Cody Dock is set to host its latest Frost Fair at the end of the month with a packed programme of activities and attractions.
The event, which is free to attend, will feature a local makers’ market, live music and games.
There will also be workshops for visitors to participate in including wreath making and sustainable wrapping paper printing.
Food will be provided by German Deli and Milagros with drinks – including mulled wine – from the Cody Dock bar.
Also on show during the day will be a series of artworks from River Of Hope, a project that saw school pupils work with artists at Cody Dock to creatively respond to the Lea and the environment around it.
As part of the Thames Festival Trust’s Totally Thames festival, the resulting pieces by five Newham secondary schools and nine primary schools were first displayed in September at Cody Dock, beside the Millennium Bridge and at Compressor House in Royal Docks.
Some of those by secondary schools shown at the latter will also feature at Frost Fair, while others have made the journey to COP30 in Brazil.
Two of the artworks created as part of River Of Hope – images supplied by Thames Festival Trust
two years in the making
Kate Forde, Thames Festival Trust head of education and engagement, said: “River Of Hope has been a two-year programme that’s worked in five regions around the UK as well as in France and Ethiopia.
“The aim, through partnerships, is to connect people with their local environment, specifically with their rivers and waterfronts, as well as elevate the work of young people.
“Their pieces are showcased in different ways at international festivals all around the country.
“In Norfolk, for example, we installed artwork on the sails of boats and had a procession of vessels come down the river.
“In London, our environmental partner is Cody Dock and they’ve been perfect for the project.
“With the primary schools, they all visit the site and a lot of professional development for the teachers is involved with the aim of inspiring a more creative approach to teaching and learning.
“Through the geography curriculum they deliver a term’s worth of work around River Of Hope with the final output being the artwork – in this case a series of flags that are already on display at Cody Dock.
“At both secondary and primary level we can see the long-term impact of the project is making them relevant.
“Since Covid, schools are much more reluctant to do outdoor visits, but learning in this way is so beneficial.
“Feedback from the teachers has been that these experiences at all ages were such a leveller – seeing kids who may have been disruptive in the classroom really coming into their own.
“It really does highlight the importance of a variety of approaches to learning.
“The project is very much also about leaving a legacy there, whether it’s the artwork being displayed or the schools knowing about and being able to access resources such as the ones at Cody Dock on their doorsteps.
“In addition to the flags by the primary schools – made using marbling techniques with artist Fiona Grady – the works that will be shown at Frost Fair have been created by Newham secondary schools in collaboration with artist Shona Watt and poet Dauda Ladejobi.
“These have been reproduced on silk as three metre-high hangings and they’re really extraordinary.
“It’s the students’ take on what they learnt and their feelings about climate change globally, what’s happening in the world and their hopes for the future.”
It was as a teenager that Fleur Derbyshire-Fox first experienced the power of a big organisation reaching out.
She attended a special day at English National Ballet (ENB) for those interested in pursuing a career in dance.
“I remember my knees knocking when I went into that class,” she said.
“Then someone asked me if I’d thought about going into full-time training, which is what I then did.”
It was an experience that left her with a life-long drive to ignite similar sparks in others and something that’s central to her role as director of engagement at ENB.
The company moved out east in 2019 and, while its base at the Mulryan Centre For Dance on London City Island isn’t primarily a venue for public performance, it is the epicentre of ENB’s efforts to connect with those outside its doors.
Locally it hosts dance classes for all, companies of younger and older dancers as well as a programme for those suffering from dementia and coordinating activities across the country.
“The move to east London has been exciting and has opened up new opportunities for us,” said Fleur.
“When I took up this post in 2007, which was then called director of learning, what really attracted me was that it was about change.
“It was ENB recognising that to be a reflective organisation it needed to build on its engagement programmes.
“How would people know if they were interested in dance if they didn’t get a chance to find out? That’s been the purpose of my role.”
Dance For Parkinson’s Performance Company in action at RePlay, a recent showcase at ENB – image by ASH
an initiative in focus
Rather than try to encompass the totality of ENB’s myriad collaborations, initiatives and partnerships, we’ve decided to focus on one.
“The more you enliven the building, the more you’re engaging people. You have to bring them in, to reach out and that’s an ongoing process.”
Dance For Parkinson’s has been running through ENB since 2010.
Those living with the neurodegenerative condition, which affects sufferers’ movement leading to symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and physical slowness, are invited to participate in regular classes inspired by the company’s classical and contemporary repertoire.
“It was originally inspired by work done in the US by the Mark Morris Dance Group and began as a 12-week pilot programme, working with Professor Sara Houston of Roehampton University,” said Fleur.
“Her findings were ground-breaking and started our evidence-based approach.
“That was very important if we were going to be perceived as not being woolly.”
From there, grant funding allowed the roll out of the programme across the country via partnerships with the Royal Albert Hall in London, DanceEast in Ipswich, Liverpool Hope University in Liverpool, Oxford City Council and MuMo Creative in Oxford and the National Dance Company Wales in Cardiff.
The company celebrates after their performance – image by ASH
the benefits of Dancing For Parkinson’s
“The benefits for those with Parkinson’s are multi-faceted,” said Fleur.
“It helps with both the motor and non-motor symptoms of the disorder.
“Dance brings communities together, so it also helps with positivity and wellbeing.
