It was once a booming industrial sector of east London surrounded by social housing estates home to humble working-class Cockney families.
But Hackney Wick’s decline by the late 20th century, following Britain’s transition into post-industrialism after the Second World War, left the area derelict.
Abandoned factories and warehouses were soon rented out to artists and small creative businesses, and made the perfect blank canvas for them to express themselves through the medium of neon spray paint.
Over the years, graffiti artists have thickened the walls with their scrawlings as they battle to tag over each other.
A huge regeneration project spurred on by the 2012 Olympics saw quirky bars, coffee shops and swanky high-rise apartments pop up amongst the graffiti and canals.
This attracted wealthy hipsters and curious tourists who turned it into a gentrified party scene, with newcomers convinced that the street art gives the area an ‘edge’.
However, whilst these newbies love the gritty urban appearance, the long-term residents have found their neighbourhood’s transformation ‘depressing’, and say an influx of hipsters who want trendy coffee shops has ‘broken’ local businesses.
Michael who has lived in the area his entire life, said it used to be a ‘brilliant’ place, but has since been ‘neglected’ by the local council. The 82-year-old, who was walking his dog Sky around the Trowbridge Estate, told MailOnline: ‘Hackney has gone way downhill, it’s a s***hole. Where we live, just round from where the school is, that was once spotless.
A huge regeneration project spurred on by the 2012 Olympics saw quirky bars, coffee shops and swanky high-rise apartments pop up amongst the graffiti and canals
Michael, who has lived in the area his entire life, said it used to be a ‘brilliant’ place, but has since been ‘neglected’ by the local council
Pictured: People walking past boarding surrounding a building site which has been graffitied
‘The graffiti and wall art is disgusting. It’s the little s***s who are responsible for it.’
He explained how youngsters were once fearful of the police back in the day when they would patrol the area as they knew they would ‘get walloped’ if they were seen misbehaving.
‘These teenagers just really don’t care and the parents don’t care either,’ he said.
A few years ago some artists created ‘some really nice’ murals, but Michael said it was ‘messed up’ by others spray painting over it, adding: ‘I don’t mind the art, but the tagging is an absolute disgrace.’
Michael proudly proclaimed: ‘I was born and bred in Hackney. I’m a true Eastender, I was born within the sound of Bow Bells.
‘People ask me if I am ashamed to live in Hackney, and I say what have I got to be ashamed of? I am only ashamed of the people that are moving in.’
Sue Johnson, 75, said graffiti ‘wasn’t a thing’ when she first moved into the area in the area in the 1980’s.
She told MailOnline: ‘When I first moved here it was all tower blocks. They knocked them all down, and a bank and our little group of shops, so we had to move home.
Sue Johnson, 75, said graffiti ‘wasn’t a thing’ when she first moved into the area in the area in the 1980s
Pictured: A wall art mural on the side of a building which has been turned into a vintage clothes shop
The regeneration attracted wealthy hipsters and curious tourists who turned it into a gentrified party scene
Over the years, graffiti artists have thickened the walls with their scrawlings as they battle to tag over each other
‘The buildings are just smothered in graffiti now, and if they clean it off, they will only go and do it again. It’s getting worse recently. What do they get out of it?
‘It’s a bit depressing really. It’s just a sign of the times, isn’t it? It’s like a lot of things nowadays. It’s just very sad.’
Retiree Monique Emirate called the street art ‘rubbish’ and also believes it’s getting worse.
‘They can’t stop it, it’s been going on for ages. I don’t like it, it’s messing up the whole area. It’s mad people who have spoiled the beauty,’ the 67-year-old said.
Ms Emirate believes the council’s inaction over the street art epidemic shows how little they care.
‘If they were worried about it, they would do something about it,’ she said, rolling her eyes.
Acknowledging the ‘young people’ who moved in after the Olympics and regeneration, she said: ‘They rent this expensive accommodation and the next thing you know, it’s a mad people’s area. It’s too much.’
In a run-down old school cafe opened on the estate in 1999, chef Yusuf Yilmaz struggled to crack a smile speaking about the fancy coffee shops who have stolen his business, as one lone customer sat in the corner sipping her coffee.
Pictured: A large graffiti tag on a garage door of someone’s property on the Trowbridge Estate
In a run-down old school cafe opened on the estate in 1999, chef Yusuf Yilmaz struggled to crack a smile speaking about the fancy coffee shops who have stolen his business, as one lone customer sat in the corner sipping her coffee
Pictured: A newly opened co-op shop where eco-conscious hipsters refill their reusable containers with things like rice, grains and other cooking essentials
The 53-year-old, who has lived there for 14 years, said: ‘The Hackney area is not like before. It has changed because different kinds of people have come.
