The Wornington Green Estate in Ladbroke Grove, London W10 is an award-winning regeneration project. The area itself is fascinating historically and culturally. It has the largest Moroccan population in the UK and the annual Notting Hill Carnival parade passes close by the estate. One of the first adventure playgrounds, (Notting Hill Adventure Playground) founded in 1959, is also sited on the estate.
NewmanFrancis provided an Independent Tenants’ Advice Service for Catalyst tenants between 2013-2017 and recently between 2019-2022 which included the Covid-19 lockdown period.
Our Role:
Our role as the Independent Tenants’ Advisors (ITA) was to work with the residents making sure they have a voice and can influence what happens with the regeneration.
As part of our role, we also supported residents in helping them understand their rights and options & how they would be affected by the regeneration works in their area.
We also provided support to the Resident Steering Group (RSG); carried out regular outreach work on the estate; provide independent advice and advocacy service; facilitated regular public meetings, produced quarterly RSG newsletters, carried out a community survey on behalf of the RSG, and provide training for residents.
NewmanFrancis also provided best practice advice and advocacy to Catalyst Housing, and informed the landlords communications approach with the community.
We also set up a Design Working Group to work closely with the architects to inform the designs for Phase 2 & Phase 3 of the regeneration scheme (including aspects such as internal designs & layouts, external building appearance, height & massing, public realm, roads & pathways etc).
Working with the RSG:
The Residents’ Steering Group is a well-engaged, lively and committed group made up of residents living on the Wornington Green Estate dedicated to supporting their community through the regeneration process and building a stronger community with both existing and new residents.
NewmanFrancis supported the RSG in a number of ways, such as: training sessions; facilitation of meetings; administration support; advocating and conversing with Catalyst on their behalf, recruiting new members, and helping the group produce their own quarterly newsletters.
NewmanFrancis helped the RSG develop its own Action Plan, to prioritise what was important to residents.
The RSG has worked with Catalyst to develop a set of Neighbourhood Rules
We also worked with the RSG to set up a Design Working Group which worked with the architects on the detailed designs for Phase 2, and also for Phase 3 . Residents received training in order to work with the architects during the design process.
The RSG supported and influenced the appointment of Conran & Partners as the architects for Phase 2 of the regeneration.
The RSG were a key part of the procurement process for the construction contractor for Phase 2 and Phase 2b.
Members join NewmanFrancis staff on outreach to get views of residents
The RSG have been residents’ eyes and ears on estate management, as well as the ongoing demolition & construction works for the next phase (2b).
The RSG keep residents informed through regular public meetings.
As an ongoing task, the RSG monitor the residents’ charter (this is the regeneration agreement) to ensure Catalyst are keeping to this agreement.
We also supported the RSG in engaging with local stakeholders about the services they provide such as the Venture Centre, and also Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s parks team.
The RSG with support from the ITA have been producing their own quarterly newsletters to update on the community on the work which they have been doing in terms of representing residents’ issues to their landlord.
Our high visibility and presence on the estate has ensured we have developed a good relationship with the local community as well as a sense of trust as independent advisors.
We increased participation at public meetings and events month by month demonstrating our effective approach at engaging with local people and encouraging residents to get involved.
We identified early wins from our annual survey and outreach and successfully recognised emerging issues and concerns to address with Catalyst.
Our knowledge of regeneration projects and expertise in community engagement frameworks means we can effectively assess the awareness and understanding amongst local people and adapt our capacity building sessions as necessary to address any gaps.
As part of our advocacy service, NewmanFrancis empowered Catalyst tenants to liaise with their landlord around resolving outstanding repair issues & other issues related to the regeneration works.
Throughout the period of disruptive works in the demolition & construction process for Phase 2b, we carried out focussed outreach which included door knocking & block meetings with residents living in adjacent buildings to the demolition site and supported them closely throughout this period.
We also developed a strong relationship with the RSG and empowered the group to take ownership of issues & concerns in their community and work with their landlord in developing solutions.
As part of our work with the RSG, we helped the group co-produce their own newsletter to raise the profile of the RSG, the work of the group, empower residents to report issues, and encourage resident involvement.
We capacity built RSG members to be part of the procurement panel for appointing the construction contractor for the next phase of the regeneration (2b) as well as empowering the group to monitor the performance of the contractor.
We also developed positive relationships with a number of vulnerable residents and provided a personalised wellbeing service for residents throughout the covid-19 pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic, we also increased the membership of the RSG and increased resident involvement at our online public meetings (via zoom). We also facilitated monthly steering group meetings & ensured regular communications between the RSG & Catalyst throughout this period.
“The assistance and support that I received from NewmanFrancis and their staff played a pivotal role in mine and my family’s re-housing & quality of life. I cannot thank them enough.”
Nadia Nagouri, Former Resident at Wornington Green
“The path NewmanFrancis took was very resident focused. From the very start they showed their commitment to making sure as many residents as possible understand their options. They were able to do home visits and organise public meetings and monthly resident steering group meetings online. As a resident, I was always kept in the loop and consistently updated through NewmanFrancis. They were able to stay in contact through phone, email and text which was great. NewmanFrancis have been our strong advocates throughout, and have maintained their independence from our landlord through difficult decisions. Our opinions matters to NewmanFrancis and I constantly felt supported from them. They would always take my opinion into consideration and put that to our landlord. I felt heard whilst working closely with NewmanFrancis.”
Oumayma Tuijri, Vice-Chair of Wornington Green Residents’ Steering Group
NewmanFrancis’ provided an Independent Tenants’ Advice Service for customers on Wornington Green estate in North Kensington for 8 years. Below are some key highlights during the time that NF worked with Catalyst and our customers.
They have in place a very professional staff team, who are all very friendly, approachable, and easy to communicate/do business with.
Monthly and quarterly residents’ meetings were always planned and executed professionally. The Project Officer and supporting staffs were always punctual for meetings, agenda and minutes were circulated to customers and the relevant attendees in a timely manner and actions follow up swiftly after meetings.
NewmanFrancis worked extremely hard to set up and get customers (leaseholders and tenants) involved in a Design Working Group, where customers were able to influence the design for the new homes, working in partnership with our architects and Catalyst staffs.
They have demonstrated over the years that they have worked with us, that they’re very good with working to an agreed budget, and always provided evidence to support the work they carried out with their invoices.
NewmanFrancis also did a superb job working with our Residents Steering Group during the COVID-19 Pandemic, to ensure that they were kept informed and involved in the regeneration, by hosting regular online meetings. They also supported Catalyst to carry out welfare checks with customers.
Patricia Poorman, Partnership Officer, Catalyst Housing Association