“Because the classes are structured as ballet classes, all the exercises we do at the barre help with the posture, flexibility and fluidity of gait as well as giving people the tools for when their symptoms freeze movement.
“The classes have live music, which is fundamental because the musicians can respond to the participants and the exercises tap into that internal rhythm.
“The message is that you may be living with Parkinson’s, but this is a dance class where you are expressive – you’re a dancer in your own right – and you’re dancing with others, improvising as well as learning repertoire.
“All of these elements, plus the social element – the chat, the tea and, of course, the biscuits afterwards – make for a very strong community and that has given confidence to individual dancers to go on and join other groups.
“Parkinson’s is very individual in its symptoms, so it may take people quite a while to come to terms with it.
“We have chats when people are diagnosed about what happens next, what they can do, where they can go for help.
“Above all, we provide a joyous experience.
“Those coming along can expect a lot of smiling people.
“We start with a warm-up, seated, and we have our dance artists and musicians in the space.
“The movements we do are linked to the dance phrases we look at later.
“There will be lots of different rhythms, lots of different music threaded through the session.
“There’ll be a voice warm-up as well, so that the muscles in the face can be loosened up.
“It’s designed to free inhibitions.
“The artists might notice that some slower movements will be needed, and then we’ll do some different rhythm movements as well.
“Then we come to standing, and for those who need more support, there will be diversification within the class, so the movements can also be performed seated.
“We’ll do some partner work and improvisation and then we’ll start learning some material, so there’ll be a sense of achievement.
“At the end of the session there’ll be a cool-down and we’ll have a linking of hands to congratulate ourselves for the class and our artistic endeavours.
“We have such wonderful people taking part, it’s really great to bring everyone together. In some ways it’s a passion project.
“I’ve poured my heart into this, as has my team at ENB.”
Dance For Parkinson’s: a catalyst for research
However, Dance For Parkinson’s has continued to be more than a therapeutic endeavour.
ENB has been working with Professor K Ray Chaudhuri of King’s College London, a specialist in Parkinson’s Disease to better understand the effect of the classes.
“We conducted a randomised trial over three years,” said Fleur.
“We’ve had interim findings and the research is currently being peer reviewed before final publication later this year.
“But certainly the indications are that dancing in this way has benefits for all stages of Parkinson’s.
“The advice if you have the disease is to do as much exercise as you can.
“Over the years we’ve had physiotherapists come in and I’ve watched what they do.
“With that approach, someone might be given a series of exercises, but we’re replicating those movements in a joyous, artistic way.
“What we’d like to do is embed what comes out of the study into the various care pathways, so we can raise awareness with clinicians.
“Wouldn’t it be great if you could say to everybody with Parkinson’s that there’s a pathway using dance they can try for 12 weeks to see how they benefit?”
The collaboration with King’s, which culminated in a performance for friends and family, has also taken the programme in a fresh direction.
“We had people saying they wanted to do a bit more of this, so now we have a much faster-paced class,” said Fleur.
“It’s performance focused and we held our first show last year, with two more since.
“The production values are very high – they have to be at ENB. We believe that whatever we do, it needs to be on a par with what we put on the main stage.
“So we now have this other vehicle, and what’s so good about this company is they’re all advocates – they want to be seen and heard.
“I was speaking to one of our dancers recently, who said they would never have come to a dance class, let alone thought they would perform in front of 200 people, but they love it and want to continue doing more of it.
“That’s really wonderful to hear.”
key details: Dance For Parkinson’s
The next Dance For Parkinson’s sessions are set to run at English National Ballet’s Mulryan Centre For Dance on London City Island from April 23 until July 2, 2025.
Classes are on Wednesdays (excluding May 28) from 11am-1pm and cost £60 for the 10-week term.
Dance For Parkinson’s Performance Company’s summer term runs from April 26 to July 5, 2025, on Saturdays (excluding May 31) with sessions from 11am-1pm and costs £85 for 10 weeks.
April 12, 2025, is set to be a momentous day at Cody Dock.
From 1pm-7pm, the east London ecological regeneration project will host its Spring Forward event – but things are going to be a bit different this year.
While the rolling bridge will be ceremonially upended, plants will be sold, workshops hosted and performances staged, there’s a wider triumph to celebrate.
Specifically, the Cody Dock visitors’ centre will be unveiled in its finished form.
Now named The Barn, the team has been working hard to install windows, doors, walls and ceilings, as well as raising the land outside the structure, ready for the event.
For those attending, it will be the first opportunity to explore the finished space – an amenity which will serve as the focus for the site, a public lodestone for those passing through.
Cody Dock heritage programme manager Bella Quirin – image by Jon Massey
getting ready for the launch
“It’s a wonderful event, celebrating the arrival of spring and the world shaking itself back to life with a real focus on ecology,” said Bella Quirin, heritage programme manager at Cody Dock.
“Spring Forward is all about helping people to reconnect with nature after the colder weather.
“Among the highlights will be Tails Of Migration, a really interesting workshop run by our education team.
“Lots of species return to the UK from warmer habitats at this time and it’s all about showcasing those journeys and getting people to interact with them.
“The idea is that participants will also think about their own journeys and the places they have lived before, whether those are across large distances or relatively small ones.
“From that, we’ll be able to capture people’s oral histories as part of our ongoing heritage work.”
