Heygate Estate: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=JulyJanuary 20132023}}

|location = [[Elephant and& Castle]], [[Walworth]], [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]], [[London]], England

The '''Heygate Estate''' was a large [[housing estate]] in [[Walworth]], [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]], [[South London]], comprising 12141,214 homes. The estate was demolished between 2011 and 2014 as part of the [[urban regeneration]] of the [[Elephant and& Castle]] area.<ref name="Moore">{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13092349 | title='Muggers' paradise' the Heygate Estate is demolished |publisher=[[BBC News]]| location=London | date=15 April 2011 | accessdateaccess-date=2011-04-15 | first=Keith | last=Moore}}</ref> Home to more than 3,000 people,<ref name="youngfoundation.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.planning.ri.gov/documents/comp/Design_for_Social_Sustainability.pdf |title=Design for Social Sustainability : A Framework for Creating Thriving New Communities |publisher=Plannig.ri.gov |accessdateaccess-date=2014-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304222014/http://www.planning.ri.gov/documents/comp/Design_for_Social_Sustainability.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> it was situated adjacent to [[Walworth Road]] and [[New Kent Road]], and immediately east of the [[Elephant and& Castle]] road intersection. The estate was used extensively as a filming location, due in part to its [[brutalist architecture]].

==ConstructionHistory==

Designed by Tim Tinker,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/04/death-housing-ideal | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Stephen | last=Moss | title=The death of a housing ideal | date=4 March 2011}}</ref> the estate was completed in 1974.<ref name=guardian>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/dec/23/life1.lifemagazine1 | title=The Elephant's grave yard |publisherwork=The Guardian | location=London | date=23 December 2001 | accessdateaccess-date=2010-05-04 | first=Michael | last=Collins}}</ref>

The estate was once a popular place to live, the flats being thought light and spacious,<ref name="Walker">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/sep/03/heygate-estate-south-london-hollywood | title=South London's Heygate estate mourned by locals – and Hollywood | publisherwork=The Guardian | first=Peter | last=Walker | date=3 September 2010}}</ref> but the estate later developed a reputation for crime, poverty and dilapidation.<ref name=bbc>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2009/03/05/london_heygate_s15_w8_video_feature.shtml | title=Heygate estate | publisher=BBC London | accessdateaccess-date=2013-10-02 }}</ref> One resident complained about constant noise, crime and threats of violence as a result of the estate being used for temporary housing ahead of its redevelopment. He claimed that the sheer scale of many of the blocks also meant there was little sense of community.<ref name="my home demolished">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2006/oct/21/homes?INTCMP=SRCH | title=My Home is Going to Be Demolished | publisherwork=The Guardian | location=London | first=Ros | last=Anderson | date=21 October 2006}}</ref> However, other residents disagreed that the estate should have been considered a slum and an eyesore, or that the buildings failed to foster a sense of community{{according to whom|date=July 2018}}. Around 30 separate testimonies from former residents have been collated by a local microblogging site.<ref name="Steadman">{{cite web|last=Steadman|first=Ian|title=Look to the Heygate Estate for what's wrong with London's housing|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/11/heygate-estates-death-represents-l|publisher=New Statesman|accessdateaccess-date=22 November 2013}}</ref> Architect Tim Tinker described the estate's 'notorious' reputation as a "farrago of half-truths and lies put together by people who should have known better."<ref>{{cite news|last=Online|first=BBC|title=Heygate Compulsory Purchase Order Upheld|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23371735|publisher=BBC|accessdateaccess-date=25 November 2013|date=19 July 2013}}</ref>

In 1999 Southwark council's Director of Regeneration Fred Manson sparked controversy when in an interview about the Elephant & Castle regeneration he claimed that "social housing generates people on low incomes coming in and that generates poor school performances, middle-class people stay away."<ref>{{cite news|last=Orr|first=Deborah|title=A blueprint for the rich|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/a-blueprint-for-the-rich-1103116.html|publisherwork=[[The Independent]]|accessdateaccess-date=22 November 2013|location=London|date=29 June 1999}}</ref>

