The proposals would remove Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens from the estate redevelopment programme and Knights Walk and Trinity Rise from the New Homes Hexagon Portfolio. The council’s approach will instead maintain existing homes, return empty properties to use and deliver genuinely affordable homes while respecting the borough’s architectural heritage.
Council officers have found comprehensive redevelopment of Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens financially unviable. At Knights Walk, the completed first phase has left the proposed second-phase site inaccessible and therefore unviable.
Proposals going to Cabinet on 21 October would:
- Protect Central Hill in Crystal Palace and Cressingham Gardens beside Brockwell Park, by ending plans for demolition, retaining their distinctive design and communities, investing in existing homes and returning empty properties to use.
- Remove Knights Walk from the redevelopment programme because the completed first phase blocked building the second phase making it inaccessible and unviable.
- Work with residents on plans for Westbury estate in Clapham Town, with the potential to deliver 100s of new homes, including more genuinely affordable homes.
- Review options for Fenwick Estate in Clapham North with residents.
- Develop options for South Lambeth estate with residents.
- Identify suitable small sites and infill opportunities across the borough.
- Use the full range of delivery routes for new council and social homes, including purchasing homes and direct council delivery.
The council was previously taking forward the estate renewal programme through Homes for Lambeth. The 2022 Kerslake Review recommended closing down the company and the programme was brought back into the council.
Cllr Martin Abrams, Leader of Lambeth Council, said: “This is a decisive moment for Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens. It recognises the relentless work of my colleagues in securing the future for these communities without demolition. We can now focus on investing in residents’ homes and bringing empty properties back into use.”
Cllr Pete Elliott, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “For over 12 years, we have fought for a better future for Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens. These proposals end years of uncertainty and put the focus where it belongs: repairing homes, supporting communities and filling empty properties.
“We will work with residents, examine all opportunities, and use every tool available to build the council and social homes Lambeth needs.”
Cllr Scott Ainslie, Cabinet Member for Property, Planning and Development, Built Environment and Public Realm, said: “Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens are valued places with strong communities and distinctive architecture. We have stood with residents for years in arguing that their future should not depend on demolition.
“We can build the homes Lambeth needs without erasing the best of what earlier generations created. Our new programme will pursue high-quality, sustainable council and social housing on suitable sites, using every viable delivery model.”
What happens next
Cabinet will consider the proposals on 21 October. Residents will receive a letter, and updates will be published on each estate’s website before the meeting.
More detail on Lambeth’s New Homes Programme—including reviews of the remaining sites and plans for new council and social housing—will follow later this year.
For more information, visit the Lambeth Council website.
