PRESS RELEASE
WORKSHOP HELPS TO INVOLVE YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE OF GREENWICH
Young people from Greenwich are taking part in a forum this week to help engage them in the future development of their local community. Run by Open House as part of their young people’s campaign, ‘My City Too’, the workshop will invite young people’s views on best uses for the public realm in a major new scheme, the ‘Heart of East Greenwich’. This workshop is supported by the scheme’s regeneration developer, First Base.
Located on the former District Hospital site, the ‘Heart of East Greenwich’ is a scheme by First Base, which will provide 650 homes, including one, two and three bedroom apartments, maisonettes and four bedroom townhouses. The development will also create a new public square with a range of community facilities and it is this shared space which the young people are being invited to focus on.
Through the ‘My City Too’ programme, Open House works with young people, aged between 12 and 19, helping to incorporate their thoughts and ideas into the future of London’s built environment. As well as providing a voice for the younger generation, the scheme also promotes an understanding of the building process and the tools, language and skills needed to promote and develop new ideas.
Elliot Lipton, Managing Director of First Base, comments, “We are very excited to be able to be involved with ‘My City Too’, an innovative project that has created the perfect solution to get young people engaged and help nurture a greater understanding and appreciation of the built environment”.
“Our aim is to create truly sustainable communities across London which can thrive long into the future. In order to create schemes which work for all local people, First Base is always looking at ways to actively engage with the community.”
This week’s workshop in Greenwich is part of the series of ‘My City Too’ forums that are taking place across London this year. In order to inspire young people, the two-day forum will include a visit to the site of the ‘Heart of East Greenwich’ as well as an opportunity to examine plans for the scheme to better understand how the proposed public space could be used for people of their age. The results and feedback from this and other workshops are due to be presented to mayoral candidates, local authority councillors and officers, designers and developers in early 2008 to ensure that young people have a voice in shaping London’s built environment, including the future of Greenwich and other communities of London.
Ashley McCormick, ‘My City Too’ Project Coordinator, comments, - “Young people use public spaces in our cities differently to adults, and because of this they are often not welcome in central community areas. As the ‘Heart of East Greenwich’ scheme will include a public square, it is likely to attract a large number of young people, so it is important that their needs and views are taken into account at this stage. It’s great that First Base realises this and is actively looking to engage with them via the workshops taking place this week.”
-ENDS-
For further information about First Base please contact:
Jessica Gooch / David Lucas
Tel: 020 7908 6447 / 020 7908 6422
Email: jgooch@lexispr.com / dlucas@lexispr.com
For further information regarding My City Too! and other programmes .
Contact: Sarah Yates
Tel 020 8383 082
Email: Syates@openhouse.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS:
First Base Limited
Transforming Urban Spaces and Building Communities.
First Base is the urban regeneration developer that creates stylish homes in great urban spaces.
- It transforms the way that properties are built - using best practice modern construction methods that keep costs low yet quality high, embracing sustainability and ensuring value for money.
- It transforms the way that communities are formed - with a mix of tenures, a range of homes, a commitment to high quality management and services that make friends of neighbours.
- And it transforms the way that style meets function - with attractive designs, inside and out, that do more than simply look good.
Designed by renowned architects, built by skilled craftspeople, managed by experts, First Base homes are quality, sustainable and affordable properties for purchase or rental.
First Base is currently involved in a range of projects that will deliver mixed-tenure housing in London and the South East. These include:
- Elephant & Castle regeneration, as part of Lend Lease consortium
- Stratford City including the 2012 Athletes Village, as part of the Lend Lease consortium
- On behalf of the Blackstone Group, the regeneration of a site in Kings Cross to provide affordable accommodation to over 900 students
- A number of schemes under English Partnerships’ London Wide Initiative including Adelaide Wharf in Shoreditch and two sites in regeneration hot spot, Elephant and Castle
The company was included in the RIBA ‘Top 50 Clients’ survey for its innovative approach to quality design, using renowned architects including, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, AHMM and Fletcher Priest for a range of projects across the capital.
First Base is also a founding member of the UK Green Building Council. The organisation, launched in the Spring of 2007, aims to provide leadership and cohesion to the UK Green building movement, provide a single, powerful pan-industry voice to Government, facilitate knowledge sharing and spread best practice and raise the international standing of UK industry.
For further information please visit www.firstbase.com
First Base’s scheme, the ‘Heart of East Greenwich’ will deliver a mixed tenure balanced community, with up to 50% of the development set to be affordable, providing family, Key Worker and Social Rented homes under English Partnership’s London Wide Initiative (LWI) programme. The scheme will also be London’s first major zero carbon development and will set a new benchmark in environmentally sustainable communities.
Open House
Open House is an independent architecture education organisation committed to engaging a wide cross-section of London’s communities in issues related to architecture and design excellence. Through research, consultation and collaboration the charity empowers diverse audiences to join the debate about design in the built environment through first-hand encounters with exemplary architecture.