RESIDENTS of one of the UK’s ‘friendliest’ neighbourhoods fear their community is under threat.
Fish Island is a canal-side community of artists and designers in the borough of Tower Hamlets, East London.
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Named after some of its street names, including Dace Road and Bream Street, the area housed chemical industries a hundred years ago.
It is now a hub of creativity and innovation with cooperative workspaces, quirky bars and cafes, public artworks and a vibrant nightlife.
However, the neighbourhood has been dubbed the “new Shoreditch” and gentrification has led residents to worry that their community will be lost.
A two-bed flat is selling for £547,500 on Dace Road and a three-bed is going for £627,500 on RightMove.
Yasmin Gonzalez, who works in Two More Years, is afraid housing developments will replace the social scene.
“For me the thing that hurts me the most is that all of these nice places are going to become flats,” she told MyLondon.
“The community is not going to be the same in my point of view. Once this goes, I am not sure what else we are going to do – that scares me.”
Molly Pickup, an English student who works in Tuck Shop, said she loves living in the area but can see a big difference compared to nearby Bow.
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She said: “It’s a lovely little area. I really like this it, it’s like a simulation. It’s a strange corner of London, this place is full of regulars but it’s very much a nice little community.
“There is quite a big and clear divide – it’s very obvious. Bow is completely different, it’s in its own separate world.”
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