The first resident from Woodberry Down has been employed to work on site. Derick Hudson not only lives at Woodberry Down, he will also now be building new homes as part of the area’s regeneration, thanks to a scheme helping local people access construction industry jobs.

Woodberry Works trains local people, enabling them to gain the qualifications and experience needed to apply for construction jobs. Its focus is on large-scale building and regeneration projects taking place around Hackney and east London.

Derick is a skilled, qualified and experienced bricklayer who approached Woodberry Works as a way of updating his Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card. Now that he has his card Berkeley Homes – one of Woodberry Works’ partners – have put him in touch with one of their sub-contractors who have offered him a job.

Derick says, ‘I want to inspire other young people in the area to get onto apprenticeship schemes and get work like I have…. It takes time and it isn’t easy, but you must start somewhere. It sure isn’t a waste of time!’

Cllr Karen Alcock, Deputy Mayor of Hackney said, ‘This is an important first step for Woodberry Down – we hope that many more local residents benefit from opportunities created by the regeneration of the area. Hackney Council is committed to ensuring not only high quality housing in the borough, but that all our residents can make the most of training and employment opportunities.’

Trevor Hughes from Berkeley Homes stated that ‘we are delighted to have Derick on site as our first Woodberry Down resident employee. We are confident we can find many more like him within the community to fill positions on our sites moving forward on this exciting regeneration scheme.’

Simon Donovan, Director of the Manor House Development Trust – a key Woodberry Works partner – says, ‘This is a significant step. Local residents getting jobs on site here at Woodberry Down is a fundamental goal for the Manor House Development Trust. A measure of the success of this scheme will be the numbers of jobs created for local people.’

Throughout March Woodberry Works is offering free taster courses for young people and women. These include tiling, painting and decorating, plumbing, carpentry and DIY. These courses take place alongside accredited training to gain a Health and Safety CSCS card, First Aid and Food Hygiene qualifications. We hope to offer short courses in construction plant training in the near future.

To qualify for Woodberry Works training applicants must be a Hackney resident, at least 16 years old, unemployed (or working fewer than 16 hours per week), with the right to work in the UK. All participants will have the opportunity to attend a job preparation workshop after training.

To register your interest with Woodberry Works please contact Lydia or Caroline on 020 8356 1625 or 0800 694 2109; or email Lydia at lydia.opare-kwarteng@hackneyhomes.org.uk

During January, several milestones were reached on the regeneration of Woodberry Down, the largest scheme in Hackney. At the January meeting of Hackney Council Cabinet, Hackney Council appointed Berkeley Homes and Genesis Housing Group as the Councils partners for all phases of the Woodberry Down Regeneration. In addition, the Homes and Communities Agency awarded £27 million to progress with building 250 new homes.

Alongside this, changes in the management of Woodberry Down were announced. As a result Robin Smith will step down as Woodberry Down Programme Director.

Robin Smith has been a Director in Hackney Homes since the inception of the Arm's Length Management Organisation in April 2006. He has been an adviser to Hackney Council since 2002.

During his time in Hackney, he has planned the investment to commence the Decent Homes programme, overseen the housing management services provided to 34,000 homes and advised on the new Customer Services Centre in Hackney. Over the past six years, he has concentrated on leading the biggest regeneration project in Hackney on Woodberry Down. This project now has National Demonstration Project Status on how to best deliver Mixed Sustainable Communities. The Kick Start Phase started on site in 2009, and by February 2010 nearly 500 new homes, a new Academy and a new community centre were under construction.

Before joining Hackney, Robin spent 12 years as Chief Executive at two Councils, having originally trained as a town planner and an architect. He has undertaken major regeneration schemes in Hertfordshire, Cumbria and Swansea, plus the design and construction of a new village as well as 800 affordable homes. He has also worked with the Council of Europe on planning and marketing major regeneration conferences and exhibitions in Berlin and in the UK.

Robin left Hackney on 12 February to return to his own consulting business, Regeneration Strategies Ltd, which specialises in advice on how to design and deliver successful urban regeneration.

Charlotte Graves, Chief Executive of Hackney Homes said: “Robin has made a significant achievement in bringing the Woodberry Down Project this far to these important milestones. I want to thank him for his hard work and commitment and I wish him success for the future”.

Subject to planning permission more than 240 new affordable homes are to be built on Hackney’s biggest regeneration project, following confirmation of nearly £27 million of Government funding.

On Monday 25 January, Hackney’s Cabinet made key decisions which will progress the regeneration of the Woodberry Down Estate.

Berkeley Homes, with the support of the Council, has been allocated Homes and Communities Agency funding of £26,975,000, which will see 187 social rented homes and 60 shared ownership homes built on the Woodberry Grove North site and at a site on Green Lanes near Manor House tube station.

Subject to planning permission, work is set to begin in March 2010 and the new homes are expected to be completed in 2012/13. The Woodberry Grove North site is part of Phase One of Woodberry Down’s regeneration programme, which will also include a new health centre, community centre and the new Skinners’ Academy.

On Monday 25 January, Hackney’s Cabinet made key decisions which will progress the regeneration of the Woodberry Down Estate.

Cllr Karen Alcock, Deputy Mayor of Hackney, said, “This £27 million unlocks the next phase in Woodberry Down renewal. It is providing high quality affordable homes as well as key community facilities.”

The recent Cabinet meeting, the imminent expected signing of the Principal Development Agreement and the £27 million from the HCA are all important milestones… And there is a long way to go. The regeneration of Woodberry Down is a long-term project and is not expected to be completed until 2027.

The signing of the PDA is important because it is provides confirmation that Berkeley Homes will build all the new homes and that Genesis will become the landlord.

The first 117 homes are currently being built. In March we hope work will start on over 240 more new homes and to hear about further funding grants for the Horston, Sherwood and Newnton Close sites. Work is expected to start on these soon after if the bids are successful. However the regeneration of Woodberry Down will involve decants, buybacks and interim repairs to achieve its long-term objective of a truly regenerated community. We will continue to work closely with the Woodberry Down Community Organisation (WDCO) and other residents on how these plans will affect individuals and families at Woodberry Down.

Page updated 18 March 2010