Lambeth council is planning to demolish majority of the Central Hill estate and erect a new version as part of a wider borough redevelopment project.
According to a report from The Guardian, the plan for the borough will bring about 400 or so additional homes for private sale, which would help finance council flats and the redevelopment of the old properties. The proposal has been naturally opposed by the community who will be greatly affected by the council's move. The residents are promised a place when the estate has been refurbished, but there is no guarantee that the council will not sold off the properties in the future. If that happens, the residents have no assurance that they can afford the houses.
Lambeth argues that the current design and layout of the Central Hill estate has been causing crimes in the neighborhood, in addition to the degrading state of some of the buildings. The residents defended that the crimes are below average rate and the sorry state of some of the properties are actually due to the poor maintenance of the local authorities.
Developed in 1966-1974, Lambeth's Central Hill in south London was designed by Rosemary Stjernstedt in a way "that almost every living room benefits from spectacular views towards the centre of London." The estate with more than 450 homes is located near the hill of the former Crystal Palace.
As described by The Guardian, buildings in the area are kept below the heights of the trees and their interiors were designed to optimize the sunlight. Central Hill has no tower blocks and the yards were designed with the children and neighborhood's safety in mind, separating the cars and pedestrians. The bottom line is that there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the current type of structures in Central Hill for it to be wiped out and replaced.
While there is no final decision that has been made yet, there is an ongoing local campaign called Save Central Hill.
