Meanwhile in East London…
Over the years, Hackney Wick and Fish Island’s glut of ex-industrial units and vacant lots have afforded numerous actors – from community organisations and artists, to business owners and creative practitioners – access to and free-reign over low-cost land, studio space, and warehouses. From skateparks to food-halls, festivals to theatres, artist studios and night-time venues, […]
Losing the Plot
In cities, we have less opportunity to stare aimlessly at the sky or find ourselves experiencing the particular pleasure we get from walking amidst blossoms, flowers, trees, and birds. Research shows that we’re kinder in parks, and London is known all over for its legendary proliferation of green spaces. It all started here, too. Queen […]
Unstoppable Green Shoots
At first glance it might not appear to be the greenest of places, but Hackney Wick is bursting with plant life. From the roof gardens of Oslo House to the jostling pots atop narrowboats on the River Lea, plants are thriving. As we transition into spring, nature is gently unfurling, sending our urban landscapes into […]
Wellbeing in the Wick
Kevin Hempsted is a born and bred Eastender, and runs White Post Lane therapy and counselling centre A Balanced Life. He talks about how the pandemic has impacted health, and why the local community is so essential to all our wellbeing. We’re still processing the trauma of the past year… Lockdown has taken away part of community we all need – that contact with […]
Esports Explosion
The esports industry has grown astronomically over the last few years, and the popularity of computer and console gaming has been the main driver. Since 2012 the global games market has more than doubled in size from $70.6bn to $180bn in 2021. East London, and the Here East campus in particular, has become a hub […]
Fit out to public house
It’s said that the celebrated photographer David Bailey’s grandmother collected glasses there and was paid in gin. Certainly printers, mechanics, scrap metal merchants and more all bowled into it before its closure in the mid-90s. Then all-night ravers and partyheads found more discrete ways in until the door was breeze-blocked a few years back. An […]
A Seat At The Table
When London was selected as the host city for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games it came with the promise of creating a legacy that would last years beyond the sporting competition. The London Legacy Development Co-operation (LLDC) was formed and tasked with that challenge. It now operates as a planning authority for the Queen […]
Affordable art stone studios
Even five years ago, opening a Sainsbury’s on Wallis Road would have been, at best, a poor business idea. Like many things in Hackney Wick, the supermarket is a paradox: cheaper than many of its local competitors, the store is a sign of the area’s increasing exclusivity; it represents development which is shifting the economic, […]
The Wicked One: Luk Man Hon
How did you come to be in Hackney Wick (HWFI)? Back in 2008 I had just started my record business when a friend recommended I take a look at Oslo House as a potential place to work from. He was using it to store speakers at the time, and sometimes he would do gigs at […]
East London’s enterprise catalyst
Just off the River Lea Navigation at the former sweet factory site Clarnico Quay, stands the new Hackney Bridge; a cluster of businesses, restaurants, start-ups, and a new Sunday market (see p.4). Amongst all these commercial traders is the Good Growth Hub, a space to connect businesses with local talent and provide a range of […]
