Contemporary collecting: the Elizabeth line

Dhevia: Welcome to Out with the Old, In with the New(ham).  

Paula: This podcast was put together as part of a London Transport Museum audio project. 

Dhevia: Hi, I’m Dhevia, I’m 21 and I am currently living in East Ham. I’m a born and bred East Hammer, if that’s what you can call it. 

Paula: I’m Paula, I’m 23. I currently live in west London, but spent some time working in Newham, especially in Stratford. 

Dhevia: And today’s topic of discussion is regeneration in Newham. Yeah, so for those who don’t know, get to know, because that’s how these developers manage to worm their way in. But regeneration is the process whereby money and resources are used to upgrade the buildings and landscape in a typically deprived area. This is done in hopes of attracting further long term investment and bringing opportunities to the community.  

Regeneration in Newham was kickstarted when the borough was chosen to host the 2012 Olympic Games, and since then has put east London at the fore of redevelopment initiatives. 

Paula: Now Newham is one of the youngest boroughs in the capital, with a median age of residents at around 32 years, lower than London’s 36 years old, and this is reflected in the high number of renters in the area. Newham has the fourth highest proportion of rental households in all of the London boroughs, at 36% according to Experian. Now this fact illustrates how a lot of the new residents in Newham don’t always reflect the community, and shows a different class of residents who can afford to get onto the housing market whilst around 48 households in Newham are in temporary accommodation per 1000 households: the highest rate in London. And that’s shocking to think, when you see first-hand the amount of new build housing coming up in the area and the demolition of social housing appearing. 

Dhevia: But now that we have the facts, I guess it’ll be good to get to know your personal experience, so what’s your earliest memory of Newham? 

Paula: So I went to university in Tower Hamlets, just the next borough over and I guess the nearest kind of employment opportunities and part-time roles like for a student at the time were in Stratford, Westfield, so that’s where I worked. 

And my earliest memories is just taking the DLR from like Bow Church, where I stayed, to Stratford or sometimes, like depending on the weather, walking down Bow Road and getting to see the Olympic Park in its, in its glory and like the area around it with like, it’s kind of like historical industrial foundations and you could see the mass of land and the remains of things from old factories that were still there. So that’s my earliest memory.  

What about you? 

Dhevia: So my memories started a bit earlier than yours, so I grew up in East Ham and I remember going to East Ham markets most Saturdays for my mum, to, like, get the fresh vegetables and I remember it would absolutely stink - the butchers there, ooh, and I could not hack it. I really could not hack it there. But I really loved seeing all the different cultures and crafts and activities that were all under one roof. It was a big melting pot of activity.  

So after East Ham, time came for me to spread my wings and off I went to secondary school in the big world of Forest Gate which is awesome again and kind of like you said before the Olympics, Stratford was, there was nothing, it was a wasteland. There was no real reason for me to be there, so I don’t really have any memories of Stratford. But then as soon as the Olympics happened, bang, Westfield, Athletes’ Village, like Stratford, was the place to be. 

Paula: Yeah, it’s a big difference from like West London where I grew up, and even like the development of Westfield at the time, like it was massive compared to like the Westfield that we had in White City. And to think this was previously nothing is crazy, isn’t it? 

Dhevia: Absolutely shocking. Well, you’re saying it was nothing, but let me tell you back in 2010 probably, Fridge Mountain was the home of Stratford, was home to Stratford. Yeah, so I think all the factories that were there, all the wasteland was occupied by fridges. So all the scraps were just fridges and over time because no one really cared about the area, they were just left to accumulate and bang, we ended up with Fridge Mountain. 

Paula: Wow. That’s - that’s so funny that. 

Dhevia: So I climbed a mountain, let me tell you. 

Paula: That’s so funny, like there’s not really a lot left of what Stratford was like. I think the only thing I can even think of is probably like Stratford Centre, and even then, that’s a big contrast to Westfield. Like, just across the road. It’s a really strong, it’s a really big cultural stronghold for the community in Stratford. 

