Demolition of movie estate to begin

The Heygate estate in Walworth, which was the backdrop for the Michael Caine film Harry Brown, is being redeveloped Demolition teams were set to move in on one of Britain’s best known housing estates. The dismantling of the sprawling Heygate estate in Walworth, south-east London was due to start on Friday. The Heygate estate is close to the Aylesbury estate, which Tony Blair visited hours after his 1997 election victory. In his first leadership speech he described the residents as the “forgotten people” and pledged to tackle social exclusion in the area. More recently, Heygate was the backdrop for the 2009 Michael Caine film Harry Brown . The destruction of the Heygate estate is part of a £1.5bn regeneration project in Elephant and Castle, an area widely considered as one of London’s eyesores. It aims to transform it into “a brand-new town centre” over the next 15 years. Southwark Council said the 98 units on the Rodney Road side of the estate will be “carefully and meticulously” dismantled within hours. This will be followed by further demolition in the next few weeks before some of the larger blocks are brought down in May. The entire estate, which is one of the largest in Europe, will be demolished in less than a year. Rob Deck, Lend Lease project director for Elephant and Castle, said: “The demolition of the Heygate estate is a major milestone in the scheme to rejuvenate Elephant and Castle. “This is one of the most significant regeneration projects in Europe and Lend Lease will be working in partnership with Southwark Council to transform this area of London into a vibrant place for people from all backgrounds to live, work and recreate.” The estate comprises six concrete blocks which, alongside smaller groups of maisonettes, stretch along several roads in Elephant and Castle. It was home to more than 3,000 people before residents were rehoused around the borough in 2008, leaving the site a virtual ghost town. Many residents were reported to be against the demolition, arguing that it was unnecessary as living conditions in the flats were still good. Now only 11 dwellings are occupied, mainly by leaseholders who are still negotiating leaving terms with the council. The enormous blocks were designed in the 1960s by architect Tim Tinker and construction was completed in the early 1970s. At the time, the buildings were futuristic and were designed to offer a utopian ideal where communal living provided a social hub for those who were first to benefit from the postwar welfare state. But Southwark Council says the estate has become increasingly expensive to maintain and heat and, in today’s standards, it is “no longer an ideal place for people to live”. Councillor Fiona Colley, who is a cabinet member for regeneration, said: “It’s hard to describe what a monumentally huge project the Heygate estate regeneration is. What comes next is what so many people in the borough are anticipating – the emergence of brand-new, warm, safe homes for all.” Housing Regeneration London Communities Local government Architecture guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 15, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.