Take A Walk On The Farm

The Tottenham Civics Society are inviting us all for a tour of Broadwater Farm.

Broadwater Farm estate

Date: 11.00am Saturday 31st May

Walk leader: Sean Gardiner, Broadwater Farm Neighbourhood Officer, with member of Broadwater Farm Residents Association

Broadwater Farm Children's Centre, designed by Gollifer Langston Architects and winner of a Royal Institute of British Architects award 2007.

"Broadwater Farm is a remarkable place….Can this be the same place that I saw 20 years ago in the aftermath of the terrible riot…? The transformation is quite astonishing. Architecturally there have been big changes.

"The estate had been built on the principles established by Le Corbusier, with walkways in the sky that were designed to separate people from the traffic. But they also left the ground floor level entirely vulnerable and the estate quickly became rife with drug dealers while escaping burglars made good use of all the different passageways.

"After the riots the Tory government made the estate one of its priorities, pouring £33 million into demolishing the walkways and a series of other structural improvements. But the estate needed more than physical changes…

"Perhaps the single most important factor in changing the feel of the place was to get in a local management team on the estate. Installing a concierge system… was another major development… And, most important, was ensuring that the community was involved and that the views of local residents were listened to.”(Christian Wolmar, 20 Years Later at Broadwater Farm, 2005)

“Broadwater Farm…now thrives…Once again it is seen as a model public-housing project, but this time around, that seems genuinely to be the case.” (Lynsey Hanley, Estates: An Intimate History, 2007)

A view of the Farm from Gloucester Road.

Come and hear about the changes and improvements that have been made to this estate which Sean Gardiner will describe on his tour.

Meet at the Neighbourhood Office, 108c Gloucester Road, N17. This is on the left hand side just down the slope of Gloucester Road from the junction with The Avenue.

(apart from pics all text and quotes taken from Tottenham Civic Society walk update)

Broadwater United meets Gordie's wife and fly to Tokyo...

BCN