But I guess if you’re just coming to Stratford for the day and you get on the train and you do what you need to do and you leave, you could really miss that, but it’s great to think that there is still elements of the community in the area. 

Dhevia: Yeah, and I think I was lucky in that sense for my school to be located so close by, ‘cause I remember back in summer, like when I was at school, nearly every single day after school in the summer, me and my friends would  get ice cream from Westfield and go straight to the Olympic Park and just sit, relax, you know, have water fights and by the time we left it was just the local people that were kind of there. You know, the ones who lived there and you could really feel the buzz and feel the community. Everyone kind of knew each other. People were coming out of Stratford centre, finishing up the markets for the day, and yeah, it was really nice and something that I miss, as well. 

Paula: Yeah, it’s clear to see that Newham has gone through change, like you said, from the Olympics, especially in Stratford. But would you say that it’s still going through change in like, now and everywhere like past Stratford? 

Dhevia: Yeah, 100%. 

Paula: Yeah, how exactly have you seen this? 

Dhevia: So I think back in 2012, regeneration and redevelopment was very Stratford-oriented, like, this was limited to Stratford only, and now, as the years have gone on, I think regeneration spread its tentacles and it’s reached East Ham. I always thought that East Ham was going to be immune. I thought no one really cared about it: all the focus was on West Ham, the stadium was there. East Ham’s a lesser-known sister of West Ham.  

But now with the market being gone and turned into housing, and with new builds coming up left, right and centre, I feel like regeneration’s very much happening in East Ham. And whilst part of me is happy that money is being poured into the area and, I’m not gonna lie, who doesn’t like having nice parks and having loads of nice benches and things like that? There is a part of me that is like, I don’t really feel like I belong here, you know, I just feel like I’m watching it happen from the sidelines, I think.  

Again, I feel if I’m not represented in it, I think that people aren’t being regenerated or invested in at the same rate as is happening to the physical environment. 

Paula: Yeah, you make a really good point about the people not being invested in, and there is a new demographic of people coming in and and benefiting from these new-build houses and their proximity to the stations, and the fact that they can commute to other areas like Central London very conveniently and not necessarily have to engage with the community. Like, you only need to be in Canning Town station anytime during peak hours to see this. Like, have you also thought about how this is going to change with Crossrail in the future? 

Dhevia: Yeah, I think that this sentiment is only going to magnify. I think with the greater efficiencies that Crossrail brings in terms of reducing transportation times and things like that, I think it’s going to be at the cost of allowing a sense of community to really build and to foster.  

I think with greater movements of people coming in and out of the area there’s less of an opportunity to get to really know the place, and with more, I guess middle class and white collar demographic coming into the area and having like physically to live side by side the current working class population that lived there, and that’s all well and good, but if you’re not investing in community relations and then actually getting to know the people and fostering communication between these two demographics, I think that’s where future tensions are going to arise. 

Paula: Have you seen these tensions, like, already arise? Have you seen it happen? 

Dhevia: Yeah, so like in East Ham, it’s less overt, and it’s less like, “I want to fight this person,” but it’s more like, “I recognize, OK, this is a new kind of person. This is someone who’s different to me.” And I think there’s definitely a sentiment of an us-versus-them kind of mentality.  

In Stratford this kind of started when the Olympics came, really, and I remember learning about the council selling off loads of social housing, and I remember there was a very prominent campaign at the time - the Focus E15 Mums group who basically were being rehoused to places as far as Birmingham. 

Paula: Wow, I can’t even begin to imagine, like, living in an area, having like your family roots there and being forced out of there, not being able to have a future there. I can’t even begin to imagine that. 

Dhevia: Yeah, and it really makes you think, like, OK, who’s this regeneration for? You know. Clearly, apparently it’s not for the locals and the ones that have built this community and stayed there for generations. And it just makes you think like OK, who is seen as a valued beneficiary of regeneration? 

So I guess, leading on from that, in the next couple of years, how do you see the future of our generation in Newham, given that there is just so much change happening at rapid speeds? 

