Lambeth’s housing shame

THE LONDON Borough of Lambeth, a Labour council, is planning to bulldoze an entire estate in Upper Norwood and then build new homes. These new homes will be for sale to the private sector and the council claims it will then use this revenue to build new homes for the existing tenants.

The Central Hill estate was built between 1966 and 1974, and provides more than 450 homes.

Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Matthew Bennett, claims that too many homes suffer from damp, mould and disrepair. Too many homes have problems with their drains, the kitchens and bathrooms are dilapidated and need replacing, roofs and water pipes leak. Many families are living in overcrowded conditions in homes that are just too small.

The residents, who are campaigning as Save Central Hill, claim that the council has totally neglected the estate and allowed it to fall into serious disrepair. But they say that a renovation and repair project will be much cheaper and less disruptive to their lives than demolishing the estate and replacing it with luxury homes that they will never be able to afford to live in.

Save Central Hill says that: “The people who live on the estate will lose their current homes, tenants will lose their secure tenancies and leaseholders will be forced out as the new properties will not be affordable. The community will be destroyed. The impact on the local area will also be significant as Lambeth plan to at least double the number of homes on the estate. “