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Stop the Blocks is a new campaign group aimed at uniting support against the loss of community and public space in the East End. This weekend of events features an activist walking tour of some of the affected venues and a forum to discuss ways to challenge ongoing urban redevelopment (Saturday August 8, meet at Whitechapel Station at 11am). The guided tour will take in the Bishopsgate Goodsyard, the Joiners Arms gay pub on Hackney Road, the No.w.here artspace on Bethnal Green Road and the former Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital on Hackney Road. Events at each location will include stalls, art installations and protests.
Sunday will feature a public assembly near the site of the London Chest Hospital in Bonner Road (see the Stop the Blocks website for more info). The weekend aims to highlight the impact of rapid development in east London – the social cleansing of housing estates, the destruction of historic sites and the closure of public services and social spaces – and to promote the campaign groups fighting the replacement of public space with private profit.
Stop the Blocks members include Tower Hamlets Renters, and campaign groups working to protect sites such as the Bishopsgate Goodsyard, the Holland Estate and the London Fruit and Wool exchange.