Barratt London’s announcement that 60 homes at Florence Apartments in Eastman Village are being offered through Discount Market Sale is a welcome attempt to address the affordability barrier facing local first-time buyers. Under the scheme, eligible purchasers can buy 100 per cent of a property for 80 per cent of its open-market value. Barratt says the initiative, delivered with Harrow Council, is intended to give local residents a greater opportunity to get onto the property ladder.
This is particularly relevant because Eastman Village is becoming a substantial new neighbourhood, with more than 2,000 homes alongside green space, community facilities and wider plans for schools, employment, shops and leisure facilities. But successful regeneration is about more than housing numbers and physical infrastructure. Eastman Village occupies the former Kodak site, and that history raises a wider question: how much of Kodak’s community character will the new development retain?
Kodak was not simply a major Harrow employer. For generations it was closely connected with the social life of Harrow and Wealdstone. It provided extensive sporting and recreational facilities, supported clubs and cultural activities, and created opportunities for employees, families and the wider community to come together. Kodak F.C., originally formed for factory workers, survives as part of that legacy.
Its community contribution also extended beyond its workforce. A particularly good example was Kodak’s support for Changes Nightclub, an initiative for people with learning difficulties. Kodak provided its Sports and Social Club for the project, helping create an inclusive social space and opportunities for participants to develop skills.
That history should matter to the future of Eastman Village. Retaining the Eastman name, the landmark chimney and references to Kodak’s industrial heritage is important, but heritage should not become simply branding. The stronger legacy would be to retain Kodak’s principle of being part of, and contributing to, the community around it.
That could mean ensuring community spaces are genuinely accessible to local organisations and residents beyond the development; encouraging community, cultural and sporting activities; providing opportunities for children, older residents and disabled people; and using the development’s facilities and resources to strengthen links with the surrounding Harrow and Wealdstone community.
Barratt itself says it wants to go “beyond building homes” and describes Eastman Village as developing a “growing sense of community”. The Kodak legacy provides a meaningful benchmark for that ambition.
Eastman Village cannot recreate the Kodak of the past, nor should it try. But if the development carries the Eastman name, there is an opportunity to carry forward something more significant than the name itself: Kodak’s recognition that a major organisation occupying an important place in Harrow should not merely exist within a community, but actively contribute to it.
This is particularly relevant because Eastman Village is becoming a substantial new neighbourhood, with more than 2,000 homes alongside green space, community facilities and wider plans for schools, employment, shops and leisure facilities. But successful regeneration is about more than housing numbers and physical infrastructure. Eastman Village occupies the former Kodak site, and that history raises a wider question: how much of Kodak’s community character will the new development retain?
Kodak was not simply a major Harrow employer. For generations it was closely connected with the social life of Harrow and Wealdstone. It provided extensive sporting and recreational facilities, supported clubs and cultural activities, and created opportunities for employees, families and the wider community to come together. Kodak F.C., originally formed for factory workers, survives as part of that legacy.
Its community contribution also extended beyond its workforce. A particularly good example was Kodak’s support for Changes Nightclub, an initiative for people with learning difficulties. Kodak provided its Sports and Social Club for the project, helping create an inclusive social space and opportunities for participants to develop skills.
That history should matter to the future of Eastman Village. Retaining the Eastman name, the landmark chimney and references to Kodak’s industrial heritage is important, but heritage should not become simply branding. The stronger legacy would be to retain Kodak’s principle of being part of, and contributing to, the community around it.That could mean ensuring community spaces are genuinely accessible to local organisations and residents beyond the development; encouraging community, cultural and sporting activities; providing opportunities for children, older residents and disabled people; and using the development’s facilities and resources to strengthen links with the surrounding Harrow and Wealdstone community.
Barratt itself says it wants to go “beyond building homes” and describes Eastman Village as developing a “growing sense of community”. The Kodak legacy provides a meaningful benchmark for that ambition.
Eastman Village cannot recreate the Kodak of the past, nor should it try. But if the development carries the Eastman name, there is an opportunity to carry forward something more significant than the name itself: Kodak’s recognition that a major organisation occupying an important place in Harrow should not merely exist within a community, but actively contribute to it.