Carpenters Estate Meanwhile Use Framework, London Borough of Newham for Populo Living with Meanwhile Space, Make:Good, Proctor and Matthews, Metropolitan Workshop, LDA, XC02, Tibbalds, CampbellReith and Mott Macdonald

Carpenters Estate Meanwhile Use Framework, London Borough of Newham for Populo Living with Meanwhile Space, Make:Good, Proctor and Matthews, Metropolitan Workshop, LDA, XC02, Tibbalds, CampbellReith and Mott Macdonald

 

The Carpenters Estate Meanwhile Use Framework supports the activation of the regeneration area, supporting a connected neighbourhood during a 15-year build-out. Rooted in community priorities and circular economy principles, it delivers activations from the outset, from a train carriage cafe and co-designed play spaces to community gardens and a new community hub, focusing on reclaimed materials and resident-led programming. This approach fosters trust, wellbeing and enterprise, reduces carbon and waste, and asks big questions about how meanwhile use can create social and environmental value.

 

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Describe the context of this project, its neighbourhood and people.

 

The Carpenters Estate in Newham is one of London’s largest estate regeneration projects, delivering over 2,300 new and refurbished homes over 15-years. With such transformation comes disruption for a community that has already experienced decades of housing uncertainty. Newham Council and their wholly-owned housing company, Populo Living, have developed an ambitious Meanwhile Use Framework that aims to turn vacant and underused spaces into community assets that improve the lives of residents, while shaping the future of the estate. Thanks to resident input, the framework is rooted in local priorities, working from Newham’s Community Wealth Building and Growth agenda. It maps activation opportunities across the masterplan, testing how meanwhile use can work at scale with the community in mind, embedding flexibility and social support alongside commercial goals, without displacing local talent. Early meanwhile projects, such as the Dovetail community centre and communal gardens, prove the power of ‘engagement through doing’. Building on the success of these projects, the wider meanwhile framework set out five themes: play, get together, biodiversity, wellbeing, and prosperity. From vibrant art trails and play spaces to a train carriage cafe empowering d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing baristas, these projects come together to activate a diverse and inclusive neighbourhood in the midst of transition. Newham’s model demonstrates how regeneration can deliver social value from the outset, fostering local enterprise and involving residents in the step-by-step change.

 

Tell us what you did and how the project, event or installation enlivened the place in a creative way? 

 

he Meanwhile Use Framework has transformed underused spaces on the Carpenters Estate into a wide-ranging network of activations and projects that connect people, spark creativity, and set the standard for what ‘good’ looks like in urban regeneration and placemaking. In line with Newham’s Just Transition plan and Populo Living’s sustainability aims, the Meanwhile programme champions retainment and reuse, embedding circular economy principles into every project. 20 tonnes of CLT panels from a closing factory were salvaged, the beginnings of a bank of materials that underpins the meanwhile delivery and has grown to include tiles, windows and more. In the main games area, colourful treehouses were built using 95% reclaimed materials by Yes Make, seating from fencing, rope from boatyards repurposed for play, outdoor gym equipment forged from recycled knives, and colourful resident-made art trails weaving through the estate to connect each project. The Dovetail community centre became a hotspot for social activity on the estate, while a retired train carriage has transformed into the Dialogue Express Cafe run by charity Dialogue Hub, who empower d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals through inclusive employment. At the old Tenant Management Office, 75% of the structure will be retained and reimagined by Jan Kattein Architects as a mixed-use venue for work, events, and community space, including incubator space for small buildings – all making use of salvaged windows, doors and furnishings. 
 
With residents at the heart of the framework, co-building gardens and running workshops, these activations brought much-needed energy and connection.

 

Did the project make a positive social and environmental contribution? If it was a temporary intervention, is there a legacy plan? What happened to its tenants, users, materials and programming?

 

The Carpenters Estate Meanwhile Use Framework is governed by Populo Living, Newham Council’s wholly-owned housing company, and overseen by Newham Council’s regeneration team, ensuring alignment with the borough’s Community Wealth Building agenda and Just Transition Plan. Meanwhile Space supported Populo’s development team as Meanwhile advisors, while Make:Good led on resident engagement, co-design, and our Young Designers Programme. Support and oversight from elected members, councillors and resident representatives at OneSource were also crucial to the governance of the framework, the viability of which is guaranteed through phased delivery, integration with the £1bn masterplan, and cross-subsidy from Populo’s relocation to offices in the TMO workspace. 
 
 Community Engagement underpinned every stage of the design and development, from masterplanning to meanwhile use. Led by Make:Good and supported by Populo’s in-house engagement team, the co-design programme reached 98% of households, with 88% participating in multiple consultations at the Dovetail centre, which included over 16 exhibitions, five major workshops, and numerous drop-ins. Surrounding activities designed to engage residents and locals include community gardening initiatives, Young Designers Programmes which allow young people to tangibly alter their environment, creative classes, community events and more. 
 
The results of the projects delivered have transformed and populated little-used spaces, which residents say make the spaces feel safer. The spirit of engagement continues with activities, with residents shaping sessions and outputs. Gardening projects in particular have brought people together outside with garden to table activities such as cooking on resident-made rockets stoves.