Farewell to Mardyke, hello to Orchard

06 November 2009

Residents cheer as Newtons Primary School pupils release 500 balloons

IT was the end of an era this week as demolition work began on the first tower block on the Mardyke Estate.

The tearing away of the top floor of the 12-storey building also heralded the moment the Mardyke officially became Orchard Village.

It was the first stage of one of the most important developments in Rainham's history - in which the 1960s sink estate will be reborn as an £80million village with 555 new homes built over the next six years.

Doris Taylor watched as the building she has lived in for the plast 41 years was ripped apart, dust from the rubble settling in her hair.

She admitted it was sad to see her home slowly crumbling before her eyes, but quickly added her full backing for the regeneration.

She said: "It's got to be done. We've worked hard for this and we really want the estate to move forward.

"My husband died two years ago and I only wish he could be here today."

Resident Vi Rutherford's flat sits opposite. She has lived there 32 years and will be one of the last residents moved off the estate.

"That doesn't bother me - at least I've got something to watch. It's exciting that it's all coming down," Vi said.

David Williams, Executive Director of Strategy and New Business at Circle Anglia, which runs the estate, admitted in a speech that the estate had a "chequered past".

But he added: "This is about enhancing life choices. It is not only about the physical rebuilding of new homes but improving worklessness and creating an environment where people feel safe and happy."

Once the dust had settled, children from nearby Newtons Primary School released 500 balloons, to cheers from the gathered crowd.

The event marked phase one of the four phase redevelopment, where 86 homes will be flattened and 121 new homes built by November 2010. It follows demolition of a four-storey building two weeks ago.

The estate was originally built to house Ford Dagenham factory workers in the 1960s.

But as the factory pulled back production and finally closed its vehicle production in the early noughties, the estate became plagued by high unemployment.

In 2006, Havering Council began negotiations with Old Ford Housing Association - run by Circle Anglia - to transfer the estate and bring it up to a decent standard.

The new Orchard Village has been named after the orchard which once stood on the site and provided jam for the Tiptree jam company.

Mardyke Estate also made headlines this year as the site for the film Fish Tank, the story of a teenage girl's life living on an Essex council estate. It is also set to feature in the upcoming Dagenham Girls film, starring Sally Hawkins about Ford Dagenham machinists who fought for equal pay.