Populo Living

@NewhamLondon's wholly-owned housing company.

We're #MakingNewhamHome, creating hundreds of sustainable homes of different sizes for social and private rent.

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Yesterday we went along to the opening of Newham College’s newly renovated Stratford Campus 🏗️

The redevelopment has some serious kit - with dedicated spaces for multi-skills training, carpentry, bricklaying and other vocational courses, many set up to mirror conditions on live construction sites. Students get focused, hands-on practice before they ever step onto a real one.

The Green Skills Room stood out most. It’s fitted with solar panels, underfloor heating, air conditioning tech and other low-carbon building systems, so learners can get familiar with the technologies the sector is moving towards.

The faculty also ran through current courses, apprenticeships and short courses for people who want to keep developing after their apprenticeship. For employers, the college’s Employment and Apprenticeships Team handles much of the recruitment and onboarding, which takes a lot of admin off your plate.

A new Plumbing course is launching soon too, in response to local industry demand and needs identified by @NewhamLondon.

Good news for new and existing students. We hope to see some of them on site in future 👷

#Construction #GreenSkills #Newham

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

This weekend we opened up Plaistow Hub for @openhouselondon: a flat tour, the rooftop and communal kitchen at London Road, station square, the surrounding commercial units, and a stop at Valetta Grove to talk about the community library opening soon for @NewhamLondon.

Great turnout, even better conversations - was lovely to hear from Plaistow locals, sharing their memories of the area. Thanks to @PitmanTozer for arranging.

#Placemaking #OpenHouse

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Three levers that could turbo-charge public sector housing delivery, from our Deputy CEO Michael Holland.

🏗️ Pool public land for scale
🧩 Standardise construction
🏘️ Mix tenures to save across other budgets long-term

Full piece: https://t.co/uf66WF3VC2

#SocialHousing #AffordableHousing

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Last week we held our annual Summer Party at the Carpenters Estate, where we enjoyed music and mocktails made from herbs grown in our community gardens!

Adeel, our resident gardener, has lived on the estate for over 30 years and is transforming the gardens and green spaces with the neighbours he shares them with.

Plots are free to use, and residents get a say in what's grown there, meaning that the plants growing represent the diverse roots of our community 🪴

Thanks to all who came along!

#CommunityGarden #SummerParty #CarpentersEstate #Newham

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Big news for Carpenters Estate: planning approved for a replacement Carpenters Primary School, alongside 120 new homes and community sports facilities 🥳

An innovative scheme that supports the delivery of a new school and community infrastructure by enabling residential development, making better use of the site as the estate and Bridgewater Triangle deliver 2,900+ new homes for @NewhamLondon over the coming years.

The current 1970s building is being replaced with a fully-inclusive school that can grow from two-form to three-form entry, plus a new MUGA and Futsal pitch shared between pupils in school hours and the wider community after.

11 years in the making. Designed with @MaccLav, landscaping by Root and Erect, with planning support from @turleyplanning.
🏫🏗️

Read more: https://t.co/Q1E8dAuWM7

#Regeneration #SchoolDesign #Newham

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

So proud to be shortlisted for Delivering Social Value at the Building Awards 2026 🎉

Our Carpenters Estate Outdoor Calisthenics Project, built with @steelwarriorsuk from ~2 tonnes of confiscated knife steel, is now a thriving, free community gym, supporting healthier lifestyles and harm reduction in @NewhamLondon.

#SocialValue #CommunityWealth

[Building Awards @buildingawards]

2026 #BuildingAwards Delivering Social Value Award shortlist: @Bidwells, @HTADesignLLP, @kierconstruct, @kiergroup, McGregor Bowes, @MorganLovell, MYCO, New Hospital Programme (NHP) – Delivered with @MottMacDonald (Interim Delivery Partner IDP3), @PopuloLiving , @WeAreMcAlpine 👏

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

This week, our Deputy CEO Michael Holland joined the London Assembly's Planning and Regeneration Committee to discuss upward extensions, and whether building on top of existing homes could help solve the capital's housing crisis.

Michael shared lessons from Populo Living's work on regeneration and retrofit, including our pilot Great Green Lofts project, exploring how upward extensions can create larger family homes from within London's existing housing stock.

💬 "If you can take an existing three-bedroom home and turn it into a five-bedroom home, that's a much more economical approach. As a sector, we need to be pulling every lever we have to address the housing pressures we're facing."

