St Paul’s Square scheme in Bromley-by-Bow is completed

Developers who went ahead with ambitious regeneration plans despite the recession have completed the final phase of St Paul’s Square in Bromley-by-Bow.

Planting a sapling in the landscape by Mayor of Tower Hamlets completes Leopold estate regeneration. Picture: Saunders/Digital Nation - Credit: Saunders/Digital Nation

The scheme started by Poplar Harca housing oganisation and Countryside developers’ at the start of the economic slump in 2008 to replace the ageing Leopold housing estate has completed 486 new homes and 335 refurbished tenancies a decade on.

“The Leopold estate was looking tired and outdated,” Poplar Harca’s chairman Paul Brickell said. “But the area is now a community with a sense of belonging.”

The scheme has public areas with artwork and road names reflecting the East End’s heritage, including the 1921 Poplar rates rebellion led by George Lansbury and the suffragette movement set up by the Pankhursts.

Countryside developers’ Andy Fancy said: “We were determined to start work despite the recession because of the acute housing shortage for first-time buyers trying to step on the ladder.”

The project gathered momentum “through difficult times” while replacing outdated housing which is being set as “a blueprint” for future schemes.