Part of a new Greenwich Council housing development in Kidbrooke has been named in honour of Christine Grice, a senior councillor who died five years ago.
Christine Grice Gardens is part of the development being built by the Brook Estate off Rochester Way, which will provide 80 new homes when completed later this year.
Grice died in April 2020 at the age of 68, just a few weeks after she had been elected deputy leader by her Labour colleagues, after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of stomach cancer. Her death came just a few months after she had been given the all-clear following 18 months of treatment for breast cancer.
She had previously worked at Lewisham Council and had represented the old Kidbrooke with Hornfair ward, which covered the estate, since 2014.
Councillors from both Labour and Conservative parties had praised her work as cabinet member for finance, where she had taken board suggestions from across the council to help it deal with the impact of government austerity.
Members of Grice’s family, including her husband Chris, were at the ceremony last week, along with Eltham & Chislehurst MP Clive Efford and council leader Anthony Okereke. Former council leaders Danny Thorpe and Denise Hyland also attended, along with the ceremonial mayor, Jit Ranhabat.
Okereke said: “Councillor Christine Grice’s dedication to the people of Greenwich was an inspiration to everyone who came into contact with her. She fought tirelessly to champion fairness and equality for all in our borough.
“We have named part of this beautiful new social housing development after Cllr Grice to honour her memory. The council has built these homes in her former ward for those most in need across the borough, the kind of people Cllr Grice worked so hard to help.
“These sustainable houses will give people the safety and security they need to build healthy, happy lives, and we hope this is an honour befitting her legacy.”
Grice’s achievements included helping to set up a fairness commission, which recommended exempting the borough’s poorest residents from council tax. That exemption was removed this month and replaced with a hardship fund.
Building new homes on green space on the Brook Estate was controversial with neighbours, but the project was given the go-ahead in 2021 with a commitment to build two small parks and an improved play area. However, work was delayed after a sub-contractor went bust. Tenants have already moved into the first 18 homes, some after living in expensive temporary accommodation.
The project is part of the council’s Greenwich Builds programme to build 1,750 new homes, with the town hall either building the projects itself or buying into private developments. Over 740 have been built or are under construction, with more in the pipeline.
Plans were recently submitted for small developments of council houses on garage sites at Westmount Road in Eltham, Southwood Road in New Eltham and at Zangwill Road and Wricklemarsh Road in Kidbrooke.
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