The Cody Dock scheme is complex in its scope and events such as Spring Forward offer visitors an opportunity to get to grips with some of the many projects under its umbrella.
There’s its role as a place of work and study, with artists resident in its studios and collaborations with academics to study and respond to the local area a regular feature of its operations.
Then there’s its commitment to supporting and studying local wildlife as well as stewardship of the tidal Lea.
It’s a place for innovation and experimentation as much as conservation.
Local history is another major thread running through its fabric with Spring Forward visitors able to view progress on work to restore the Frederick Kitchen, probably the last boat to be built by the Thames Ironworks at the mouth of the Lea.
This craft will eventually be used as the roof of a heritage pavilion, which will host a succession of exhibitions about the history of the local area.
Flowers bloom at Cody Dock – image by Jon Massey
connecting to history at Cody Dock
“That’s set to open next spring and it will be a fantastic space,” said Bella.
“It will have glass walls, so visitors will be instantly connected to the water, even when they’re inside.”
The April event will also include a chance to view Cabinet Of Curiosity No. 1, the first of three artist commissions exploring local history.
The work focuses on the Thames Ironworks and includes verse from William McGonagall recalling the calamitous launch of the battleship Albion that saw more than 30 people lose their lives when a stage collapsed into the water.
It’s just one of the many ways that Cody Dock is seeking to nurture connections between past and present as its regeneration of the 2.5 acre site continues.
“One of the things about Cody Dock – especially The Barn – is that we really want people to feel there’s collective ownership of our spaces as well as them being an attraction,” said Bella.
“The visitors’ centre will be such a dynamic space.
“It will work for our school visits, our ecology team if they’re hosting workshops, but also as a place for performances.
“There will be a full lighting system and we feel that there’s already a really strong vision emerging for it. It will act as a beacon for the whole project – somewhere people can come together.”
While the building itself has been used at previous events, hosting musical performances, dances and a sonic excursion along the Lea with visitors’ feet immersed in sand, the addition of sealed windows and doors will allow for greater flexibility.
There are plans for regular film screenings, with directors invited to participate in Q&A sessions, although full details have yet to be revealed.
seeking a food and drink partner
Another major change will be the completion of The Barn’s kitchen, which will provide cafe and dining facilities for the site.
Cody Dock is currently inviting applications for a partner to run this part of its operation.
The aim is to both generate income for the project and Gasworks Dock Partnership – the charity overseeing it – and to draw more visitors to the site.
GDP is hoping to attract a partner that aligns with its charitable aims, prioritising recruitment of local staff, paying the London Living Wage and using ethically sourced ingredients.
“The cafe will very much be central to our operation in many ways,” said Simon Myers, CEO of GDP.
“They will be most likely to come into contact with people passing through, so it’s really important that their aspirations and aims chime with our objectives.
“We’re about place-making and greater community cohesion so we need to be somewhere that’s really welcoming to everyone.
“We’re also an environmental organisation, so produce that’s served here needs to be sustainably sourced and, hopefully, the food and drink on offer will also reflect the diversity found in the local population.”
key details: Spring Forward at Cody Dock
Spring Forward is set to take place at Cody Dock on April 12, 2025, from 1pm-7pm. The event is free to attend, spots can be reserved digitally.
Cody Dock is easily reached on foot from Star Lane DLR station via Cody Road and South Crescent.
You can find out more about the many projects and initiatives based there online.
“It’s about educating people on what the product is and what process they will go through when buying something with us,” said Kevin Sims, director of affordable homes provider SO Resi, part of Metropolitan Thames Valley (MTV) housing association.
As we’re running a special feature on shared ownership in Wharf Life, we thought we’d turn to an expert in the field to offer readers some clarity on the scheme and whether it might work for them.
First, a few facts.
The way shared ownership works is relatively simple.
Buyers essentially enter into a partnership with an affordable housing supplier such as a housing association.
They purchase typically between 25% and 75% of a property, paying rent at a capped level on the rest as well as any service charges due.
To be eligible, buyers in London must have a combined household income of less than £90,000 a year and not own another property.
But why go down this route at all?
“A lot of people aspire to home ownership – we’d all like to live in a five-bedroom house in Kensington, but most of us can’t do that,” said Kevin who joined MTV six years ago and now looks after the organisation’s shared ownership buyers throughout their journey with SO Resi.
“While 100% ownership might be the goal, some people will only be able to achieve 50% or 75% but owning a share in a property is still better than renting.
“One of the most important things you get as a shared ownership buyer is what I call: ‘Security of tenure’.
“If you’re renting, you don’t own anything.
“Your landlord might wake up on any given morning and decide they want to sell up – you’re constantly at the mercy of a notice period and all the stress and worry that comes with an unexpected move.
“That’s not going to happen to a shared owner.
“There might be a situation where someone defaults very badly on their rent and mortgage, but as a housing association we’ll be there to step in and help so, unless someone’s got themselves into a real pickle, there will never be anybody saying they have to move out in a month’s time.
“That security is a really valuable part of the product.
“There’s also freedom of expression of course.
“Shared owners can decorate the property however they want – they’re more or less free to live in it like they own it outright.”
Homes at SO Resi Canning Town in east London have proved popular -SO Resi director Kevin Sims – image by SO Resi
more affordable
It’s not just peace of mind, however.
