GW69 Cover Story
An alternative life:
Kew Bridge Eco-Village
In an effort
to highlight the pressing global issues of land
rights, climate change and lack of sustainability
and biodiversity within our modern and
ever-developing societies, The Land Is Ours
campaign swooped on a derelict plot of land in
Brentford, London, and began establishing an
Eco-Village community. Words and photos by Jack
Laurenson
Writing this
article nearly a year on from the day the
village was founded in early June 2009, I'm
impressed and somewhat humbled by how much
the Eco-Village achieved and, although they
have recently been evicted, how a new
national movement seems to be gaining
momentum.
I returned to the village in December 2009 after a long summer working in India, and some six months after they took over the land. Looking down onto the site from Kew Bridge was an almost familiar vision. It resembled not the image I recalled from the day back in June when the site was first occupied, but more like the many eclectic slum villages that are scattered around all of India. Messy, chaotic and under-developed, but also warm and welcoming with an obvious presence of community rapport that is lacking in much of 'developed' society. The Eco-Village is situated in a relatively affluent London suburb and obviously lacks many of the socio-economic troubles of the poverty-stricken Indian slum communities, but it still reflects many of the more pleasant aspects of these crowded and atmospheric townships.
The village effectively functioned as a democracy, with all important decisions being made by consensus agreement. Everybody seemed to get along and to have a role to play, be it cooking, maintenance, teaching, building or art and hospitality. Much effort had obviously gone into the village's physical appearance and the meticulously planned wood-chip paths wound around the village between the small herb and vegetable gardens and individually hand-constructed wooden homes. They were as much works of modern art as practical, semi-permanent abodes.
Cindy, one of the founders at the Kew Bridge Eco-Village, told me that the movement simply wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to live differently. "It would've been easier to establish it in the countryside but it wouldn't have had the same effect and not as many people would have seen it, we wouldn't have got the message across, even living in a city you can dramatically reduce your carbon footprint and be much more sustainable." The village could have grown much more of their own food being located outside London and had access to more naturally occurring resources like wood, wild berries and mushrooms. Being on an old industrial site with poor quality, heavily polluted soil meant much of the village's food was salvaged waste from supermarkets.
Gareth, another veteran founding member and full-time activist, told me that supermarkets all over the country throw out enough perfectly good food to feed entire communities. Indeed, I saw this for myself. "You wouldn't believe the stuff they throw out, we've had people come back with bags of steak and crates of beer, boxes full of bread and milk, not to mention loads of vegetables. You have to be careful obviously, especially with meat, but much of it is chucked out well before its due date." This was a damning indictment of wasteful corporations and bureaucracy, made ever more potent in my mind having recently returned from a drought-stricken, starving India.
The site, which was unused and left derelict for over twenty years, was a prime one-acre patch right next to the River Thames. Since obtaining it in 2003, the St George development company were happy to capitalise on its value by leaving it empty and overgrown while they finished luxury developments elsewhere. Recent years planning applications for the site were declined because St George continually failed to reach compulsory standards regarding important issues like required percentages of affordable housing in developments. Subsequent discussions saw St George's plans approved.
I returned to the village in December 2009 after a long summer working in India, and some six months after they took over the land. Looking down onto the site from Kew Bridge was an almost familiar vision. It resembled not the image I recalled from the day back in June when the site was first occupied, but more like the many eclectic slum villages that are scattered around all of India. Messy, chaotic and under-developed, but also warm and welcoming with an obvious presence of community rapport that is lacking in much of 'developed' society. The Eco-Village is situated in a relatively affluent London suburb and obviously lacks many of the socio-economic troubles of the poverty-stricken Indian slum communities, but it still reflects many of the more pleasant aspects of these crowded and atmospheric townships.
The village effectively functioned as a democracy, with all important decisions being made by consensus agreement. Everybody seemed to get along and to have a role to play, be it cooking, maintenance, teaching, building or art and hospitality. Much effort had obviously gone into the village's physical appearance and the meticulously planned wood-chip paths wound around the village between the small herb and vegetable gardens and individually hand-constructed wooden homes. They were as much works of modern art as practical, semi-permanent abodes.
Cindy, one of the founders at the Kew Bridge Eco-Village, told me that the movement simply wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to live differently. "It would've been easier to establish it in the countryside but it wouldn't have had the same effect and not as many people would have seen it, we wouldn't have got the message across, even living in a city you can dramatically reduce your carbon footprint and be much more sustainable." The village could have grown much more of their own food being located outside London and had access to more naturally occurring resources like wood, wild berries and mushrooms. Being on an old industrial site with poor quality, heavily polluted soil meant much of the village's food was salvaged waste from supermarkets.
Gareth, another veteran founding member and full-time activist, told me that supermarkets all over the country throw out enough perfectly good food to feed entire communities. Indeed, I saw this for myself. "You wouldn't believe the stuff they throw out, we've had people come back with bags of steak and crates of beer, boxes full of bread and milk, not to mention loads of vegetables. You have to be careful obviously, especially with meat, but much of it is chucked out well before its due date." This was a damning indictment of wasteful corporations and bureaucracy, made ever more potent in my mind having recently returned from a drought-stricken, starving India.
The site, which was unused and left derelict for over twenty years, was a prime one-acre patch right next to the River Thames. Since obtaining it in 2003, the St George development company were happy to capitalise on its value by leaving it empty and overgrown while they finished luxury developments elsewhere. Recent years planning applications for the site were declined because St George continually failed to reach compulsory standards regarding important issues like required percentages of affordable housing in developments. Subsequent discussions saw St George's plans approved.