The [[Elephant and& Castle]] regeneration is a £1.5 billion scheme to redevelop the area around the Elephant and& Castle road junction. The regeneration plan led to the demolition of the Heygate Estate, with the land planned to provide 2,704 new homes, of which 82 will be social rented.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Campaign|first1=35 Percent|title=35% Campaign|url=http://35percent.org/affordable-housing/|website=Campaign site – link to planning docs|publisher=LB Southwark|accessdateaccess-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> The demolition cost approximately £15 million, with an additional £44m spent on emptying the estate and a further £21.5 million spent on progressing its redevelopment.<ref name="Steadman"/><ref>[http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=20296 Southwark Council] Retrieved 4 July 2014</ref>

Heygate residents were originally promised new homes as part of the regeneration, but these had not been built by the time they were 'decanted' from the estate in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|last=Moss|first=Stephen|title=Death of a Housing Ideal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/04/death-housing-ideal|work=GuardianThe Newspaper|publisher=Guardian Media Group|accessdateaccess-date=24 June 2013|location=London|date=4 March 2011}}</ref>

In March 2010 only 20 of the 1200 flats were still occupied.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/living-in-ghostland-the-last-heygate-residents-1930054.html | location=London | title=Living in Ghostland: the last Heygate residents|date=29 March 2010| work=The Independent}}</ref>

A council blunder in February 2013 revealed that itSouthwark had sold the 9-hectare estate to developers [[Lend Lease GroupLendlease]] at a huge loss, for just £50m, having spent £44m emptying the site and £21.5m on planning its redevelopment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bar-Hillel|first=Mira|title=Elephant & Castle Estate Revamp Ripped Off Taxpayers|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/elephant-and-castle-estate-revamp-ripped-off-taxpayers-8482794.html|work=[[Evening Standard Newspaper]]|publisherdate=Evening6 StandardFebruary 2013|accessdatelocation=London|access-date=24 June 2013}}</ref>

Earlier regeneration plans had included a proposal for redevelopment of the estate under the auspices of a [[Communitycommunity land trust|Community Land Trust]]; however, the Councilcouncil had rejected this proposal on the grounds that it would reduce the land value available to itself.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stringer|first=Jacob|title=Housing Co-operatives: Building Resistance to the Market|url=http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/article_comments/housing_co_operatives_building_resistance_to_the_market|publisher=New Left Project|accessdateaccess-date=21 March 2014}}</ref>

In February 2013 the last remaining residents on the estate appeared at a public inquiry into the Compulsory Purchase Order issued on their homes.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jon|first=Land|title=Feelings Run High as Heygate estate Public Inquiry Closes|url=http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2013-02-11-feelings-running-high-as-heygate-estate-public-inquiry-closes|publisher=Dash24|accessdateaccess-date=4 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213733/http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2013-02-11-feelings-running-high-as-heygate-estate-public-inquiry-closes|archive-date=4 October 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The residents were part of a local group named ''Better Elephant'' which proposed alternatives to demolition in its [[Neighborhood planning|Neighbourhood Plan]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Emma|first=Ailes|title=Heygate's a Green Haven|url=http://betterelephant.org/images/southwarknewsBEarticle.jpg|work=[[Southwark News]] |publisher=Southwark Newspaper Ltd |accessdateaccess-date=4 July 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://betterelephant.org/ Better Elephant] Retrieved 4 July 2014</ref> and were supported by Catherine Croft from the [[Twentieth Century Society]] who confirmed that the estate could "easily be refurbished".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Elizabeth|first1=Hopkirk|title=Building Design Magazine|url=http://www.bdonline.co.uk/heygate-was-no-muggers-paradise-says-original-architect/5050061.article|website=bdonline.co.uk|publisher=UBM Plc|accessdateaccess-date=8 October 2014}}</ref>

The Compulsory Purchase Order was confirmed in July 2013 amid reports <ref>{{cite web|author=Mira Bar-Hillel |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/residents-of-the-heygate-estate-forced-to-move-out-of-london-8743216.html |title=Residents of the Heygate estate forced to move out of London – London – News – London |work=Evening Standard |publisherlocation=Standard.co.uk London|date=2013-08-02 |accessdateaccess-date=2013-12-31}}</ref> that the remaining residents were being forced to relocate to the outskirts of London.

In September 2013 a [[London Assembly]] report <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Crumbs_for_Londoners.pdf |title=London Assembly report |access-date= |accessdate=2013-12-31}}</ref> claimed that Southwark Council had looked at different options for the estate in 1998. It said the surveyors found that the buildings were structurally sound and suggested that the best option was refurbishment. It said that the survey also found that four in five residents didn’tdid not want to move off the estate, and that the crime rate was half the average for the borough of Southwark.