Not only is the monthly cost of a shared ownership property in east London typically cheaper than monthly rent on a comparable home, the bar to getting on the ladder is significantly lower too.
“Saving a 10% deposit for a £400,000 one-bed apartment would mean putting aside £40,000 before you consider the other conveyancing and moving costs and that’s unmanageable for a lot of people,” said Kevin.
“The only way many can manage to raise a 10% deposit would be to move out of London and that just isn’t possible for some.
“But if you bought a 25% share in that property with a 10% deposit, you’d only need to save £10,000. That’s still a lot, but it’s considerably easier than buying outright.
“There’s also recently been an increase in the number of 95% mortgages available and having to only find £5,000 makes a very, very big difference.
“That allows a whole load of people who can’t buy into the housing market any other way to do so.
“That means they have an asset and, while people would aspire to own 100% of a property, I’d certainly rather have 25% than nothing at all.
“In long term, the value of that asset will grow – nobody’s going to lose out on buying at any one of our London developments whether that’s at Canning Town, Nine Elms or Wembley.
“Of course there are places on the outskirts of the capital but they’re no substitute for London life, which is why people find it so attractive.
“Consequently shared ownership is a big draw for lots of people, especially those who are renting at high rates in the city.”
staircasing with SO Resi
The journey doesn’t end with the purchase of the first share, however, with buyers able to increase their stake in a property, paying less rent as their level of ownership increases.
“The process is called ‘staircasing’ and there are lots of ways that shared owners can do that,” said Kevin.
“For many years, for example, we’ve offered shared owners the option to increase their stake in a property by 1% every 12 months.
“Unlike some other housing associations, MTV under that SO Resi umbrella actively encourages staircasing and we have a big team to facilitate it.
“At present, about 8% of our shared ownership buyers own all of their home so for some it’s an aim rather than a destination.
“If somebody then wants to move out, that’s not a problem either.
“We are very proactive if someone wants to sell their share and it’s now a straightforward process to either market it through us or via an estate agency.”
SO Resi Canning Town apartments feature open-plan design – image by SO Resi
key details: SO Resi Canning Town
There are still some shared ownership properties left to purchase at SO Resi Canning Town in east London.
Prices start at £98,750 for a 25% share in a one-bed with estimated monthly outgoings of £1,371.
The apartments are located within easy walking distance of Canning Town station for access to the DLR and Jubilee line, offering direct connections to Canary Wharf, the City, London City Airport, Excel and Stratford.
Kevin said: “There’s a whole raft of reasons why your London professionals will see Canning Town as a very attractive proposition – it’s got lots of appeal to lots of different kinds of people.
“It’s been really successful as a scheme for us and you can see why buyers want to live there.”
There are 17 chances left to get on the property ladder at SO Resi Canning Town.
Well over half of the shared ownership properties at the east London scheme – a collection of 37 one, two and three-bedroom homes located at the Manor Road Quarter development – have already sold.
But there’s still time to pick up a share and, with mortgage costs likely to fall if the Bank Of England cuts the base rate, the apartments are looking ever more affordable.
“SO Resi Canning Town offers a real opportunity to purchase a Zone Two apartment in 2025” said Kevin Sims, director of SO Resi, the shared ownership brand of Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, the fifth largest housing association in the UK.
“Proposed plans from Newham Council mean the new town centre is set to be home to a new community hub, cinema, shops, office spaces, as well as brand new shared ownership homes.
“By choosing from our final 17 properties, prospective homeowners are set to gain a foothold in London’s property market alongside becoming a part of a vibrant and emerging community.”
There are 17 properties still up for sale
getting on the ladder for less
While a first-time buyer purchasing a property worth £395,000 at SO Resi Canning Town might normally expect to have to find a 10% deposit of £39,500, the government-backed shared ownership scheme means raising significantly less up front.
For a 25% share of that apartment, worth £98,750, they could secure a deal with a 5% deposit of just under £5,000, paying rent on the unowned portion of the home as well as the service charge.
Owners then have the option to increase the share of the property they own in a process called staircasing, decreasing the rent payable on a home.
SO Resi Plus offers owners the opportunity to incrementally increase their stake by 1% each year with no additional fees or valuations, a scheme that has proved so successful it is now available nationwide.
The Canning Town apartments themselves feature open-plan living areas, fully fitted kitchens with Zanussi appliances and solid timber floors.
All enjoy private balconies and feature built-in storage solutions, with living spaces ranging from 557sq ft to 971sq ft.
The area is increasingly attractive to buyers with extensive regeneration ongoing and a multitude of transport links connecting it to the rest of the capital.
Homes are available on a shared ownership basis
key details: SO Resi Canning Town
Prices at SO Resi Canning Town start at £98,750 for a 25% share of a one-bed.
“With Newham Council and the GLA’s £3.7billion regeneration project for Canning Town and the Royal Docks, the area is quickly becoming a sought-after area of London,” said Kevin Sims, director at SO Resi.
“The unpredictability of the housing market coupled with high pricing has been putting aspiring homeowners at a major disadvantage compared to previous generations of home buyers.
“At SO Resi, we aim to level the playing field by offering more opportunities for shared ownership solutions.”
In a bid to alleviate buyers’ affordability troubles in such a vibrant area, SO Resi – the shared ownership brand of Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, the fifth largest housing association in the UK – is currently selling a collection of 37 apartments.
