George Downing Estate. An urban community site.
This website has been created by estate residents as a result of residents meetings and engagement with the wider community. It can be used to share information, local knowledge and resources, helping us care for our estate and connecting and empowering our community.
Get in touch if you’d like to share any thoughts or feedback.
Resident meetings
Residents gather roughly once a season in the Boiler House to discuss issues and share thoughts and ideas.
The next meeting will be Winter 2025/6. More details on the meetings page.
Estate management
The estate residents group was formed in 2021 in response to long-standing frustrations with Southern Housing’s lack of presence, poor communication and limited action on persistent issues affecting the estate.
For a number of years, residents have faced delays in repairs, inconsistent quality of works and unresolved communal problems. Common issues - such as leaks, faulty lights, lift failures and insecure doors - have often remained unresolved for months or even years, often leading to bigger problems down the line.
Without clear communication or a single point of contact, residents have frequently been forced to act as project managers, tracking progress, escalating problems and chasing contractors for basic information.
Through residents working together, sharing updates, raising complaints with Southern Housing and the Housing Ombudsman, and working with local Councillors and the Mayor’s Office, building connections with Southern Housing at different levels, we have seen some improvement.
The recent introduction of the Local Link model, an area-based team with a dedicated manager, has led to improved communication and a more consistent presence on the estate.
In November 2025, a panel of residents joined team members on a detailed walk-around, inspecting communal areas and discussing issues across the estate. Encouragingly, in the weeks following there has been a noticeable increase in longstanding issues being addressed. We hope this is a sign that more improvements are coming.
SNUG quiz night
A team of George Downing estate residents recently came second in a quiz night put on by the Stoke Newington Common Users Group at the Boiler House. Having scored joint first out of 10 teams, Estate of Mind were defeated following a tiebreaker question.
The quiz night raised funds for our local Common, including the creation of a custom piece by the Hackney Mosaic project.
Hailed as a successful and fun night with tickets sold out - SNUG have plans to hold more events like this in future 💫
Boiler House Development
APRIL 2025
The development of the community space is progressing. The new sports pitch, or MUGA (multi use gaming area) is now open and being well used. The old MUGA will be finding new life as part of a series of community garden spaces.
Through community design sessions, Heard Landscapes and the Boiler House charity have been working with local people, developing plans for the space, with an emphasis on greening and growing, climate resilience, community connection and wellbeing.
Felix Fresh at the Boiler House
In November The Boiler House hosted an event run by the Felix Project, distributing free fresh fruit and veg to the community.
The scheme, created to reduce food waste was open to all.
Resources for older residents
WE NOW HAVE A PAGE WITH RESOURCES FOR OLDER RESIDENTS.
Please have a look and share with anyone who may find it useful. We welcome feedback and suggestions.
Southern Housing walk-arounds with residents
DECEMBER 2024
Over the past year residents have been working with Southern Housing to arrange walk-arounds of the estate, as recommended by Southern Housings Director of repairs and estate transformation.
Walk-arounds enable us to speak directly with Southern Housing, giving them a clearer idea of the estates unaddressed and reoccurring problems and pointing out specific issues.
Over the past six months Southern Housing have conducted 5 walk-arounds with residents on the estate. We were prescribed a year of monthly walk-arounds so we hope the remainder will be fully made up over time.
More info and summaries of the walk-arounds here.
-
Our landscaping is managed by Southern Housings garden maintenance team.
The condition of greenery on the estate is important to residents. There’s been concern about the amount of plants and shrubs that have died off over the past few years, leaving empty areas in beds across the estate.
The residents association has begun a dialogue with the head of the gardening maintenance team and the estate home services manager. During summer 2023 we had a walkabout meeting to raise residents concerns and see where improvements might be made. Read the minutes
In October 2024 some new planting has been added in spaces raised by residents.
-
There’s been a wave of resident gardening activity on the estate, with mini wildflower meadows and other growing projects. There
The gardening maintenance team are keen to hear residents thoughts and are open to various forms of resident involvement. They would especially appreciate residents helping give extra care to the greenery during hot, dry spells.
If you have thoughts or ideas you’d like to share, come along to a meeting or get in touch
-
The campaigns section of this website could help residents wishing to collaborate - share ideas and plans, explore funding opportunities, or promote any potential groups or projects.
-
The Boiler House charity is leading a project to create a community forest garden on the estate, as part of the Boiler House community space development. The space could create opportunities for community connection and wellbeing while improving our estate environment.
What’s a forest garden?
A forest garden is a sustainable and diverse agricultural system that mimics a natural woodland system. It combines trees, shrubs, and other plants to create a self-sustaining environment with the diversity, stability and resilience of natures ecosystems.
Three garden design workshops are planned for December, open to anybody from the estate and the wider community. Details of the work shops are in the development section further up the page.
-
Recycling facilities on the estate include general recycling, food waste, garden waste and a clothing and textiles bin.
We currently have a fortnightly visit from the Topup Truck to help reduce packaging waste.
Does anyone have ideas or suggestions to make our estate more environmentally friendly?
-
As well as helping our greenery flourish, spaces that attract wildlife create a healthier ecosystem.
Our estate is home to a range of animals, birds, bugs and bees - we even have a resident beekeeper working to increase our bee population.
What else could we do to make our estate a more wildlife friendly place?
Green George Downing🌿
Click to expand ⬇︎
