MEMORIES of four key areas of the borough and of the changes made to them over the years will be revived at a series of meetings from next week.

Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust (HAT) is launching its oral history project, named From Terraces to Towers and Back Again.

The project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will collect first-hand reminiscences, along with photos and other artefacts related to housing in Waltham Forest, from the 1950s to the present.

This was a period when tower blocks were erected and, in many cases, dismantled again as residents reasserted their preference for housing on a more human scale.

The scheme will focus on four housing estates that have been regenerated by the HAT since 1991.

These are Oliver Close, Leyton, Cathall Road, Leytonstone, Boundary Road, Walthamstow, and Chingford Hall. Everyone who has lived on or around the old estates and has memories of what they were like is invited to attend, as is anyone interested in the recent history of social housing in Waltham Forest.

The project team would especially like to hear from people who remember the housing and communities that existed before the old estates were built in the early 1960s, whether they are tenants or not.

Old photos and other memorabilia like leaflets, programmes, newspaper cuttings and objects are especially needed.

At the meetings, photos and documents can be copied on to the computer so that the owners can keep the originals.

There will also be a chance to see some videos and photos from the past 50 years, and to share memories.

The meetings will take place as follows:

Today (Thursday) at Welcome Court, Boundary Road, Walthamstow, 2pm to 5pm

Tuesday, December 11, at the Paradox Centre, 5 Ching Way, Chingford, 3.30pm to 7.30pm

Thursday, December 13, at the Epicentre, 41 West Street, Leytonstone, 3.30pm to 7.30pm

Tuesday, December 18, Community Centre, 88 Oliver Road, Leyton, 3.30pm to 7.30pm.

Refreshments will be provided free of charge.

The material collected will be put in historical context and compiled on an interactive CD-Rom to be made available to schools, libraries and the public.

The CD-Rom will also have a section on childhood, to be produced in association with O-Regen by a group of young people at the Click Cyber Caf in Leytonstone. It will record the memories of people who were ten years old in each of the five decades covered by the project.

If you were ten in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s, lived in the area, and would like to talk about aspects of your childhood, the project team would like to hear from you.

Alternatively, if you are interested in joining the young people's production team, or helping out with the project, contact the oral history team by calling Sarah Vincent, Michael McCormack or Debbie Mitchell on 8539 5533.