SO Resi Canning Town’s one, two and three-bedroom homes are located at Manor Road Quarter, the latest development by the English Cities Fund – which was also responsible for the regeneration of nearby Rathbone Market.
The immediate area boasts a multitude of attractions, including craft beer at Husk, modern Italian food at Pepenero, a bouldering facility at Rise Climbing and outdoorsy activities at Bow Ecology Park and environmental community project, Cody Dock.
The development itself will add a newly created park as well as space for shops alongside the homes that are bring created.
The shared ownership properties themselves feature open-plan living areas, fully fitted kitchens with Zanussi appliances and solid timber floors.
All enjoy private balconies and feature built-in storage solutions, with living spaces ranging from 557sq ft to 971sq ft.
One, two and three-bedroom homes are available at the development
a compelling location
“These properties at our Canning Town development are the perfect example of our aim,” said Kevin.
“Proposed plans from the council mean the town centre is set to be home to a new community hub, cinema, shops and office spaces as well as brand new shared ownership homes, underscoring the increased popularity of this form of buying as an option for prospective homeowners.
“By choosing from our 37 shared ownership properties available at our SO Resi Canning Town development, prospective homeowners are set to gain a foothold in London’s property market alongside becoming a part of a vibrant and emerging community.”
Residents at the scheme will be within walking distance of City Hall at Royal Docks, the home of the English National Ballet at London City Island and the art and heritage of Trinity Buoy Wharf.
It’s a compelling offering, even before you factor in the bustle of Stratford, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Westfield Stratford City, Canary Wharf, The O2 and Greenwich Peninsula – all within two Tube stops or less.
Canning Town station is also a major bus interchange, meaning residents can easily access areas such as Bethnal Green, Aldgate, Walthamstow and even Romford.
Under shared ownership residents purchase between 25% and 75% of a home with a deposit of as little as 5%.
They then pay rent on the remainder and can choose to purchase more of the property – as little as 1% per year if desired.
The apartments at SO Resi Canning Town feature open-plan living areas
key details: SO Resi Canning Town
SO Resi Canning Town is a collection of 37 apartments ranging in size from one-beds to three-beds.
Prices at SO Resi Canning Town start at £96,875 for a 25% share of a one-bedroom apartment, based on a full market value of £387,500.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Central to its plans are the twin aims of returning what was an abandoned industrial wasteland to community use alongside efforts to boost and study the local ecology.
But there’s also Gasworks Dock Partnership’s mission to preserve and celebrate Newham’s rich heritage – a project that recently received a massive shot in the arm.
In 18 months’ time, walkers along the River Lea cutting through Cody Dock will find a singular structure in front of them.
Beside the rolling bridge and The Growing Space – now used to rear much of the project’s plant life – a new heritage centre will be created.
Lighting Up The Lea has won a £1.6million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which will see a glass walled pavilion built on the site covered by a rather unusual roof – a former Welsh lifeboat.
The vessel is not, however, just a convenient lozenge of timbers and iron to protect visitors from the elements.
It boasts a remarkable, historic link to Newham, making it perhaps the most appropriate of structures to help protect the history of the area.
Simon Myers, left, with son Tom who is leading the restoration of the boat at Cody Dock
arrival at Cody Dock
“Just before the Olympics in 2012, we were approached by a bunch of West Ham football fans who knew that the club was going to move to the London Stadium in Stratford,” said Simon Myers, Gasworks Dock Partnership and mastermind of the Cody Dock project.
“They knew the club originated at the Thames Ironworks, which once owned land at the mouth of the River Lea when its managing director, Arnold Hills, helped found a football club to help improve the health of its workers.
“The fans had bought a boat that had been built by the company, thinking that the London Legacy Development Corporation would agree to use it as part of a museum next to the new stadium dedicated to the history of West Ham and the Ironworks.
“However, they weren’t successful in securing funding or a site – even though it was a good idea – and they approached us initially just to store the boat.
“Years passed and nothing really happened except a second boat turned up that in an even worse state than the first.
“Eventually they offered them to us for scrap.”
The Frederick Kitchen, part of the way through her restoration
scrap, or something else?
However, Simon and the team were not about to simply discard the craft. Instead, a plan was slowly hatched to show off at least one of the craft in all its glory and preserve it for future generations.
“My thought was that, if we’re going to do something with these boats, it’s because we want to tell their story,” said Simon.
“It’s not about getting them in the water – we’ve got plenty of boats here for that. So why not restore one, turn it upside down and use it as a roof of a structure with glass walls?
“That way people will get to see the exterior of the boat from outside and the interior when inside.
“You’ll have this beautiful cathedral ceiling and see all of the internal structure.”
The Frederick Kitchen, named in honour of a former lifeboat master, is not just an elegant architectural solution.
Having won funding to carry out a feasibility study – a precursor to the £1.6million award – the Gasworks Dock Partnership engaged in an extensive programme of research into her history.
It turns out, she may have been the very last vessel to leave the Ironworks, which closed in 1912.
An artist’s impression of the interior of the heritage centre
an important history
“There’s a glass plate image owned by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich that shows her sitting in a dry dock all by herself in 1913,” said Simon.
“We think she may have been the last to leave – we do know she was one of a string of five boats that weren’t finished when the works closed, although she was completed and became a Watson class lifeboat stationed at Beaumaris from 1914 to 1945.