Paula: Yeah, I guess we’ve touched upon it how the reality is, there is people being pushed out, there’s been people that are not able to actually afford where they grew up and you kind of, you see that in London as a whole, and like you said you thought there was elements of Newham that were immune to it - like in East Ham.  

But this is reality for a lot of young people, and it might mean that, like anything from obviously moving out of, like, your family home and not being able to afford getting onto the housing market in the area due to the increase in like private housing, that’s really expensive, and this is only going to continue to create, like, weakening ties to community because people are going to have less sense of pride as they see things change. They’re going to feel very detached from community, and they’re essentially going to care less about the community. 

I don’t know about you, have you thought about your future in Newham, like, at all? 

Dhevia: I mean, I would love to live here. Yeah, Newham is the hub of everything. It’s got schools, you know, shopping facilities, just everything. Newham is the epicentre of everything. But like you said, I think with things being so expensive and with a lack of affordability, whether that is actually going to happen in reality, I’m not so sure. You know, like we’re saying, you can design the places and you can design the shopping centres and whatever, but you can’t design the people that are going to be living in these areas and the kind of relationships between them. 

Paula: Yeah, 100%. 

Dhevia: I think that’s what we need to focus on really. 

Paula: Yeah, I think for this not to get any worse, and for there to be actual positive change - because regeneration is happening, we can’t argue against that, but for this to happen and to benefit the community, I think input needs to be asked of from young people with these changes. 

Dhevia: No, exactly, especially because we’re the generation that’s going to be living with the consequences of this. We’re the ones that are going to have to establish our careers, and you know, start our families or just become people in this environment. And if it doesn’t cater to us, if we’re then, you know, not allowed to participate in the future of Newham residency it will be a massive disservice to us as young people. 

Dhevia: Paula caught up with Simon, a young creator from Forest Gate to talk about everything from what Newham means to him, change he’s witnessed so far and where he thinks the future of the borough lies. 

Man’s voice rapping: Coming from Stratford straight outta Newham… 

Simon: My name is Simon Bowie. I am 22 years of age. Currently I’m studying an undergraduate degree in Design and I’m also managing some clothing companies. And I’m from Newham, yeah, East London. Forest Gate. 

Paula: Forest Gate? So how long have you been living in Newham, then? 

Simon: I’ve been living in Newham all my life. I think we used to live in Forest Gate before I was born and then we used to live in Plaistow or Upton Park or West Ham. I still don’t know how you call it. I would call it Plaistow - I think the specific part we were in, Plaistow, and then we moved back into the Forest Gate area. But rather than, like, mainland Forest Gate we lived in Plashet, which is kind of a intersection between districts. East Ham – Manor Park - Forest Gate - Upton Park, yeah, everything kind of comes together. 

Paula: And Newham is so many different little, like, towns, how would you describe Newham to you in one word? 

Simon: Um, I’d say diverse. I’m gonna go for that word. Yeah, in the best way. I still feel like there’s a certain presence as far as, you know, black people, black African, black Caribbean and then of course you know Asian, Pakistani, Indian and of course like I said, East Asian, like, I don’t think I’ve ever felt like, you know, I’m seeing more people that I don’t usually see.  

Maybe that’s just because of where I’m at. Maybe if I was in Stratford, where it’s a lot more redeveloped and a lot closer to, you know, central London, then maybe I would see it. And of course, you know, with Westfield, when did that come through? That came through … 2000? Something like that. When I was in secondary school it came through. 

Paula: Do you remember your first trip? 

Simon: It came through so early that I can’t even … My first trip to Westfield, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I walked in by myself and I was just like, wow, this is new! And then I went home and that was literally it.

I can’t even tell you what was there before Westfield. People can - other people can tell you. I really can’t tell you because it’s literally just been erased. Whatever was there is gone, honestly. I mean the station was there, of course, but whatever was past there, I do not remember. I don’t remember. I don’t know what was by the Olympic Park. I have no clue. 

