St Mary’s Village

St Mary’s Village, Hackney

Britain’s first ‘demand-led pepper-potted mixed tenure development’


St Mary's Village
St Mary’s Village is a pepper-potted development

Situated off Eastway in Hackney Wick, the village takes its name from the nearby parish church of St Mary of Eton and has replaced the run-down tower blocks of the Trow­bridge estate, which was built in the 1960s. It is the product of co-operation between the London Borough of Hackney, local residents, housing asso­ci­a­tions and private sector builders.

What the planners meant when they called this a ‘demand-led pepper-potted mixed tenure devel­op­ment’ is that potential residents are offered the choice of where they want to live and with what form of tenure, without being segre­gated into social and private zones.

Completed early in the 21st century, the 220 homes range from one-bedroom apart­ments to four-bedroom family houses, including a variety of special needs accom­mo­da­tion and several live-work units. The prop­er­ties have been offered for shared ownership, low-cost home ownership or market sale. Income generated from the outright sale of homes is being rein­vested into the area to provide benefits such as a community centre, play area, doctor’s surgery, local shop and envi­ron­mental improvements.

Postal district: E9