Heygate estate residents facing compulsory purchase orders hit back

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities, Development

The remaining residents of a vast London housing estate earmarked for regeneration have responded to the compulsory purchase orders that have been ordered by the council.

Southwark council began clearing the Heygate Estate five years ago, but four leaseholders remain. The £1.5 billion redevelopment will provide 2,400 new homes, 25% of which will be for affordable housing.

The remaining residents have been given 28 days to respond to the orders.

The Heygate Leaseholders Group said that the prices being offered for their homes were half that of average properties in the borough. In a statement, the group said:

"Despite being situated just a few hundred yards from a zone 1 tube station, we are currently being offered around half of the average property price in the Borough for our homes. The Compulsory Purchase Order will result in us being dispossessed and permanently priced out of central London.

"We will be exercising our right to object to the Order on the grounds that the proposals are not in the public interest: the planning application for the new development proposes no affordable housing or renewable energy provision. It will see road traffic prioritised, the loss of 400 mature trees and the creation of a high-rise fortress of luxury homes that local people cannot afford.

"This regeneration scheme was conceived on the premise of creating a more 'mixed community'. In reality what we are seeing is state-sponsored segregation: the large-scale displacement from central London of those on lower incomes by high earners and overseas buy-to-let investors.

"We would also like to point out that our right to object is a privilege that other residents on the estate were not given: tenants had no legal right to object and those that did were evicted under the Landlord & Tenant Act. A long-standing community has been destroyed.

"We are not lone voices of discontent: our objections are being supported by local residents who have launched a campaign objecting to the proposals: www.35percent.org"

Concerning the purchase orders, Southwark Council said: "While almost all of the residents of the 1,200 original homes have chosen where to move elsewhere, just three remaining leaseholders remain on site; the council has been reasonable and flexible in offering alternative accommodation to them. However, the need to secure the estate to allow for much-awaited development and ensure public safety means that compulsory purchase of the remaining homes is the only way to ensure this happens in a reasonable timescale. Letters have been sent to the remaining residents, who will have 28 days to object to the decision."