Celebrations as demolition begins on Hackney estate

Last week the North East Neighbourhood held an event to mark the start of demolition works at the Haggerston West and Kingsland Estates in Hackey.

The event was hosted by L&Q Chief Executive, David Montague and attended by Hackney Deputy Mayor Karen Allcock . L&Q Staff and residents who have been working together in partnership to make the regeneration of the Estates possible were also guests at the event.

Residents' representative Pam Davey, a long-term supporter of L&Q's involvement in the regeneration, said she was really happy with the process so far; "It's been great working with L&Q staff on this, the most important thing for residents is that they have kept their promises."

L&Q took over as landlord at Haggerston West and Kingsland Estates in September 2008 after residents selected L&Q in a ballot as their landlord of choice. After a year-long process of decanting the arrival of bulldozers represents the first tangible sign of progress towards the construction of new homes. 700 new homes are planned across both estates with the majority designated as affordable.

L&Q Project Manager Graham Girling expressed his delight that the project had reached this crucial phase. He said: "L&Q has been working with Hackney Council and the residents of the Haggerston West and Kingsland Estates since October of 2003 when we were formally appointed to carry out the regeneration. The involvement of the residents has been integral to us getting to this stage. Now all their hard work and patience has been rewarded with the start on site."