'A little bit of paradise': Residents create memorial garden to honour victim of fatal London flat fire

From the tragedy of a fire which claimed a man’s life, residents in east London have come together to create a space for nature to flourish in the middle of a city.

Pearl and Mizanur’s Memorial Garden, next to Shadwell Overground station in east London, pays tribute to Mizanur Rahman, who died in the fire in 2023, and long-term estate resident Pearl Fullerton.

“One thing the garden really encapsulates is a sense of community. I think Shadwell is quite a close community in itself but this is another level where people have a common interest,” said Afsana Begum, a resident on the Tarling West Estate during an opening ceremony for the garden on Saturday (17 August).

“We all care about the garden, the environment and we’ve all worked together for a single cause which is to make this place as it is now.”

When a fire broke out in Maddocks House on the night of 5 March 2023, 17 men were discovered living in a two-bedroom flat. Sparked by an e-bike battery, the fire claimed the life of Mizanur Rahman, a 41-year-old father of two.

Formerly-derelict land next to the station was provided by Transport for London and transformed into a space to honour wildlife, local traditions and neighbours.

Residents on the Shadwell estate repeatedly complained about the overcrowding in 18 Maddocks House in the months leading up to the fatal fire, but it did not prevent the landlords being granted a ‘house in multiple occupation’ license by Tower Hamlets Council.

“In Shadwell, there’s very few opportunities to garden, so it’s really lovely we’ve got this garden,” said Rukeya Khan, who has lived in the area for over 30 years.

“I sit here, and it feels like I’m not in the center of London. It feels like I’m in the countryside, and it’s a little bit of a paradise in the urban environment.”

Tarling West Tenants and Residents Association, which led the development of the garden, said Fullerton had watched the gradual decline of the site from communal garden to a derelict space, before dying during the Covid pandemic.

While the garden is open, the residents’ wait for justice for the Shadwell fire continues. Sofina Begum, the landlord of the flat, and her husband Aminur Rahman pled guilty to breaching their HMO license in November 2023, but sentencing is not expected until October.

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