Hackney People
George McGee
As a man who spent 40 years working in the building trade, it was only natural for George McGee to represent residents when the Council began regenerating housing estates in the borough.
George moved from Ireland to London in 1959, living in several places including the Kingshold Estate, near Victoria Park, and working as a painter and decorator for the Greater London Council (GLC) refurbishing offices and banqueting halls, as well as painting bridges across the Thames.
It was in the mid-1990s that he decided to get more involved with the estate where he lived - Landfield, just north of Hackney Downs - and was elected to its Tenants and Residents Association (TRA).
He says: "I got involved to improve the area, because it needed improving. Ottaway Court was in a terrible state, really run down, so the Council demolished it in 2006. There are some blocks in Hackney that got demolished; some are being repaired; but there are some where the cost to do them up through Decent Homes would be tremendous. There's a massive need for more social housing."
Not only is George the Chair of the Landfield Estate TRA, he is Deputy Chair of the Clapton Neighbourhood Panel, and also represents the north east of the borough on the Neighbourhood Investment Board, which oversees the Decent Homes improvements programme to bring social housing up to a national Government standard.
Just over five years ago he was elected Chair of the Six Estates Steering Group, the elected residents' group monitoring a large-scale Council regeneration project. This affects the former Ottaway Court and Rendlesham House sites, near Landfield Estate; Bridge House and Marian Court, in Homerton; Tower Court, near Stamford Hill; and the now-demolished Alexandra National House, opposite Finsbury Park.
George says: "When I started they made me Chair straight away. I didn't want to do it at first, I said 'maybe when all the building takes shape'. But I wanted to make sure it was done properly, as I've been dealing with contractors for a long time."
The sheer scale of the Six Estates regeneration programme means it affects hundreds of households in Hackney, with the Alexandra National House, Ottaway Court and Rendlesham House blocks demolished a few years ago and residents re-housed.
These sites have received over £16million in Government funding since 2009 for construction to take place, while other sites await demolition.
The Six Estates Steering Group meets every month with Council officers, construction contractors, councillors and an Independent Tenants and Leaseholders Adviser, who offers impartial advice.
The group is not just a way of keeping residents informed about what's going on. George and the other members take a very active role in shaping the kind of homes being built.
He says: "We insisted on Parker Morris plus 10 per cent, a national house building size; and Level 4 for energy efficiency, windows triple glazed, under-floor heating which is all electric, and better insulation means reduced heating bills."
The Six Estates Steering Group also developed the Residents Charter, a document setting out the level of service residents can expect from the Council during regeneration and for managing the new homes. Residents are also able to choose options from a range of kitchen worktops and cabinets.
George firmly believes in the positive effect of regeneration, that it's not simply a process of building new homes.
He says: "It gets tenants a better standard, and I believe that it reduces anti-social behaviour if the community takes pride in where they live. If tenants move into a run-down estate they will lose heart at where they live, and this creates anti-social behaviour."
Curriculum vitae
- 1945 Born in Cork, Ireland
- 1970 Moves to Hackney
- 1985 Moves to Landfield Estate, near Hackney Downs park
- 1995 Elected to Landfield Estate Tenants and Residents Association
- 2005 Becomes member of borough's Neighbourhood Investment Board
- 2005 Becomes Chair of the Six Estates Steering Group
Page updated: 16 Feb 2011
.