Some Greenwich Council estates could face demolition as part of plans to “regenerate” the borough’s council housing.

No estates have yet been named, but plans for their future will be brought before a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The council has already pledged to upgrade its existing stock of council houses, but says it does not want to waste money on refurbishing estates which are near the end of their lives.

Regeneration has been a controversial issue in other boroughs – particularly Lambeth and Southwark – but less so in Greenwich,  despite the demolition of some high-profile estates in the past 20 years.

The Ferrier Estate has been replaced by Berkeley Homes’ Kidbrooke Village development, while the Connaught Estate in Woolwich was bulldozed and Lovell’s Trinity Walk built in its place.

But plans to rebuild the Morris Walk Estate were held up until Greenwich Council bought into Lovell’s replacement development, Trinity Park, spending £87 million on council housing.

Morris Walk Estate
Morris Walk Estate was constructed in the late 1960s and demolished by 2021.

Another estate to be redeveloped, Maryon Grove, sat largely empty and was hit by fires until demolition teams were sent in last summer. Lovell plans to rebrand the site as Trinity Rise, which will also feature council housing as part of the deal that kept the Morris Walk development afloat.

The council says that estates could be refurbished or have new homes built in them rather than be demolished. 

“To deliver net additional social rent and high-quality homes and to prevent the council from committing excessive funds to maintenance of properties which will soon reach their obsolescence a new programme of estate regeneration must be considered,” the paper says.

“Estate regeneration is defined in this context as the process of physical renewal of social housing estates through a range of interventions – from refurbishment and intensification to demolition and rebuilding. It is a broad process which aims to transform neighbourhoods and people’s lives through the delivery of high-quality housing and improved public space.

“Regeneration will therefore provide wide ranging and long-term benefits to residents, businesses and affected parties, such as, addressing health and educational attainment inequalities, fuel poverty and supporting inclusive economic growth.”

Kidbrooke Village has replaced the old Ferrier Estate. Image: The Greenwich Wire

The council says it also needs to look at its existing estates because it will soon run out of land and funding for new council homes. 

Greenwich has over 27,000 homes on its housing waiting list, the third highest figure in London – although this is partly down to the council allowing non-priority households onto its list, which is not the case in other boroughs. 

The council is considering closing access to these Band C households, but is delaying making a decision until later in the year. 

Instead, in a separate paper to go before cabinet, it is considering offering an extra £500 “downsizing” payment for tenants who arrange to swap homes so they move into smaller properties, helping families move out of overcrowded homes.

Last year it was revealed that one in six homeless households were being sent outside London by the council.

The papers will be discussed at cabinet on Wednesday.