Community celebrates success of the Woolwich Common Estate co-operative project 

Residents in Woolwich Common have celebrated the success of a £20,000 project to make their neighbourhood greener, cleaner and safer.  

The celebration marked the end of the year-long Woolwich Common Estate Improvement Project, and featured stalls from the council and partners, drumming from a local arts group and free food and drink. 

Last year, the Council funded Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency (GCDA) to work with residents on the estate to help make it cleaner, greener and safer, and empowering residents to have a greater voice in addressing local issues.   

A Council spokesperson said: “As a Council we want to ensure that our services are designed around the needs of our residents, and that we’re actively developing networks with communities and partners to address challenges together.    

“This community co-operative approach at the Woolwich Common estate is a fantastic example of what can happen when a community comes together to foster a shared sense of responsibility for their wellbeing and mutual benefit.    

“The project has allowed for a better and stronger partnership between residents, enterprises, and the Council, and we hope that this model can be embedded across other estates and beyond, to drive positive change.”   

Over the course of 12 months, residents took part in several clear-up days with the Council’s caretaking team. 10.5 tonnes of rubbish were collected in total. In addition, since the first event a group of residents, calling themselves the Woolwich Warriors, have worked alongside the caretaking team to continue the estate clear-up, resulting in a noticeable reduction in littering.     

Neighbours took community ownership of green spaces on the estate and got involved in bulb planting, food growing and cutting back hedges and overgrowth, meaning much-improved green spaces for everyone to enjoy.   

Residents also spearheaded various practical initiatives to reduce dog fouling on the estate, including the provision of dog parks and extra dog waste bins, additional patrols by the Safer Spaces Team, and ‘No Dog Fouling’ workshops for residents.    

The project also served as a way of upskilling residents so they could explore employment opportunities with GCDA, resulting in the creation of three jobs; a full-time receptionist, a community gardener and a role working on the Council’s holiday meals programme at the Woolwich Common Community Centre.    

Nearly £210,000 of UK Shared Prosperity or Levelling Up Funding was allocated towards physical improvements around Leslie Smith Square, the main shopping parade on the estate.   

Claire Pritchard, Chief Executive, at GCDA said: “This project has been a brilliant opportunity for GCDA to partner with residents, businesses and Council teams to work collectively and create sustainable change across Woolwich Common Estate.  

“Thanks to the mammoth efforts of residents and the caretaking team the estate has been transformed.  We, GCDA, look forward to continuing to support this transformation with the creation of community gardens and more outdoor curation.”