Bulldozers start demolition work on Aylesbury estate

The bulldozers have moved in to finally flatten one of Britain's best known council estates.

The sprawling Aylesbury estate in south-east London, where Tony Blair made his maiden speech as prime minister, is undergoing a £1.5 billion regeneration.

Mr Blair used the speech to outline his plans to target social exclusion and help the estate's "forgotten people".

But plans for the estate - thought to be the biggest in Europe - have been plagued by planning problems and delays.

The main area of the estate - known as Little Bradenham - will be the first to be demolished.

The Aylesbury - which some reports suggest is the scene of a crime every four hours - became renowned as an area of deprivation. For decades police have battled to try to reduce crime on the vast estate.

Television programmes including The Bill and Spooks often chose it as a backdrop for gritty scenes.

Cabinet member for regeneration at Southwark Council, Fiona Colley said: "This is the first step in bringing down the iconic grey slab buildings that you see so often on TV.

"There's a large munch and crunch demolition machine that's biting down on Little Bradenham."

Three sites are being developed and the first crop of new homes are due to be completed in January.

Mrs Colley said: "This is a really important moment in the history of this area and a momentous time for the people who live here.

"It's taken such a long time to get to this point, that for the residents it's proof they've not been forgotten, they can actually see the new homes they've been promised for so long.

"There are people here that have lived on the estate their whole lives, so there are mixed emotions, some people are sad to see the homes they grew up in being demolished, but any sadness is linked to excitement."

The demolition process is less dramatic than methods used in the past, with no explosives or wrecking balls used in modern demolition of large housing structures.

Mrs Colley added: "This needs to be a safe demolition as people are still living near by, so it's coming down piece by piece.

"There's a lot more to go and we have a phasing plan to work across the estate."

Over the next 15 years the whole estate, with a total of 2,700 dwellings, will be redeveloped in nine stages.

By the end of construction there will be about 4,000 new houses with 50% kept as social housing dwellings.

Homes will also be available to rent and buy, and the development is designed to minimise the number of potential crime hotspots.

The estate was built between 1967 and 1977 as a bid to link estates between Peckham and Elephant and Castle.