One resident
said to me that he suspected; "somebody had
probably received a fat brown envelope" and
the local council admitted it was not
willing to use public money to pay a
£250,000 legal bill to challenge the
conclusion in court, despite unanimous
condemnation from all of the local
community groups. Justice, it would seem,
is expensive.
Local people who I spoke to felt rightfully disenfranchised and abandoned. The new proposal from St. George consists of 164 flats in a huge nine storey development containing only 13% affordable housing; the development mostly consists of luxury penthouses and apartments. One local woman, Kaz Mackie, a cancer sufferer, spoke to a local journalist of her feelings; "It is mainly disabled and elderly people who live on the ground floor and they are going to be submerged into darkness... I feel our views have been completely ignored." St George politely ignored my requests for an interview.
Local residents are quick to state the abandoned site was an eyesore, but quicker to condemn the plans for yet another block of expensive flats. "What we need is more affordable social housing or community gardens and parks to rejuvenate the area, not luxury apartments and expensive bars" one resident told me in the pub next door to the site. A charming and lively family run pub that is sadly a planned casualty of the development: it's being demolished.
The Eco-Village quickly became a strong and popular community catalyst and the free organic cafe was regularly home to locals sipping green tea or school children learning about permaculture, biodiversity, peace and art. Michael, one of the villagers and general handyman around the community, was responsible for rigging up much of the structures to wind power and installing solar panels. He told me that he thinks the village had a strong impact on the local area; "It's changing the local communities' way of thinking towards more ethical living, people want to be more sustainable in their everyday lives, even in cities... The village is giving an insight into things that aren't generally taught in schools... And the attention we are getting, is perhaps the local people's last bastion of hope of stopping this development from going ahead."
Sadly, the site is empty again now, derelict and soulless. It is the wasteland it was before, the homes have been smashed up and the occupants evicted. The herb gardens and flowerbeds trampled beneath the feet of clumsy bailiffs. The smell of wood smoke, grass and green tea is gone too, soon to be replaced with that of cement, asphalt and rubber. The music around the campfire has gone and the children wanting to learn about peace and sustainability will have to look elsewhere.
I'm sitting with Lou and Gareth in Parliament Square; it's a beautiful English summer day. With us are dozens of activists. Many of the Eco-Villagers have taken their arguments directly to Parliament, to the very epicentre of British government, and here have formed the Democracy Village. Here, they cannot be ignored. The Eco-Village could now become a self-sustaining social movement. With so much abandoned land in this country being hoarded and wasted by companies, there will never be a shortage of places for them to go, grow, build and protest. All over the country, similar projects are popping up and momentum is growing. I remember asking Lou how she would like to see the Kew Bridge Eco-Village end. She replied; "It will end how it is supposed to end, and something new will begin. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey."
Local people who I spoke to felt rightfully disenfranchised and abandoned. The new proposal from St. George consists of 164 flats in a huge nine storey development containing only 13% affordable housing; the development mostly consists of luxury penthouses and apartments. One local woman, Kaz Mackie, a cancer sufferer, spoke to a local journalist of her feelings; "It is mainly disabled and elderly people who live on the ground floor and they are going to be submerged into darkness... I feel our views have been completely ignored." St George politely ignored my requests for an interview.
Local residents are quick to state the abandoned site was an eyesore, but quicker to condemn the plans for yet another block of expensive flats. "What we need is more affordable social housing or community gardens and parks to rejuvenate the area, not luxury apartments and expensive bars" one resident told me in the pub next door to the site. A charming and lively family run pub that is sadly a planned casualty of the development: it's being demolished.
The Eco-Village quickly became a strong and popular community catalyst and the free organic cafe was regularly home to locals sipping green tea or school children learning about permaculture, biodiversity, peace and art. Michael, one of the villagers and general handyman around the community, was responsible for rigging up much of the structures to wind power and installing solar panels. He told me that he thinks the village had a strong impact on the local area; "It's changing the local communities' way of thinking towards more ethical living, people want to be more sustainable in their everyday lives, even in cities... The village is giving an insight into things that aren't generally taught in schools... And the attention we are getting, is perhaps the local people's last bastion of hope of stopping this development from going ahead."
Sadly, the site is empty again now, derelict and soulless. It is the wasteland it was before, the homes have been smashed up and the occupants evicted. The herb gardens and flowerbeds trampled beneath the feet of clumsy bailiffs. The smell of wood smoke, grass and green tea is gone too, soon to be replaced with that of cement, asphalt and rubber. The music around the campfire has gone and the children wanting to learn about peace and sustainability will have to look elsewhere.
I'm sitting with Lou and Gareth in Parliament Square; it's a beautiful English summer day. With us are dozens of activists. Many of the Eco-Villagers have taken their arguments directly to Parliament, to the very epicentre of British government, and here have formed the Democracy Village. Here, they cannot be ignored. The Eco-Village could now become a self-sustaining social movement. With so much abandoned land in this country being hoarded and wasted by companies, there will never be a shortage of places for them to go, grow, build and protest. All over the country, similar projects are popping up and momentum is growing. I remember asking Lou how she would like to see the Kew Bridge Eco-Village end. She replied; "It will end how it is supposed to end, and something new will begin. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey."
Jack
Laurenson is a photojournalist and founder
member of Lacuna Media,
lacunamedia.org
More information about The Land Is Ours can be found at tlio.org.uk
More information about The Land Is Ours can be found at tlio.org.uk
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