Paula: In terms of, like, Stratford being a place where there’s a lot more development, do you think taking into consideration the fact that the Olympics happened in 2012 and like Westfield happened a little bit before that, do you think that in a decade, which is not really a long time, that change to happen so quickly… Do you feel like that’s going to continue on in Newham, further out East? Like, have you seen that at all in other areas? 

Simon: I want to say it’s mainly contained to Stratford. Just because coming into Forest Gate, I think only now you’ll start to see a little bit of minor development and it’s kind of been long standing for a while. Like since the time, the times of 2012, 2013, 2014, there’s still things that were demolished that have yet to be built upon, like Woodgrange Road.  

So I’m sure everyone will tell you that lives in Forest Gate, there used to be Greggs, there used to be a Internet café, there used to be a chicken shop, another chicken shop, and a butchers. Part of it got demolished, part of the road got demolished and then over the years maybe coming into like 2017 maybe, that entire half of the road finally got fully demolished, but I haven’t seen anything crazy. I mean a couple renovations with the TfL station, definitely, yeah, the TfL station used to look a lot different. Then there was a point. 

Yeah, it’s a couple you know, couple little railway changes around there, but no high buildings in Forest Gate, nah. I don’t see that happening. No, no, no, no skyscrapers in Forest Gate. I don’t think it would make sense. 

Paula: Have you considered your own future in Newham? Like do you see - do you see yourself staying there? Is that something you’ve ever thought about? 

Simon: Um, no, I’ve thought about – I’ve talked about it with my brother, actually. Uhm, I wouldn’t want to stay in Newham, because Newham, it’s nice, but it’s just regular, really. You know, it’s just the ends, like, it’s just a regular multi-cultural neighborhood: has what you need, but doesn’t really necessarily have all these exciting spaces. 

Paula: I think there was probably a time, like for example, like, 30 years ago when people that lived in Shoreditch, Dalston probably thought that their area isn’t going to be gentrified. And we, like - I think we can agree that it is. 

Simon: Of course, yeah! 

Paula: It’s not the area that it was, for a different generation, especially. Do you not see that same effect happening in Newham, or do you think Newham is so far removed? 

Simon: I think it’s too far removed, ‘cause it’s like, I think it’s too far removed, and I think because of the reputation that unfortunately Newham tends to get just because of statistics - I mean, it’s like, one of the top ten, like, lowest, I think, poorest boroughs and highest in crime. But because of that I just don’t see, like, gentrification happening here. And I think there’s too many like ethnic minorities settling and like, there’s too many businesses that are run by ethnic minorities and you know diverse nationalities - I just can’t see all that being taken away!  

Specifically Green Street. I just can’t see Green Street being gentrified, ‘cause it’s a real strong hub for, like, West Asian nationalities. And you see that in the stores. That’s a big thing of gentrification, as well, like, you don’t just see it in the people, you see it in the stores, like, what are the type of stores that are available? What are, like, the type of price margins for the products in the stores? Where does - where do the products originate from?

In a place like Newham, like, past Stratford where we’ve got all these shops that cater to, you know, again, West Asian, African foods and spices and resources and cosmetics - I think nah, I just don’t really see it changing. I don’t. It doesn’t really make sense. I don’t think it would happen. I think if it did happen, it would be a complete day and night change. I wouldn’t know what it would look like. It would look crazy. 

Paula: Some young people are already thinking about what this change would look like. Let’s hear from Dhevia. 

Dhevia: (singing to the tune of Three Lions) They’re coming home. They’re coming home. They’re coming, developers coming home. They’ll snap up your house and kick you out, they’ll do it, they don’t give a **** Oh no they don’t. Oh no, they don’t. Oh no, developers are coming home. 

(Transport sounds) 

Dhevia: Honestly, if it’s this busy in 2029, Lord knows how much busier it’ll get in 2030 when that Eastfield Shopping Centre opens up. You know, sometimes I can’t even recognize East Ham anymore. I guess I should have known this was going to happen when the station was rebuilt back in 2025, and we got escalators instead of stairs, and free water points fitted. I remember thinking, wow. How the other half live, eh? What did we do to deserve this? But now it all makes sense.  

