East Ham, despite being notorious for its high unemployment and poverty rates, is a neighbourhood worth paying attention to. The locality is anchored around its high street, Barking Road, which is lined with lush green trees, shops and pubs, like crowd favourite: The Millers Well. Along this road also sits the beautiful Victorian style East Ham Town Hall and Library which families enjoy stopping at for community events. Residents in the area also appreciate its green space, like Barking Road Recreation Area and Flanders Playing Fields.

These parks make the area feel like a calm suburb removed from London, when in reality – it’s only a short tube ride away from the City on the Hammersmith and City or District lines. While the houses might mostly consist of unassuming council flats and small brick terraced houses, the area remains one of the few affordable spots in London. Realising all that the area has to offer, new shops and eateries are beginning to pop up as housing developers have recently begun to invest in the area.

The East Ham neighbourhood began as a settlement made up mostly of farmland. However, by the 19th century, the introduction of the railways had kick-started residential housing development in the area. Workers and their families began to move to the neighbourhood for the industrial jobs that were brought to the locality by the gas works, factories, and nearby docks. Following the Second World War, due to extensive bombing damage, multiple housing estates and green squares were constructed in the neighbourhood to replace the destroyed buildings. Today, the area is notable for the abundance of social and affordable housing options.

Idris Elba, star of the hit BBC show Luther, and before that, The Wire, grew up in the neighbourhood. When he comes back to visit, he still frequents his favourite pub, The Duke’s Head.

The unemployment rate in East Ham is higher than London’s average. However, residents have noticed that new businesses are opening up in the neighbourhood every year, bringing with them more employment opportunities.

While some feel like East Ham has been overlooked by developers in the past, the area is now getting much more attention. Multiple housing developers, like Bellway Homes, have begun to invest in the area. Since the locality is still deemed affordable by many Londoners, the hope is that much of the new housing will remain affordable to those who live there. Currently, the East Ham Shopping Centre is being redeveloped into a new retail, leisure and residential complex. Dransfield Properties have purchased the site and will be working to provide more vibrant public spaces in addition to a fully redeveloped market hall. The developer has also committed to providing nearly 300 new housing units, 35% of which will be affordable.