‘Business is not well. The new people prefer the new trendy cafes or all the chains that have opened up. These places are selling all these different, special foods. That has broken our business.’
He shared other long-time local’s disdain for the graffiti, adding: ‘It comes with trouble and it makes the place depressing.
‘The council should do more work to clean it up. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any police patrolling the area as well.’
Meanwhile, young professionals Bianca Cross, 27, and Olivia Daw, 30, who moved to the estate from New Zealand in April think it serves a purpose to the council.
Ms Cross, who works in marketing, said: ‘I feel like the council want it here because it gives it an edge and helps them sell their luxury apartments with the cool vibes.’
Chiming in, Ms Daw added: ‘You kind of know when you’ve got to a cool neighbourhood because you start seeing all the graffiti.’
The women revealed how when they searched for the best pub gardens in the area on Google, they were met with pictures of the canals lined with bars and the graffiti.
Pictured: More wall art and graffiti covering the walls of building once used as factories and warehouses
Retiree Monique Emirate called the street art ‘rubbish’ and also believes it’s getting worse
Ms Emirate believes the council’s inaction over the street art epidemic shows how little they care
‘It’s like actually a tourist attraction,’ they said.
Originally, the pair didn’t want to move to Hackney Wick because it’s reputation as a gentrified party area didn’t align with their more ‘normal’ lifestyle, but the rent for their maisonette on the Trowbridge Estate was the cheapest they could find.
Ms Cross, who works in marketing, said: ‘I feel like the council want it here because it gives it an edge and helps them sell their luxury apartments with the cool vibes’
Chiming in, Ms Daw added: ‘You kind of know when you’ve got to a cool neighbourhood because you start seeing all the graffiti’
Pictured: A corner of Hackney Wick where hipsters gather for trendy food a coffee outside
The trendy young professional said she ‘generally likes graffiti’ as it ‘says a lot about a place when people feel able to express themselves’
But she admitted how she and her friend often joke about how it looks ‘fabricated’ and as if people are ‘allowed’ to do it
Pictured: A newly opened Reformer Pilates studio stands out against the graffiti covered walls
‘It was an interesting choice for us,’ Ms Cross said ‘But I really like that there’s a really solid community here. That’s been something that we’ve been finding as it peeks through.
‘I’ve been looking into the history of the area a bit and it seems like people have been pushed out by all the luxury apartments which is sad.’
The trendy young professional said she ‘generally likes graffiti’ as it ‘says a lot about a place when people feel able to express themselves’.
But she admitted how she and her friend often joke about how it looks ‘fabricated’ and as if people are ‘allowed’ to do it.
‘It’s like they’ve said, «Oh, here’s your little area where you can paint the walls, but not these luxury apartments, of course not!».’
The duo explained how the street art they saw on a recent trip to Marseille felt like it was done by people ‘trying to make a stand for something important’, whereas in Hackney Wick it ‘doesn’t feel like that’.
Ms Daw added: ‘When you walk around towards the station and see the construction and graffiti, that combination just makes you feel like you’re somewhere apocalyptic because it’s just construction dust and writing everywhere with no nature.’
A section on Hackney Council’s website addressing the graffiti reads: ‘We recognise that some people consider that street art makes a positive contribution to the urban environment.
The women revealed how when they searched for the best pub gardens in the area on Google, they were met with pictures of the canals lined with bars and the graffiti
The duo explained how the street art they saw on a recent trip to Marseille felt like it was done by people ‘trying to make a stand for something important’, whereas in Hackney Wick it ‘doesn’t feel like that’
Ms Daw said: ‘When you walk around towards the station and see the construction and graffiti, that combination just makes you feel like you’re somewhere apocalyptic because it’s just construction dust and writing everywhere with no nature’
‘If your property has a piece of street art or a mural on it, you must contact us to let us know that you would like to keep it.
‘We will remove street art or graffiti if we believe it spoils the local environment or prevents people from enjoying the area.’
Considerations made when deciding whether to remove of allow it include whether it is: offensive, gang related, insulting or against public interest; likely to encourage more graffiti or tagging; inappropriate for the location or out of keeping with the surrounding area; a cause of complaints to the council; on a listed building or in a conservation area; libellous or potentially libellous; intimidating.
They added: ‘If you are considering commissioning a new mural or a piece of street art on your property you must contact us to check that it will not breach our graffiti policy.’
