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A woman meanders along the path between blocks of flats. Apparently she's an addict who was evicted from the 8th floor. This floor is known locally as a drug-dealing centre. The woman has now been relegated to the ground floor. Apparently she doesn't even recognise her own son and daughter after a brain haemorrhage.
In the middle of the blocks is a green hillock - created by shovelling up the rubble left over after building the flats in the 1970s and scattering some grass seed on it. The estate is flanked by a flyover and the Blackwall Tunnel, so this hillock is the only recreation area for the residents. Some of the older ones have never used it as the slope is too steep to be accessible.
But thanks to an ingenious funding application by the Isle of Dogs community foundation, the site will be turned into a "village green". By securing regeneration money and match funding from the Millennium Greens Trust, the foundation has accumulated £80,000 to redevelop the site. Local children have decided on the theme for the recreation area - dinosaurs and reptiles.
Garden furniture is being designed locally in keeping with the theme. A path leading up to the top will resemble a snake but also make it easier for older and disabled people to access the summit. A safe play area will be incorporated into the landscaping. Children from the local school are going to plant seeds and adults will be trained in horticulture in an attempt by the charity to encourage ownership and prevent future vandalism. Tommy Walsh, star of BBC TV's Ground Force gardening programme lent his support to the scheme at a photo call with local children.
Although it will improve the environment, the so-called village green isn't enough. The chair of the community foundation, Chris Mossop, who is also vice-president of a .
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