Resident Meetings

Residents meet in the Boiler House or out on the estate to discuss estate life and important issues, identifying where improvements can be made.

What to expect in a meeting

Each meeting begins with brief introductions, followed by updates from the Chair. We discuss these together, with residents sharing their views, experiences and ideas. There is also time to raise any other issues.

Anyone who wants to develop groups or campaigns around specific issues is able to access support and guidance.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

  • Summer 2026

    22nd July 2026

    Residents met with Southern Housing, councillors and estate staff to discuss ongoing estate issues. The main concerns were repeated lift failures, a prolonged water outage, poor communication and delays to repairs, with residents highlighting the impact on elderly and disabled neighbours.

    Other issues included rising service charges, neglected gardens, parking problems, and poor grounds maintenance. Southern Housing agreed to provide written guidance on response times, while regular drop-in surgeries and estate walkabouts will begin from September to improve communication and follow up on outstanding issues.

    Read meeting summary

  • Spring 2025

    9th June 2025

    We discussed ongoing estate issues, including repairs, anti-social behaviour, safety concerns, parking, and communication. Residents called for more effective estate-wide management, regular walkabouts with decision-makers, and clearer updates on outstanding works.

    Boiler House Spaces shared updates on planned refurbishment and extension works, while discussions continued on improvements to the South Lawn following the container storage issue. Southern Housing acknowledged mistakes were made and further discussions are planned.

    Read meeting summary

  • Winter 2024

    Monday 9th December

    We have had less meetings this year with energy shifting to walkabouts, so it was good to meet in the Boiler House and catch up. Recurring themes were present, updates were shared and ideas raised and discussed.

    Read the meeting summary here.

  • Spring 2024

    Monday 20th May

    This was our first residents meeting for six months, as the focus has moved to estate walk-arounds with Southern Housing representatives.
    We heard about adjustments being made by Southern Housing and shared feedback from the walk-arounds. Residents feel that while there have been some positive developments, Soutern Housing’s service remains unsatisfactory.

    We also heard from the Interim CEO of Boiler House Spaces who gave an update about their proposed development.

    Read the meeting summary here.

  • Autumn / Winter 2023

    Wednesday 22nd November

    Southern Housing’s Director of Repairs and Estate Transformation came to the estate to meet with residents.

    There was a high turnout in the Boiler House with residents keen to explain their issues, demonstrating the serious range of problems we’ve been experiencing and our frustrations regards Southern Housing’s current standard of service in managing the estate.

    There were productive discussions with some actionable outcomes.

    Read the meeting summary here.

  • Summer / Autumn 2023

    Wednesday 27th September

    Having discussed the impacts of Southern Housings failure to act on our estates issues, we went over the SH complaints process (which unsurprisingly seems to go nowhere) and the following step - the Housing Ombudsman.

    We then discussed ideas and recommendations about how we could further escalate our response, including legal possibilities, along with more creative ways to get our voices heard.

    We also received an update from the Boiler House on the planned development.

    Read meeting summary here.

  • Spring meeting

    Spring 2023

    26th April

    The presence of representatives from SH was appreciated - residents were able to express their frustrations and highlight common themes and failures that have been affecting us all. We were also joined by a resident from another SH estate who’s researching the process around the kitchen refits, and our local councillors, all of which made very helpful contributions.

    Read meeting summary

  • Winter meeting

    Winter 2023

    25th January

    We focused on the growing list of unaddressed issues on the estate. Residents are having serious difficulty reporting issues. We collected experiences and updates to share with estate management and our local councillors, who made the Mayor of Hackney aware of the situation. Southern Housing has informed us that a formal complaint has been raised and they’re now working with United Living to improve the situation. We hope this will lead to an acceptable level of service and will continue to gather resident feedback.

    Read meeting summary

Southern Housing walkabouts with residents

Walkabouts enable us to speak directly with Southern Housing on site, giving them a clearer idea of the estates unaddressed and reoccurring problems and pointing out specific issues.

More info and summaries of the walkabouts here.

Residents of George Downing Estate connect over shared issues, support one another, and work towards making meaningful improvements to life on the estate. Residents are comprised of tenants, renters and leaseholders.

Our meetings are open forums where anyone connected to the estate is welcome to drop in and participate as much or as little as they choose. We operate informally and are entirely unfunded. The meetings provide a welcoming space for residents to connect, share ideas, support one another, and develop community-led projects, campaigns and groups.

  • Findings from meetings

    Through meeting we’ve been able to get a picture of the broad range of issues experienced on the estate and identify key common issues; prioritising those which are most pressing and affect the widest number of residents.

    There are high levels of dissatisfaction regards the management and maintenance of the estate by Southern Housing. Communication failures and inadequate action create serious and worsening problems. Residents report feeling unsafe, ignored and frustrated.

  • Sharing findings

    Details shared in the meetings have been added to an issues list, which is publicly available on this website, and has been widely shared within Southern Housing, who have been using it to add details to their records. It has been passed on to our local councillors and to the Mayor of Hackneys office who have helped escalate issues. Formal complaints have been raised by various residents both to Southern Housing and the Housing Ombudsman who launched an investigation into Southern Housing’s maladministration regards reporting and complaint handling.

  • Estate management

    We have improved resident connection to Southern Housing via resident meetings, estate walkabouts, phone and video meetings and email communications.

    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. From September there will also be monthly surgeries, held on rotation in the Boiler House and the hall at Stamford Hill Estate, where residents can connect directly with Southern Housing about day to day repairs.

What we gain from meeting

We share our experiences and connect to our neighbours. We gain knowledge from one another and develop awareness of what’s happening across the estate - the first step towards creating change. We share local wisdom, tips and techniques, while supporting one another. We all benefit from the spectrum of skills held by people in the estate community.

The evidence we’ve gathered has been presented to estate management and other external bodies, illustrating the full picture of our issues. We can combine our voices over shared issues, collectively or via synchronised individual actions. As the saying goes, communities are built together.