This is a piece by London Live on the programme for Estate Regeneration. This programme is only just starting and will of course take a good deal of time to deliver. The Council Press statement is detailed below.
We are planning to embark on a 15 year programme to regenerate the largest housing estates in the borough.
The ambitious programme would provide better quality homes for council tenants and would bring much-needed new housing to the area.
Phase one of the programme would see the regeneration of the Cambridge Road Estate with Kingsnympton Park and Sheephouse Way to follow.
Councillor Kevin Davis, Leader of the Council, said,
"Our estates regeneration programme is being undertaken because the Council wishes to ensure that a borough such as Kingston has housing that is the best it can be for all our residents. Our view is that the current housing stock does not meet that criteria and will not be able to cope with the growth of population that Kingston will see over the next few decades. I want us to have more Council owned properties so we can support more Kingston residents to live and work in our borough."
Councillor Cathy Roberts, Lead Member for Housing at Kingston Council, said,
“These are early days for this programme. Any construction work is likely to start several years down the line, but there is a lot of work for us to do in the meantime.
“We already understand that there are a number of options we can pursue to deliver estates regeneration but we are not going to be rushed. We are determined to take the time to work with local residents to get this right. The programme will be led by the Council and the community, building homes for local people and with ownership of our land maintained by the Council.
“Residents, especially council tenants and leaseholders, must play a key role in shaping the plans and we will make sure there is plenty of time built in to the programme for those detailed conversations. That's why it is unlikely we would see any work on the ground before 2018.”
At the heart of the proposed programme is an ambition to create mixed, sustainable communities. Tenants and leaseholders who want to remain living on the estate following the regeneration would be supported to do so.
Estate regeneration is essential to provide much needed additional housing and improve the condition of the borough’s housing estates to make them places where people want to live. Our Better Homes programme has already gone a long way to improving the condition of the existing stock, but we believe that some estates need a more fundamental overhaul to provide homes of exceptional quality.
