effective as they could be.<br />

thoughts for the future:<br />

helal: It would be great if we, as an<br />

organisation could recognise our<br />

strengths and play to that and where<br />

we’re weak, partner with organisations<br />

that have the expertise. We’re great at<br />

supporting grass roots organisations and<br />

building their capacity. A lot of these<br />

organisations have gone on to be fully<br />

fledged businesses in their own right, I’m<br />

proud of that.<br />

<strong>HARCA</strong><br />

profile


Changes to Parking scratchcards for visitors<br />

FROM OCTOBER 8, you can buy scratch<br />

cards from <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> for your<br />

visitors to park in designated bays on our<br />

estates. If you have Tower Hamlets<br />

scratchcards these are still valid until<br />

December 31, 2012. From January 1, 2013<br />

they won’t be. We don’t accept cash but you<br />

can pay for scratchcards by postal order, credit<br />

or debit card or cheque.<br />

Visitors can also use ‘contractor’ or<br />

‘authorised vehicle’ marked bays on <strong>Poplar</strong><br />

<strong>HARCA</strong> estates between 5.30pm - 8.00am<br />

from Monday to Sunday (if available) as long<br />

as a valid parking scratchcard is displayed.<br />

Current use of tower<br />

Hamlets scratchcards<br />

Tower Hamlets scratchcards last a maximum<br />

of five hours between Monday and Fridays.<br />

Providing the cover is at least until 10.30pm,<br />

the scratchcard will be valid until 8am the<br />

INITIAL DEMOLITION NOTICE<br />

SECTION 138A AND SCHEDULE 5A OF THE HOUSING ACT 1985 AS AMENDED<br />

THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN by <strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> of 167a East<br />

India Dock Road, E14 0EA (“the Registered Provider”)<br />

The Registered Provider is required by Schedule 5A of<br />

the Housing Act 1985 as amended (“the Act”) to publish<br />

the following information:<br />

INTENTION TO DEMOLISH<br />

The Registered Provider intends to demolish the<br />

following properties (the “Relevant Premises”):<br />

•1-18AdamsHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140NS<br />

•1-15ArapilesHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140PH<br />

•1-23AtheniaHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140PA<br />

•1-12GazeHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140PR<br />

•1-24HelenMackayHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE14<br />

0PW<br />

•1-18JervisBayHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140PP<br />

•1-18JonesHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140NT<br />

•1-18RitchieHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140PS<br />

•1-18SamMarchHouse,BlairStreet,LondonE140PG<br />

REASON FOR DEMOLITION<br />

•DemolitionoftheRelevantPremisesisnecessaryfor<br />

amajorredevelopmentschemetoregeneratethe<br />

area. This is known as the Aberfeldy Village<br />

Regeneration project which has recently obtained<br />

planning consent to demolish 297 existing dwellings<br />

and to provide up to 1,176 new homes on the<br />

Aberfeldy Estate. In addition, the regeneration will<br />

deliver 11,231 m2 of high quality public open space<br />

and public realm, 1743m2 of new retail space, 826m2<br />

of new community and faith space, 960m2 of new<br />

space for health facilities.<br />

DEMOLITION PERIOD<br />

•TheRegisteredProviderintendstodemolishthe<br />

Relevant Premises by 11 July, 2019 being no more<br />

than seven years after the date of service of this<br />

Notice and being a reasonable period within which to<br />

carry out the proposed demolition.<br />

Date by which the initial Demolition Notice shall no<br />

longer have effect<br />

•ThisNoticewillceasetobeinforceon11July,2019<br />

unless previously revoked under the provisions of<br />

Paragraph 3 Schedule 5A of the Act.<br />

Effect of the Initial Demolition Notice<br />

•WhilstthisNoticeremainsinforcetheRegistered<br />

Provider will not be under an obligation to make such<br />

agrantasismentionedinSection138(1)oftheActin<br />

respect of any claim made by you to exercise the<br />

Right to Buy or Right to Acquire in respect of any of<br />

the Relevant Premises.<br />

This Notice does not prevent:-<br />

(i) you from making a claim to exercise the Right to<br />

Buy or Right to Acquire<br />

(ii) you taking such steps pursuant to Part V of the<br />

Act in connection with any such claim up to the<br />

point of operation of Section 138 (1) of the Act<br />

(iii) the operation of Section 138 (1) in most<br />

circumstances when this Notice ceases to be in<br />

force but<br />

If the Registered Provider subsequently serves a Final<br />

Demolition Notice in respect of the Relevant Premises, the<br />

Right to Buy or Right to Acquire will not arise in respect of<br />

the Relevant Premises while that Notice is in force and any<br />

existing claim will cease to be effective.<br />

following morning. At weekends, visitors<br />

need only one scratchcard for a Saturday or<br />

Sunday (all day). For instance, if a scratchcard<br />

is placed in the vehicle to last up until<br />

10.30pm on a Friday<br />

night, then another<br />

scratchcard must be<br />

placed in the vehicle by<br />

8am on the Saturday<br />

morning. This will<br />

expire at 8am on the<br />

Sunday morning<br />

when another<br />

scratchcard must be<br />

placed in the<br />

vehicle. Only one<br />

scratchcard can be<br />

displayed at any<br />

one time. This<br />

will only be until<br />

December 31,<br />

2012.<br />

RIGHT TO COMPENSATION<br />

•YoumayhavearighttocompensationunderSection<br />

138C of the Act in respect of certain expenditure<br />

incurred if at the time when this Notice is served on<br />

you there is already an existing claim to exercise the<br />

Right to Buy in respect of the Property. In such<br />

circumstances if within the period of three months<br />

beginning with the date when the Initial Notice comes<br />

into force (“the Operative Date”) you serve on the<br />

Registered Provider a written notice claiming an<br />

amount of compensation, the Registered Provider<br />

shall pay that amount to you.<br />

•Compensationisinrespectofexpenditure<br />

reasonably incurred by you before the Operative<br />

Date in respect of legal and other fees and other<br />

professional costs and expenses payable in<br />

connection with the exercise by you of the right<br />

to buy.<br />

•Yourclaimmustbeaccompaniedbyreceiptsorother<br />

documents showing that you have incurred the<br />

expenditure in question.<br />

• The Operative Date of this notice is 11 July, 2012<br />

being the date a copy of this notice was served on<br />

the tenants of the Relevant Premises<br />

<strong>Poplar</strong> <strong>HARCA</strong> at 167a East India Dock Road, E14 0EA<br />

or on 0800 035 1991 or at info@poplarharca.co.uk<br />

Dated this 11th day of July, 2012<br />

Andrea Baker,<br />

Director of Housing

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