Lambeth Cabinet voted unanimously on 21 October to end demolition plans for Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens and back the Westbury rebuild in Clapham.

Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens will not be demolished. Lambeth’s Cabinet voted unanimously on Wednesday 21 October to end estate renewal on both. The council’s draft minutes of the meeting were published on 28 October (Cabinet minutes).

Central Hill is in Crystal Palace, about three and a half miles south-east of Clapham Common. Cressingham Gardens sits beside Brockwell Park, about two miles east. Both estates have lived with the prospect of demolition for more than a decade.

The same vote moves the Westbury estate rebuild in Clapham to its next stage. We set out what the report asked for, estate by estate, in our preview of the meeting.

What Cabinet decided

The minutes record seven resolutions, all agreed unanimously. Cabinet:

  • approved the recommendation that renewal at Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens “is not pursued as there are no viable options”
  • removed Knights Walk Phase 2 in Kennington and Trinity Rise from the New Homes Programme, as “not deliverable, nor financially viable”
  • agreed “the next stage of commitment” to the council scheme at Westbury
  • noted that a recommendation on the Fenwick estate in Clapham North is expected in early 2027, after more consultation
  • noted that a recommendation on the South Lambeth estate is expected in spring 2027
  • gave the Corporate Director of Housing power to take the two dropped schemes out of the council’s partnering agreement with its builder

Nothing in the decision commits money to repairs yet. The minutes say the maintenance bill for the retained estates will go into the council’s 30-year Housing Revenue Account business plan, which is still to come to Cabinet.

What residents told the meeting

Nine residents and community representatives spoke. The minutes summarise them by estate rather than quoting them.

Speakers from Central Hill and Cressingham Gardens described years of uncertainty. They welcomed the end of demolition and asked the council to spend on repairs, refurbishment, retrofit and community facilities.

Westbury residents raised “concerns about communication, transparency, trust, the treatment of leaseholders and the need for meaningful resident involvement”. They asked for clear information about the estate’s future and “realistic options for leaseholders”.

South Lambeth speakers backed refurbishment and retrofit and said they had put forward alternative proposals. Cabinet said those had been passed to the Corporate Director of Housing.

The questions from opposition councillors

Cllr Simon Cordon, for the Liberal Democrats, welcomed the end of uncertainty. He questioned the cost of maintenance and retrofit, the loss of homes from the pipeline and the lack of scrutiny before the decision.

Three Labour councillors, Claire Holland, Erica Abu and David Ford, asked why the options appraisals had not been published. They also asked how many social rented homes would now be built, and how the council would meet housing need without the dropped schemes.

Cabinet members answered that:

  • the maintenance estimates came from external stock condition surveys and do not include retrofit
  • an external check of the business plan found the costs could be absorbed “without significant changes to the plan”
  • officers are looking at infill, small sites and other council land for new homes
  • re-establishing a resident engagement group at Central Hill “would be considered”

The report to the meeting put the 30-year maintenance bill at about £53 million for Central Hill and £30 million for Cressingham Gardens (Equality Impact Assessment).

What it means for you

If you live on Central Hill or Cressingham Gardens, your home is staying. What has not been decided is how much will be spent on it, or when. That depends on the 30-year business plan, which has no Cabinet date yet. Officers say they will work with residents on next steps, including how residents are consulted.

If you live on the Westbury estate, the council scheme with Vistry (Countryside) and Hyde Housing goes ahead to its next stage. The report expected the development agreement to be signed this autumn and engagement with residents to start before Christmas. Any rebuild still needs planning permission, and the council has said residents will get a ballot.

If you live on the Fenwick estate, there is still no decision. One is due in early 2027.

The minutes are a draft. Cabinet is due to approve them as a correct record on Wednesday 25 November. Other housing schemes are tracked on our Clapham planning news page.

Sources