How Paulette Singer helps neighbours turn concern into action

Twelve people came to Our Yard’s first meeting, Paulette Singer told me. There was “a feeling of solidarity in the community”.

I met the co-founder on Saturday. She was really welcoming.

Paulette knows what redevelopment can cost communities. She appeared in the BBC’s 2016 documentary The Estate We’re In, about West Hendon residents facing displacement. A housing petition she co-launched attracted over 132,000 supporters.

At Clitterhouse Farm in Cricklewood, Paulette and fellow residents helped save buildings from demolition. She has described how listening to over 2,000 people shaped Our Yard’s plans. Today, its café, garden and workshops give neighbours somewhere to connect beyond home and work.

There’s a fitting link to the past: suffragette organiser Gladice Keevil was born at the farm.

Residents cannot do everything alone. Sustaining places like this also takes support from local organisations and the council.

For me, the lesson starts with a conversation. Six neighbours who care about the same neglected building might be the beginnings of a group that gives it a future.

Sources

• Glenn Herriott’s visit to Our Yard on 3 October 2026 and subsequent reporting.
• Community Organisers: Whose Community? Our Community! — Paulette’s organising with West Hendon residents, listening and the campaign against displacement.
• Change.org: Put our homes before profit — petition started by Paulette Singer and Lubna Ahmad; more than 132,000 supporters.
• Sawyer Fielding: BBC1 documentary — the documentary’s subject and broadcast on 15 March 2016.
• Brent Cross Town: Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm — Paulette’s account of listening to over 2,000 people and the community-space approach.
• Our Yard: Our history — four co-founders, preservation campaign, café, garden and workshop development.
• Suffragette Stories: Gladice Keevil — birthplace and suffrage organising.