Community group condemns plans to demolish Rowley Gardens Estate for a ‘monolith as penetrable as Uluru’

Rowley Gardens’ award-winning park

Loose community group Friends of Rowley Gardens says its estate should not be demolished by Berkeley Group and instead should be renovated.

The Woodberry Down regeneration plan, which covers the estate of Rowley Gardens, was first approved in 2005 and is one of Europe’s ‘biggest single-site estate regeneration projects’.

Conditional outline planning permission was given to Berkeley Group from Hackney Council after a meeting of the planning sub-committee in September.

This conditional permission is contingent on a referral to the Mayor of London and a finalised legal agreement.

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Hackney’s deputy mayor and cabinet member for regeneration, defended the development, saying: “The project is in the process of building thousands of much needed new homes, which include new high-quality homes for social rent, shared ownership and private sale.”

Alongside this, the council aims to deliver new green spaces and schools while creating new job opportunities and investing in transport infrastructure.

The 1960’s residential blocks of Rowley Gardens are set to be levelled in Phase 8 of the plans, alongside some green spaces surrounding the estate.

Friends of Rowley Gardens argues that demolition is not needed and that the carbon footprint and biodiversity are not being considered.

The group also says the plans do not keep with the heritage and traditional distinctiveness of the estate.

The block’s award-winning park is to remain, but the community group said: “There will be significantly less green space open to all. The ‘gardens’ aspect in the new Rowley Gardens is to be severely diminished; the large-scale felling of existing trees adds to this.

“In an age when carbon footprint is supposed to matter, this is a careless and ill-considered proposal.”

Cllr Nicholson said: “The masterplan proposes that the park is now retained and improved with a new sports court, alongside new communal gardens for the homes that are built.”

In Berkeley Group’s planning application documents, the developer stated that it aim to provide “enhancement of the existing Rowley Gardens Park with new play facilities and landscaping, creating a new access point onto the New River path to the north.”

Elaine Gosnell is a long-time resident of Rowley Gardens

Elaine Gosnell, long-time resident of the estate and member of Friends of Rowley Gardens, said that by demolishing the estate, the developers are not “recognising the different legacy of Rowley Gardens”.

Gosnell said the only north-facing rooms are kitchens, and that all homes have views of green spaces.

She added that there are also three original pieces of art which “demonstrate the creative and aspirational standards of the architects”.

“In Rowley Gardens, there are no new-style, single-aspect, rabbit-hutch style flats, with their associated churn of short-term residents,” she said.

“Neither are there any narrow, dark roadways where blinds are drawn because adjacent neighbours can see exactly what you’re reading or eating, or worse!

“The proposals for the ‘development’ simply regurgitate the model used in other phases. That is increased density, higher housing blocks than before, grouped closely together.

“In other words, the traditional distinctiveness of Rowley Gardens is to be bulldozed away.”

Discussing loss of green spaces, Gosnell added: “Berkeley’s intention is to cover our biodiverse, open parkland with high-density housing, aloft a service floor or dubiously termed ‘podium’, with a green roof masquerading as a ‘garden’, a private garden.

“The planned monolith is about as penetrable as Ayer’s Rock, or rather Uluru.”

Friends of Rowley Gardens also suggested in the planning sub-committee report that the planned removal of a Rowley Gardens road would make access to “shopping area in Green Lanes more difficult and would take away current space used weekly by Hackney Playbus”.

It added: “There has been a suggestion that this space could be re-provided adjacent to the current new homes in Woodberry Grove North, but anyone familiar with how this area works at the moment will know this is not a practical suggestion.”

The planning sub-committee said the “redevelopment has seen the replacement of a 20th-century estate in need of regeneration with modern homes and generous open spaces to support a larger community.

“The continued redevelopment of the remaining estate over Phases 5 to 8 into a higher density development with renewed landscaping is broadly supported.

But it did concede that “Phase 8 encroaches into the existing open space and results in a real loss of green open space generally.

“It has a dense proposed massing and although it is likely to be a good place to live with a legible layout and plenty of open space near to amenities, the transformation from the low density and green estate at present to a much denser and less open layout will cause concern.”

The council said the community will continue to be consulted on the proposals for Phase 8.