Here's an idea

When Newham council selected architect Broadway Malyan to masterplan the regeneration of the Carpenters estate in Stratford, east London, it asked us to consult the community in an unusual way.

The Carpenters Connect system means a third of the estate have access to a local intranet site through 300 set-top boxes on their televisions. It was developed by a company called Home 2 Home with £1.6m from the Department for Education and Skills. There's stacks of information about the regeneration, including five possible designs for the estate.

Home 2 Home films our meetings and each one goes onto the website. There's also an email link to our design team, so residents can watch EastEnders, then watch us and contact our architects directly about specific aspects of the masterplan. There's also a bank of PCs in the community centre, so they can access it in groups. It's a cost-effective way of consulting residents, and they're really engaged in the process.

It took a little while to get used to having our meetings filmed. At first people did strange things like straightening ties and combing their hair. But after a couple of times, they got used to it.

This is only the beginning. The Department for Education and Skills is funding a wider version of the scheme covering the whole Stratford area, launched at the end of the month.