Central Hill: The Alternative to Demolition

The images in this report were presented to the Central Hill estate Residents Engagement Panel on the 17 May, 2016. The proposals also take on board comments from Lambeth Council’s planning department, as well as comments from residents, neighbours and other architects following ASH’s previous exhibition on 20 February, 2016. The award winning Central Hill … Continue reading Central Hill: The Alternative to Demolition

West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates: New Homes and Improvements without Demolition. Feasibility Study Report

‘Residents came up with the People’s Plan, which shows the professionals how new development ought to be done. At the outset, Community Homes brought more than 100 residents into workshops and site visits with architects.* Residents and architects together identified space for up to 327 new homes and devised plans for improvements to their homes, … Continue reading West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates: New Homes and Improvements without Demolition. Feasibility Study Report

Resistance Begins at Home: The Housing and Planning Act

London’s housing crisis is at a crossroads. The Conservative Government’s Housing and Planning Bill has passed to an Act. We have a new Labour Mayor, elected on a manifesto promise to build 50,000 new homes a year on demolished council estate land. David Cameron will soon launch his Blitzkrieg campaign on 100 so-called ‘sink estates’ … Continue reading Resistance Begins at Home: The Housing and Planning Act

ASH Presentation to Central Hill Estate Residents Engagement Panel

Introduction We’re here to present the design proposals drawn up by Architects for Social Housing for the regeneration of Central Hill Estate to the Central Hill Resident Engagement Panel. We also make our presentation – or rather re-present our proposals – to the residents of Central Hill Estate, whose exclusion from the decisions that will … Continue reading ASH Presentation to Central Hill Estate Residents Engagement Panel

And Then There Were None: The Housing and Planning Bill

On Tuesday 3 May, Brandon Lewis, the Minister for Housing and Planning responsible for driving the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill through Parliament, rejected 12 of the 13 amendments proposed by the House of Lords. Financial privilege, a convention that deters peers from voting against the Government’s Budget, was invoked in six of the amendments … Continue reading And Then There Were None: The Housing and Planning Bill

Resistance by Design: West Kensington & Gibbs Green Estates

The regeneration of London’s council estates is by now widely regarded as the answer to the housing shortage that is driving up the cost of living in the capital beyond the means of most Londoners, both renters and home buyers alike. However, in one of the contradictions that is driving London’s housing crisis, this solution … Continue reading Resistance by Design: West Kensington & Gibbs Green Estates

Campaigning with Khan and Corbyn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLJ1sxcIXeE This week Zac Goldsmith, the Tory candidate for London Mayor, said he had an ‘ethical duty’ to demolish London’s council estates. In justification for his plans, he pointed to a recent report by estate agent Savills and their claim that they could build 360,000 new homes in their place at a rate of 50,000 … Continue reading Campaigning with Khan and Corbyn

The Doomsday Book: Mapping London’s Housing Crisis

The London Housing Commission On Monday, 7 March, the London Housing Commission held a launch for their Final Report to Government on solutions to London’s housing crisis. The Commission, whose chair, Lord Kerslake, is also the chair of Peabody, was set up by the Institute of Public Policy Research, a think-tank that last March published … Continue reading The Doomsday Book: Mapping London’s Housing Crisis