Lambeth Council is proposing to remove Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens from its estate redevelopment programme, ending demolition plans for both estates if Cabinet approves the changes next week. The proposal would shift the focus to maintaining existing homes, bringing empty properties back into use and finding other ways to build council and social housing.
The proposals are due before Cabinet on 21 October. They have not yet been approved, so residents should not treat the plans as a completed cancellation of demolition. The council says officers found comprehensive redevelopment of Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens financially unviable.
Two estates proposed for protection
Central Hill, in Crystal Palace, and Cressingham Gardens, beside Brockwell Park, are the two sites where the proposed change is most direct. Under the plans, Lambeth would retain the estates’ existing designs and communities, invest in the homes already there and seek to return empty properties to use, rather than pursue demolition and comprehensive redevelopment.
The council describes the shift as part of a wider approach to housing delivery. Its stated aim is to preserve valued parts of the borough while continuing to provide genuinely affordable homes. That is a change in direction for these two estates, but the Cabinet decision remains outstanding and the council has not yet set out a complete implementation timetable.
Different proposals for other estates
Knights Walk would also leave the redevelopment programme, but for a separate practical reason. Lambeth says the completed first phase has made the proposed second-phase site inaccessible, leaving it unviable. This is not the same as a borough-wide decision to stop estate renewal.
For Westbury estate in Clapham Town, the council proposes working with residents on plans that could deliver hundreds of new homes, including more genuinely affordable homes. The wording is conditional: the proposal does not amount to a confirmed housing total or approved scheme. At Fenwick Estate in Clapham North, Lambeth intends to review options with residents, while it proposes developing options with residents for South Lambeth estate.
The plans also include identifying suitable small sites and infill opportunities across the borough. Lambeth says it wants to use a range of routes to deliver new council and social homes, including buying homes and direct council delivery. Those are proposed approaches; the announcement does not specify sites, numbers or delivery dates for the borough-wide work.
A programme changing course
Lambeth’s estate renewal programme covers six estates: Central Hill, Cressingham Gardens, Fenwick, Knights Walk, South Lambeth and Westbury. The council had previously taken the work forward through Homes for Lambeth, before bringing the programme back into the council following a review that recommended closing the company.
The council’s current estate-renewal information describes a range of possible approaches, including refurbishment, retrofitting and demolition with rebuilding. It says the first renewal phases at Knights Walk, South Lambeth and Westbury have been completed, with 105 social-rent homes built and secure tenants moved in. The newly announced proposals would reshape how some remaining sites are handled, rather than end all housing work on the estates.
Cabinet is scheduled to consider the changes on 21 October. Lambeth says residents will receive a letter and estate-specific updates will be published before the meeting. Further detail on reviews of the remaining sites and plans for new council and social housing is expected later in the year. Until Cabinet considers the proposals, the next steps for the named estates remain subject to that decision.
