PEACH was set up in 2013, in the London Borough of Newham.
It takes a community organising approach to its work, building the power of its community so that it can influence or make the decisions that affect it.
It began using the term ‘regeneration’ to refer to the urban regeneration process for which its neighbourhood has been selected. It looked at other sites of ‘regeneration’ in London and was worried by what it saw: communities broken up, new developments totally out of the financial reach of existing residents, and communities completely shut out of the decision-making processes.
This inspired it to want to change the meaning of regeneration in its Alternative Regeneration Plan.
Its plan is holistic and regenerative, thinking not just about how to demolish and rebuild, but how to maintain and grow a community, protect the social connections that provide support networks, provide relevant economic and social spaces, and improve its health and environment. It’s turning regeneration from something destructive that is being done to us into a positive opportunity for change.