Nearly six years ago, in December 2005, I posted this short sketchy video which animates views of council flats undergoing demolition. The photographs were taken in August 2005, the Elmington Estate being demolished is just on the edge of Burgess Park on Edmund Street, Camberwell, South London. I have just reposted it as part of an occasional series for which I plan to post 'archival' Direct Language videos as some of the links to the original videos at the Internet Archive seem to be broken.
Looking back at the video I was curious to see what had become of the site after the credit crunch. I was expecting to find the estate to be replaced by some kind of new development, hopefully retaining some social housing at the very least. I was slightly surprised then to find that, in spite of being demolished, as this view from Google Maps attests to
it has been transformed into a wasteland by Southwark Council, which has since handed it over to Notting Hill Housing for regeneration.
On the face of it Notting Hill Housing seems to be a perfectly responsible, local organisation with an interest in social housing, which is in some contrast with the global developers the council uses elsewhere for more lucrative high profile developments such as the Heygate Estate at Elephant and Castle. But after six years the site remains uninhabited, where the decanted residents are now who knows, or whether they to be part of the new community, and the regeneration plans as outlined by Southwark Council are ambiguous indeed.
On the face of it Notting Hill Housing seems to be a perfectly responsible, local organisation with an interest in social housing, which is in some contrast with the global developers the council uses elsewhere for more lucrative high profile developments such as the Heygate Estate at Elephant and Castle. But after six years the site remains uninhabited, where the decanted residents are now who knows, or whether they to be part of the new community, and the regeneration plans as outlined by Southwark Council are ambiguous indeed.
3 comments:
still so fresh and relevant! suberb to se it again.
best regards sam
Notting Hill Housing Trust desire to introduce the infamous 80% Market Social Rent in the Elmington Scheme. Bastards!
I lost my home in one of the demolished blocks and opted for one of the new build flats on site. What a mistake. The new flats are jerry built rubbish. Pokey shoeboxes with NO soundproofing. BPTW who designed these hellish and downright UGLY buildings have been awarded the contract for the next phase. Take it from me—"regeneration" is a big CON. The architects. consultants. property developers etc are in it for the money and have NO RESPECT for the tenants. They are condescending and patronising, and think we are all uneducated morons. I went to their 'consultation' meetings and it was all one-way traffic. Every day I wish I was back in my old maisonette in the old Elmington "Four Towers" instead of this rattling resonating shoebox.
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