Samuda Estate

• John Gay, the German architectural photographer, visited the estate shortly after it was built. 96 photographs he took of the Samuda Estate have been included in the English Heritage Archive.^[4]

Jonathan B50 visited Kelson House in 1973, and has published 7 photographs taken from the top of Kelson House as part of his Sunset – Moon – Sunrise series.^[5]

• The Samuda Estate was used as the setting for Defiant Pose, a novel by Stewart Home.

• Graffiti: the SELMO participated in the Greater London Authority's investigation into graffiti, explaining that graffiti was not seen as a major problem for the estate, appearing mainly in the communal stairwells. Caretakers were usually able to remove it quickly. When it presented problems, SELMO used specialist services to remove it. In light of far more pressing problems on the estate SELMO had worried about looking into alternative ways of dealing with graffiti.

• The innovative You Have Been Watched (Media Arts Project, 2002) was filmed in one day on the estate using CCTV cameras.^[6] See some images here^{[permanent dead link‍]}. This involved a high level of resident involvement, which was reflected in the narrative structure which involved the local Community television station having its data hijacked by another organisation. When this becomes generally known, the residents organise a protest which leads to the public mock execution of the ones responsible. The film has been subject to critical attention in transgender studies.^[7]
• It has also been used as a location for a number of films and TV Dramas, including Dirty Pretty Things, England Expects, Top Boy, The Face and Red Light Runners an uncompleted film scheduled to star Harvey Keitel.

Netflix series, Top Boy was filmed on the Samuda Estate under the fictional name "Summerhouse Estate".

In 2005 the Samuda Estate was privatised as part of the Tower Hamlets London Borough Council's Housing Choice programme. A new Housing Association Toynbee Island Homes was established on a resident-led basis. However, in 2007, This was taken over by One Housing Group in 2007. In April, 2008 the local housing office was the site of a dramatic sit-in by a board member of the Samuda Estate Local Management Organisation following their eviction from the 'Samuda Housing Office which they occupied since 2005. This coincided with the firing of the resident Board members of Island Homes by the One Housing Group Chief Executive Officer Mick Sweeney. Quoting a report from Campbell Tickell, Sweeney admitted they were guilty of "persistent serious failures in their duties to properly govern the association".

• Barkantine Management Team, who had been fired from the Island Homes Board responded that residents were being treated with disrespect: "It is a question of professionals blaming the amateurs".
• In a statement made in the occupied Samuda Office, the view was aired that "management does not like effective participation and would only like to play lip service to it.^[8]
• Another SELMO spokesperson suggested that One Housing Group were "flexing their muscles".

In what The Wharf newspaper described as a "war of words", a spokesperson for One Housing Group argued that the action taken was "essential in protecting the interests of residents":

"OHG will continue to support Island Homes and an interim board will be appointed to take such steps as are required to ensure that services to Island Homes residents are first class, and to ensure the promises made to residents in relation to the improvement works to their homes are delivered."^[9]

51°29′50″N 0°0′32″W / 51.49722°N 0.00889°W / 51.49722; -0.00889

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