Colleagues and volunteers joined residents at Nags Head Estate in East London for a large-scale community spring clean, as wider improvements across the neighbourhood continue to take shape.
The clean-up took place as part of the annual Great British Spring Clean, a major national environmental campaign which sees thousands of people getting involved in cleaning up their local neighbourhoods.
A team of volunteers and colleagues from Peabody, the not-for-profit housing association, worked together with Axis, and other local partners to help spruce up communal areas for the longer spring days. They removed fly-tipped rubbish, did litter-picking in shared and green spaces and helped residents dispose of unwanted bulky items such as sofas and tables.
Working together
Around £3 million is being invested in improvements and repairs across Nags Head, focused on maintaining homes and improving shared spaces for residents.
Residents are playing a key role in shaping this work through the Nags Head co-design group. This involves monthly workshops where residents can discuss priorities for the neighbourhood with Peabody, helping to steer the projects and decide where resources are allocated.
Planned improvements include external repairs, maintenance, and upgrades to roofs, drainage, walkways, balconies, and communal areas, with some of the works already underway or complete.
On the day of the spring clean, residents were able to use two skips to dispose of large items, with one already full by lunchtime.
A former bike store was also cleared after feedback from residents. The space is now being prepared for community use and will be used temporarily as a potting area for a gardening project and for equipment storage, while working together to plan its long-term future in a way that best serves the community.
Residents also stopped to speak with teams and find out more about the improvements planned for their neighbourhood.
Maia Rollo, Neighbourhood Project Manager for North East London at Peabody said:
“It’s been great to see Nags Head looking refreshed and to hear from residents about the difference the spring clean has made. This is part of a series of wider improvements shaped by what residents want to see.”
Linu Eldho, Sustainability Coordinator at Axis Europe said:
“The clean-up has made a visible difference straight away, from clearer spaces to areas ready to be used again. It was also a good chance to be part of the ongoing updates happening across Nags Head.”
About Peabody
Peabody is one of the UK’s oldest not-for-profit housing associations, founded by philanthropist George Peabody in 1862 to help Londoners in need. Today we take a local approach, working with residents and communities to strengthen our 140 neighbourhoods, provide quality homes and deliver a range of services to support people when they need it most.
We look after 109,000 homes and 220,000 residents across London and the home counties, plus the community centres, play areas, and green spaces that bring these areas to life. We provide residents with reliable landlord services and keep these places well-maintained. We also provide care and support services to around 25,000 customers including specialist accommodation and vital support for people affected by a range of social and health issues.
We’re focused on listening to residents so we can deliver better services and better homes and places. Our local teams work closely with residents, councils and partners to tackle inequality, improve wellbeing and strengthen communities. Alongside this, we’re committed to play our part where we can in building more affordable homes which our communities need.
With an average rent of £147 a week, we offer real value, and our homes remain significantly more affordable than the market. In 2024–25, we spent £431 million in maintaining and improving residents’ homes.