“The closure marked the end of major shipbuilding on the Thames.
“Her hull is made from Honduran mahogany with a steam-bent interior frame of oak with a keel of solid iron that runs along her entire length and weighs as much as the rest of her put together.
“She’s really the pinnacle of timber shipbuilding – designed at the crossover between pulling and sailing vessels and motorised craft, so she has some adaptations including an encased propeller to avoid it being fouled by nets and rigging, which wouldn’t want if you were engaged in a rescue.
“A few years after she was launched, new technologies came in with the use of plywood and then fibreglass and plastic.
“She was the last of her kind.”
The boat is brought into a special shed, ready for refurbishment
a grant for Cody Dock
The full grant will be used over three years, with 18 months to prepare the ground for the new structure and restore Frederick Kitchen to her former glory – the latter project being headed up by Simon’s son, Tom.
The money will also cover a rolling programme of events centred around Newham heritage with the space eventually used to host quarterly exhibitions.
“For a long time now, in addition to the ecology, which is really special, we’ve felt that one of the selling points of this area is the heritage of the Lea,” said Simon.
“One of the things that’s always struck us is that, apart from the House Mill, Newham doesn’t have any museums – certainly not ones that reflect the wider heritage of the area.
“There’s such a rich seam of history here, whether it’s the Lea as a boundary between the Danes and the Saxons or how the land on the east bank was part of Essex rather than London and all the implications of that.
“Then there’s the arrival of industry, which saw the local population increase from 4,000 to around 250,000 in about 50 years.”
Tom supervises as renovation work continues
a rich seam of exhibitions
“Frankly we would need an Amazon-size warehouse to cover all the heritage we have and we reckon we could go for 30 years without repeating a topic with quarterly exhibitions in our multi-functional, multi-purpose structure,” added Simon.
“The likes of West Ham and Tate & Lyle have fantastic archives that are not on show to the public so it would be amazing to feature pieces from those collections.
“We have so many plans. It will take 18 months to restore the boat and we’ll be re-landscaping the site of the building at the same time.
“We’ll be doing outdoor exhibitions for Lighting Up The Lea during that period as well as working with the community and participants on our education programmes to gather more stories and local history.
“When our heritage programme launches, our plan is that one quarter will be dedicated to ecology, one to social heritage, one to industrial heritage and the last to miscellaneous aspects of history.”
Cody Dock boasts myriad facilities including a rolling bridge
key details – Cody Dock
The Cody Dock project has a wealth of opportunities for volunteers to get involved, with activities including the restoration of the Frederick Kitchen, cleaning up the River Lea and studying the area’s ecology.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
With rents in the capital continuing to soar, shared ownership schemes are having a bit of a moment.
Typically purchasing a percentage of a property while paying rent on the remainder, even when a service charge is included, is generally cheaper than renting a comparable property nearby.
The advantages for prospective buyers are many.
Chief among these perhaps are the relative security in comparison to the precarious situation of being a tenant, autonomy over the space and its decoration and crucially the ability to access the sales market with a considerably lower deposit than would be necessary to buy outright.
Canning Town is also having a moment.
The area near the station has been undergoing extensive regeneration for years with plenty of new amenities arriving and much more still to come.
Highly connected, it’s a mere two stops on the Jubilee line from Canary Wharf and enjoys direct connections to London City Airport, Excel, Woolwich, Stratford and the City.
SO Resi is about to bring these two things together.
The shared ownership brand of Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing – the fifth largest housing association in the UK – is set to unveil a collection of 37 apartments in May.
The immediate area boasts a multitude of attractions, including craft beer at Husk, modern Italian food at Pepenero, a bouldering facility at Rise Climbing and outdoorsy activities at Bow Ecology Park and environmental community project Cody Dock.
Residents will be within walking distance of City Hall at Royal Docks, the home of the English National Ballet at London City Island and the art and heritage of Trinity Buoy Wharf.
It’s a compelling offering, even before you factor in the bustle of Stratford, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Westfield Stratford City, Canary Wharf, The O2 and Greenwich Peninsula – all within two Tube stops or less.
Canning Town station is also a major bus interchange, meaning residents can easily access areas such as Bethnal Green, Aldgate, Walthamstow and even Romford.
This is all evidence that, with a great deal more development in the pipeline, prices in E16 are likely to rise as demand for well-connected, regenerated parts of the capital increases.
SO Resi sales and marketing director Kevin Sims
SO Resi sales and marketing director, Kevin Sims, said: “It is no secret that London has become a place where a range of buyers are being priced out – especially first-time buyers.
“As such, the new SO Resi Canning Town scheme could be the perfect option for 2024.
“The scheme will allow purchasers to buy a percentage share that they will pay a mortgage on, with the remainder being paid on below-market rent and then service charges too.
“A lot of people are looking to avoid the rental trap who would never be able to afford to buy on the open market – with rents rising the fastest in London.
The Canning Town apartments will feature open-plan living areas
“One of the biggest benefits of shared ownership at SO Resi Canning Town is that deposits are often considerably lower than buying on the open market.
“This is because you put a deposit down on the share that you’re buying – 25%, for example – rather than the value of the whole property.
“As an example, at our recent SO Resi Hendon Waterside development, a 5% deposit on a 25% share of a one-bedroom apartment could be as low as £4,129.
