Residents in Thamesmead are occupying an empty house to protest against plans to knock down their estate to build 1,950 homes.
Peabody housing association’s plans for the estate won outline planning permission from Bexley Council for the project in October 2022. The Lesnes Estate, off Yarnton Way, would be demolished as part of the proposals.
Protesters moved in on Saturday and have said they will stay put until Peabody’s executive director, John Lewis, meets them to discuss refurbishing empty homes on the estate instead of demolishing them.
Dolorosa Buhari, 69, who has lived in a home she owns on the estate since 2003, said: “Most of us here are retired and we have worked our lives to pay and say ‘this is our home’. Then Peabody come in to tell us they want to take our property, offering peanuts.
“The money they are offering cannot even get you a one bedroom flat anywhere in London. I don’t think even Peabody’s forklifts will lift me away from here.”
She added: “Now that the Elizabeth line is here, Peabody wants to make money out of it and think they should take us away. They are not going to.”
Maria Ivanova, 72, said she had experienced health problems due to the stress associated with being told to sell her home to Peabody and that property prices around Abbey Wood station had risen since the Elizabeth line opened in 2022.
She said: “They are interested in the land to build this big block of flats but they are not interested in people who live here at the moment. This is not a charity organisation in my opinion if they don’t care about the people.
“At the age of 72, I will not be able to buy another house with the money that they suggest that we can have.”
Johnnel Olabhie, 56, who has lived in the estate for 20 years after buying his home there, said Peabody caseworkers had told homeowners they had no choice but to give up their property during a consultation in 2016. He added that homes and communal areas had been in a state of managed decline ever since then with lighting and bins being removed.
He accused Peabody of “bullying” residents by saying they would be served with compulsory purchase orders if they did not sell.
In a ballot held in 2020, 70.2 per cent of residents voted in favour of the plans, on a 65.4 per cent turnout,
A Peabody spokesperson said: “Redevelopment is the very best option for the estate. It will provide high quality, energy-efficient homes for local people, while helping to address the housing shortage. We consulted with tenants and resident homeowners about our plans over a four-year period and held a ballot in 2020, with the majority voting in favour.”
The spokesperson added that Peabody would continue to carry out repairs and maintenance and that its environmental services team worked on the estate daily.
They said: “We want to keep the community together. That’s why we’re offering all resident homeowners the opportunity to move to a brand new Peabody home in South Thamesmead through our shared equity offer.
“This means they can buy a home up to double the value of their current one, without having to take on an additional mortgage. All tenants who are paying social rent now will continue to pay social rent in their new home in South Thamesmead.”
“All homes are valued by an independent chartered surveyor and many homeowners have accepted our offer of market value for their home plus a 10 per cent compensation payment.”
Parts of south Thamesmead have already been rebuilt by Peabody, with the Cygnet Square development replacing the old Tavy Bridge blocks. But the housing association, which has took charge of Thamesmead a decade ago, has also left plots in the area empty, including the old Harrow Inn site south of Abbey Wood station.
Joe Coughlan is the local democracy reporter for Bexley. Additional reporting and editing by Darryl Chamberlain.
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