Thanks to the @LondonAssembly and our fellow panellists for such a thoughtful discussion 📷

#Housing #Regeneration #LondonHousing #Placemaking #UpwardsExtension #RoofExtension

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Our work experience student spent the week across every team getting a real feel for how a housing company operates, sitting in on some of the more innovative projects we're working on behind the scenes, and spending time with our Design & Build team trying out #SketchUp and understanding what a career in #architecture looks like in practice.

He came in with an interest in architecture and left with, in his words, "a decent structure in mind for how to get there." Having seen the job for real and spoken to people on the path, that clarity is something we're really proud he took away.

Supporting local young people to explore careers they're genuinely drawn to is part of what social value means to us - and we're so glad we got to be a small part of his journey.

@NewhamLondon

#WorkExperience #Newham #LocalTalent

[Kate Stockings @kate_stockings]

What's happening at the Carpenters Estate?

My notes from the @PopuloLiving CPD event to ensure I'm ready to answer any questions that students might have about what's happening on the estate & why 👇🏙️👩‍💻 Looking forward to visiting again next week!

https://t.co/YFpEn2W7vn

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Last week we welcomed @NewhamLondon's new Mayor Forhad Hussain (@4Hussain) to break ground at Pier Road. Delivered by Populo Living and constructed by Hill Group, this new development in North Woolwich will create 350 new homes for Newham, including 127 genuinely affordable homes, as well as new green areas and maker spaces right next to the Thames.

👉Read more: https://t.co/5DRO4AR6rg

#HouseBuilding #AffordableHomes #PierRoad #Newham @Hill_Group_UK @GleedsGlobal @AssaelArchitect

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

🏆 Noele Gordon House wins 2026 RIBA London Award - our 4th this year!

Thanks to Mae Architects for submitting. RIBA praised our "economy in construction" - proving exceptional social housing needs exceptional thinking, not exceptional budgets.

@NewhamLondon

#RIBAAwards

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

We know that building safety matters deeply to residents and communities, so we’re pleased that the Building Safety Regulator has now completed its assessment process at #PlaistowHub and issued the Building Assessment Certificate for the building! 🏢

This reflects the extensive safety management arrangements already in place, alongside the ongoing work of our teams and partners to maintain high building safety standards for residents.

Well done to the Populo team members involved in achieving this milestone!

#BuildingSafety #ResidentSafety #Plaistow #BuildingAssessmentCertificate

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

It’s Election Day in Newham 🗳️ Polls are open today from 7am to 10pm.

Local elections help shape the essential services in your neighbourhood, so if you’re registered, don’t miss your chance to have a say - and don't forget your photo ID! 🪪

#LocalElections #Newham #Vote

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

New @CentreforCities research on urban density: UK housebuilding has strong path dependency - new development mirrors existing patterns.

Worth a read on the policy changes needed to break the cycle: https://t.co/0mLqg8XMdg

#Housebuilding #Development #London #Density

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Really proud to share that our Director of Customer Services, Louise Graham-Smith, has been shortlisted for Woman of the Year at the Women in Housing Awards.

Louise's approach to leadership places residents and staff at the heart of decision-making, champions talent development, and calls us to continuously reflect on how we improve our services. She's made a real difference to our teams and the communities we serve.

💬 As one colleague said: "Louise is an exceptional leader who truly cares about her team and inspires everyone to achieve their best. She leads with both heart and purpose."

We're lucky to have Louise on the team. Fingers crossed for the awards ceremony in June! @insidehousing 🤞

#WomenInHousing #Leadership #Awards #WiH26

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

@kate_stockings It was a real pleasure having you join us, Kate! 👏

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

We were lucky enough to visit @V_and_A East just ahead of its opening this past weekend.

The Music is Black: A British Story was something really special - tracing the impact of Black British music across centuries, moving and joyful in equal measure, with more than a few people rediscovering old favourites 🎵

We also tried our hand at weaving in the Why We Make galleries, and shared thoughts on how the @NewhamLondon community can truly be part of everything this place becomes.

Always wonderful to meet new neighbours 🙌

#EastLondon #Community #Culture

[Populo Living @PopuloLiving]

Our CEO Deborah Heenan and Deputy CEO Michael Holland are attending @UKREiiF this year, so come and say hello.

We're excited about our activities as @NewhamLondon's housebuilder, as well as our innovation work around housing standards and retrofitting Victorian/Edwardian terraces with our Great Green Loft pilot.

@HomesEngland @mhclg @MayorofLondon

#UKREiiF #housingstandards #retrofitting #affordable