The newly elected Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher designated the land surrounding the working docks, from St Katherine’s Dock east of Tower Bridge downriver to the Royal Docks, as an Urban Development Corporation. This effectively removed local control from an area crossing five London boroughs, with the aim of transferring it into private ownership. 

Dunn and Leeson, who had previously been working closely with local trades unions around health issues, were approached to produce a poster alerting local people to what was to come. Following a period of consultation with tenants and action groups, however, it soon became clear that the proposed poster was not enough. Posters were indeed wanted, but ‘large ones’ to match the scale of the proposals – also design work to help with individual campaigns, documentation of the area before it changed and a record of each battle as it was fought. In addition, there was a need for easily accessible information that examined key issues such as housing and specific development sites in more depth. Text from cSPACE, READ MORE.

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