“If London is a place you aim to stay in for the long term too, staircasing is a brilliant way to continue along the journey to full home ownership.
“It’s possible to buy shares at any time – but we offer the SO Resi Plus scheme, which was pioneered by us, and has now been rolled out nationally.
The apartments are located close to Canning Town station
“The scheme allows buyers to staircase at a gradual pace by purchasing an additional 1% share each year, which can be done at the touch of a button with no solicitors needed, making the ultimate goal of home ownership that little bit more achievable.
“Knowing this benefit is available to you throughout your journey should give you peace of mind – a purchase as little as 1% can make a world of difference in the long term.”
Shared ownership buyers purchase between 10% and 75% of a home and pay a capped rent on the remainder.
Typically schemes offer 25% or more, however.
SO Resi Canning Town’s apartments are set to go on sale next month with a show home expected to open in June, 2024.
The apartments are set to go on sale in May, 2024
key details
SO Resi Canning Town is a collection of 37 apartments ranging in size from one-beds to three-beds.
The properties are set to come on the market in May, 2024, with prices yet to be announced.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
“Immersive” is one of the most over-used words when it comes to the arts.
But Confluence at Cody Dock has a singular and legitimate claim to it, if desired.
Artist Tom Fisher has created a body of work based on a five-month residency at the community-led regeneration that literally plunges the ears of listeners into the River Lea and its environment.
Working under the name Action Pyramid, the sonic artist and musician was awarded Cody Dock’s Lighting Up The Lea commission – a challenge to respond creatively to its Tidal Lea River Ecology Report.
While some might have expected lights and bulbs to play a part in that response – given the title – with typical freedom of thought, the decision was made to fund a project that would illuminate the river for visitors in a different sense.
Supported by Cockayne Grants For The Arts, The London Community Foundation and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Confluence itself comes in multiple parts.
Artist Tom Fisher, aka Action Pyramid, records sound under water
The first is already in place and free for visitors to Cody Dock to experience.
Listen To The Lea allows up to two people to put on headphones at a dedicated spot and listen live to the sounds of the river below via two hydrophones that are permanently submerged in its waters.
The free listening post will be in place until June 12, 2024, with visitors able to listen in person or to tune in online.
“I find it very relaxing,” said Gino Brignoli, biodiversity officer at Cody Dock.
“I can’t stop myself from trying to figure out what it is I’m hearing – perhaps I’m not zen enough – but I really enjoy sitting there and listening.
“I love being next to the water – having the opportunity to see the river, especially at slack tide when the Lea is relatively still.
“I find it fascinating that so much sound is contained within its waters.
“While we don’t necessarily know what we’re listening to through the hydrophones, water is an amazing conductor of sound and there are so many things to hear.
Tom with his Listen To The Lea installation
“Everything that lives beneath the surface tends to communicate that way because it’s a murky world and vision is unreliable.
“We can’t be certain, but we think we may have heard fish moving pebbles around and clams letting out air on the bottom.
“Personally, I like that the sounds give you an imaginary world to enter.”
While the Lea is considered to be “bad” environmentally speaking – with Gino and other groups targeting improvements that will at least see it receive a rating of “poor” – the river nevertheless teems with life.
Lighting Up The Lea’s focus is on turning the spotlight on an ecosystem that supports bats, eels, kingfishers and grey seals as well as invaders such as crayfish and mitten crabs.
“It’s about saying: ‘Hey, this is London’s second largest river and very few people know about it – either that it exists at all or that it’s significant’,” said Gino.
“There’s a lot of work to be done to make sure people know about it, so they can visit.
“We’ve had visitors from Eastlea School in West Ham, for example – which is named after the river – and found that even the teachers hadn’t necessarily made that connection, or been aware that the Lea is here in east London.
Gino enjoys the sounds of the Lea looking towards Tower Hamlets
“The exciting thing about working in ecology is that as long as there’s a will, we can actually achieve quite a lot. The younger generation seem to be more engaged – it’s exciting because this is where the change will come from.”
Awareness is ultimately the point of Confluence – an appropriate name for a work created on the tidal Lea where fresh water meets brackish, changing direction twice a day as it rises and falls by four or five metres.
The second part of the work will come in the form of an installation that is set to launch with a live event on April 12, 2024.
Tom’s sonic work – wrought from recordings of the subaquatic world, the movement of the Lea estuary’s mud, passing bats and seasonal birdsong – will then be available to hear daily in a dedicated listening space at The Barn, Cody Dock’s new venue and arts space.
“It has been a real pleasure to begin working on this commission, with the Lea often being a source of inspiration for my work,” said Tom.
“The chance to spend extended time exploring, listening to, and learning about the local tidal ecosystem and surrounding habitat has been really wonderful.
“Something which is often a feature of my practice is using sound as a means to help us reconsider a place.
“The site’s ecology report has been a fascinating starting point.”
Cody Dock CEO, Simon Myers, added: “The lower Lea is rapidly changing and without wider appreciation and awareness of its incredible urban biodiversity we are on track to lose this rich diversity, just as people are rediscovering this under-appreciated corner of London.
“My hope is that this commission will quite literally help shine a light on the Lea while also producing a new piece of immersive art that inspires people’s imagination.”