I can’t help but think, was it a certain kind of person moving to East Ham that triggered the regeneration? Or did the regeneration trigger the influx of a certain kind of person? Either way, before then, East Ham was largely kept under the radar and its communities practically invisible.  

I would be lying if I said I hadn’t enjoyed East Ham being centre stage for once. There were certain areas where a bit of TLC was long overdue. Who wouldn’t like to live somewhere attractive, well maintained and literally a stone’s throw away from anything you could possibly need? 

It’s crazy, because every time I walk down the High Street now everything looks so modern and trendy, like, where did the pound shops go? What happened to those shops that would literally change face every single week? One week it’d be a fishmongers, then they’d become a hairdressers, then they’d go on to be selling laptops? Where do those businesses and those people go, and what happened to being spontaneous and chaotic, the very things that made East Ham East Ham? 

In their place we’ve got vintage markets, artisan cheesemakers and independent coffee shops, and that is not me saying I don’t support the cause, you know, trust me when I say that when the cheesemakers first opened, I was their first customer every day for a month. But at the same time, what everything looks and sounds like any millennial’s ideal, I can’t help but feel like an impostor sometimes.  

Let’s be real. I’m only able to live here because my parents were able to pay off the mortgage when I was younger. There’s absolutely no way that I would be able to afford to live in the house we have today. And with the amount of building work constantly going on, you think that property prices would go down, but I guess as young pro creatives, couples and families continue to move into the area, they’ll just keep rising. 

And to be fair, why shouldn’t they? We’ve got the Children’s Quarter which opened back in 2024, and are apparently home to the next up and coming music and art scene, but I mean, is it really up and coming if it’s always been there - just not been mainstream and profitable enough? Well, I beg to differ. 

I feel like even though there are many more people living here now and there is a real buzz in the area, a sense of community just hasn’t really formed in the way I hoped it would. We’re all physically proximate, but lead very separate lives, and on top of that, given the high rental population and how well connected East Ham has become, there’s just a constant flow of people coming in and out. Friendly faces - don’t get me wrong - but also fleeting faces because I’ll probably never see them again. 

I’m pretty sure we have new neighbours in every couple of months, and thinking about it, we’re probably only amongst a handful of OG families that have lived in East Ham since 2020. The rest had to - were forced to - move elsewhere because they couldn’t cope with the rising costs. 

(singing) I want my money back, do do do do, 

Can’t afford my one bed flat, do do do do,  

These prices are outrageous. 

Who knew change could be so dangerous? … 

Paula: The thing is, no matter who comes in or what East Ham looks like, it will always be my home.

But if I could reverse time, I would want East Ham to grow and flourish in a way that didn’t follow the tried and tested methods used to regenerate Hackney or Stratford, for example. I would mobilize the very defining features that once set this diverse community and this place apart. To deliver change that empowered and catered toward the local people first. Anyone else who wanted to join would be added to the established network, rather than replacing those at the centre entirely.

They sold them this buzzword: 

Chorus of different voices: Regeneration. Regeneration. Regeneration. Regeneration. Regeneration. Regeneration. 

Paula: So why didn’t they benefit from it?  

But … should have, could have, would have, but didn’t. And so … here we are. And whilst East Ham has nearly finished its turn on the regeneration roller coaster, I can only wonder which places are just about to get on. 

Dhevia: (singing) They’re coming home. They’re coming home, they’re coming. Developers are coming home… 

Paula: The Out with the Old, In with the New(ham) podcast was presented and produced by Dhevia Sharma and Paula Nimaro as part of the Young Volunteers Project at the London Transport Museum. With special thanks to Simon Bowie and the project team, Lucia Scazzocchio, Liz Fraser-Betts, Bailey Francois Vernal, Veronica Sarmiento. This project has been funded by Arts Council England.