Tom’s installation will be available to listen to at Cody Dock’s art space The Barn
dive in
The Listen To The Lea part of Confluence is available to experience daily for free on the east bank of the river. It will be in place until June 12, 2024.
Action Pyramid’s installation will be available to listen to for free after April 12.
While Cody Dock is continually open for walkers, its official hours of operation are 9am-5.30pm daily.
The regeneration effort offers people a wealth of opportunities to volunteer, including on projects to restore and re-flood the dock itself, to clean up the Lea and to observe and record the wildlife that can be found locally.
The scheme is home to a wide variety of initiatives aimed at transforming a formerly derelict toxic waste dump on an industrial estate into an area and facility, which can be enjoyed and visited by local residents and those further afield.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
As is invariably the case, a trip to Cody Dock yields an excess of optimism, promise and excitement.
What was once a rubbish tip piled high with industrial toxic waste has already become home to businesses, a plethora of wildlife, art and vegetation.
In the 14 years since Simon Myers co-founded the Gasworks Dock Partnership, an eyesore has been transformed into a community asset on the River Lea that’s tantalisingly on the threshold of the next stage in its evolution.
As CEO he’s presided over a passionate team and the efforts of countless volunteers in that time, who have all contributed to turning the wooden model of the project’s masterplan into full scale reality.
“To go alongside our rolling bridge across the dock mouth – which we installed earlier this year – we’ve finally finished our toilet and wash block,” said Simon.
“That means that after more than a decade of visitors using our very glamorous Portaloos we’ve now got proper facilities with showers, changing rooms and running water.
“What that really does for Cody Dock is to make it accessible for people to come down, especially for school visits.
“We’re probably about half way through the construction of the first phase of our visitor centre, which will include an exhibition and event space.
“The hard work is done – the foundations are in, the frame is up, the walls are being built and we’ll be doing the roof over the next couple of weeks.
“Then we can start fitting it with 100 400-watt solar panels and batteries that will give us our own electricity supply with an output that is more than the total present power consumption for the site.
“Obviously that’s only when the sun shines, but we have every intention of looking at ways of storing energy on site and – given that we have a tidal dock with a lot of water going up and down, we want to investigate how we can use that to generate electricity too.”
Like every aspect of Cody Dock, a great deal of thought has been put in to the execution of its projects and how what is created can do multiple jobs.
The Gasworks Dock Partnership is working towards re-flooding the dock
In addition to generating power, the visitor centre will become the focal point of the site.
“We have a little pop-up gallery space on site where we’ve tried lots of things and that has provided proof of concept,” said Simon.
“We also already have weekly visits from schools who come and do cross-curricular field studies in areas such as local history and river ecology
“We’ve also had an interesting arts and cultural programme at Cody Dock over the years.
“But pretty much everything has been outside – the visitor centre gives us a venue where we can put on significant exhibitions, put on shows, accommodate school visits, host music nights and film screenings.
“The first part of the venue has a foyer and a separate main area but they can be combined into one big space if required.
“It’s very much multi-functional and we’ll be equipped to host theatre performances with a fold-away stage, a green room and a proper lighting rig.
“What happens within that space will be very much a collaboration with the community and arts organisations.
“The first thing we did when we cleared the dock was host an opera on a floating stage in the middle of the water.
“These kinds of performances are very much in our DNA – we use arts as an engagement tool and this venue will enable us to do that on a scale matching the number of people who are now coming to Cody Dock on a regular basis – we’re really excited.”
Completion of the visitor centre’s first phase is expected by late spring next year to coincide with Newham Heritage Month in June.
Also in the pipeline is a new theraputic gardening, training and horticultural space that will provide a place for learning and propagation to provide all the plants for the site.
“That’s a collaboration with fifth-year architecture students from Westminster and should be complete by March,” said Simon.
“It will be a space that feels like you’re outdoors, but is actually indoors filled with plants – think Scandinavian conservatory.
“That will be opposite our rolling bridge and our plan is to finish the final landscaping of the area between the crossing and our visitor centre.
“Then we’ve got a year of planning, preparation and finalising the designs for what we have been calling until now our Heritage Pavilion.
“We actually want to run a bit of a competition and, with public consultation, to come up with a better name for it.
“It will be a new space – somewhere that celebrates the history of the waterways in this area.
“Its roof will be the keel of a fully restored Thames Ironworks lifeboat, which we already have on site at the end of the dock.
“It’s made from Honduran mahogany, is just over 100 years old and belongs to the first generation of self-righting lifeboats.
“It has an enormous iron keel and we’ll be restoring it for about a year before flipping it upside down to form the roof.
Gasworks Dock Partnership CEO Simon Myers
“That’s a nod to the fact that the River Lea was once the Danelaw boundary and we’re on the Viking side.
“So there are lots of things to get involved with if people would like to come down and volunteer.”
Cody Dock has also recently appointed new members of its team to look after ecology and education at the site, who will be running projects over the coming year as work continues towards the ultimate goal of re-flooding the dock.
After that happens, the site will become home to residential moorings, a berth for a heritage ship and dry dock facilities to service boats sailing up and down the Lea.
“I think we’re about 18 months away from doing that,” said Simon.
“We’ve done most of the necessary work at the end of the dock and we’re definitely over the hill with the restoration work on the dock walls.
“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Then it will be about connecting us up with Canning Town via that last elusive bit of footpath along the river.”
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