In December 2013 the [[Design Council]] published an article, "''in defence of the Heygate estate''", in which it praised the architectural design, questioned the demolition and asserted that the estate "''could have enjoyed a second life''".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bender|first1=Thomas|title=In Defence of the Heygate estate|url=http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/defence-heygate-estate|website=http://designcouncil.co.uk[[Design Council]]|publisherdate=The3 DesignDecember Council2013|accessdateaccess-date=8 October 2014}}</ref>

===Timeline of developments===

February 2004 —<ref>{{cite news|last=Dangerfield|first=Andy|title=Heygate Estate residents fight compulsory purchase order|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19371334|accessdateaccess-date=29 August 2012|newspaperpublisher=BBC News|date=29 August 2012}}</ref> the masterplan for regenerating the Elephant and Castle, including the demolition of the Heygate Estate, was adopted by Southwark Council.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3504715.stm | title=Massive revamp for the Elephant |publisher=BBC | location=London | date=20 February 2004 | accessdateaccess-date=2011-04-15 | first=Keith | last=Moore}}</ref>

July 2007 —– a consortium of [[Lend Lease GroupLendlease]], First Base and Oakmayne were chosen as developers for the Elephant and Castle regeneration scheme.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=32771&hilite= | title=Partner picked for £1.5billion Elephant revival |publisher=responsesource | location=London | date=24 July 2007 | accessdateaccess-date=2011-04-15 | first=Keith | last=Moore}}</ref>

July 2010 —– Southwark Council signed a development agreement with global property giant [[Lend Lease Group]]Lendlease for the regeneration of Elephant and Castle.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10548027 | title=Elephant and Castle regeneration plan given go-ahead |publisher=BBC | location=London | date=7 July 2010 | accessdateaccess-date=2011-04-15 | first=Keith | last=Moore}}</ref>

April 2011 —– demolition of the Heygate Estate began.<ref name="Moore"/>

August 2012 —– the remaining leaseholders on the estate were served with a Compulsory Purchase Order by Southwark Council. The group of leaseholders said they intended to object to the Order on the grounds that the redevelopment plan proposes no affordable housing and does not have a provision for renewable energy.<ref name="BBC Dangerfield">{{cite news|last=Dangerfield|first=Andy|title=Heygate estate residents fight Compulsory Purchase Order|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19371334|accessdateaccess-date=6 September 2012|newspaperpublisher=BBC Online|date=29 August 2012}}</ref>

October 2012 —– local MP [[Simon Hughes]] called for the first detailed Heygate planning application to be withdrawn because it proposed just eight social rented homes.<ref>{{cite news|last=BBC|firstdepartment=London News|title=MP calls for more affordable flats on estate|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20061007|publisher=BBC|accessdateaccess-date=25 October 2012|date=25 October 2012}}</ref> Outline planning permission for the Heygate site proposes 2,535 new homes in total of which just 79 will be social rented.<ref>{{cite web|last=Minton|first=Anna|title=The reconfiguration of London is akin to social cleansing|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/27/reconfiguration-london-akin-social-cleansing|publisherwork=The Guardian|accessdatedate=27 March 2013|access-date=30 November 2013}}</ref>

November 2013 —– the last remaining residents were evicted from the estate by bailiffs.<ref>{{cite web|last1name=Walker|first1=Peter|title=Bailiffs"deathknell" sound death knell for vast Heygate estate in London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/04/bailiffs-death-knell-heygate-estate|website=https://www.theguardian.com|publisher=The Guardian Newspaper|accessdate=8 October 2014}}</ref>

July 2014 —– the Council leader was criticised for having accepted gifts from developer Lend Lease; these included a trip to [[MIPIM]], a real estate jamboree in [[Cannes]], and two £1,600 tickets to the [[2012 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Private Eye News|url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/wn3fnv2bpxlnbj0/PrivateEye6.png|accessdateaccess-date=26 July 2014|issue=1371|publisher=Pressdram[[Private Ltd.Eve]]|date=25 July 2014}}</ref>

July 2014 —– demolition of the Heygate Estate was completed earlier than expected. The land is presently being redeveloped as housing and retail space, and the area is being marketed as 'Elephant Park'.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.elephantpark.co.uk/news-and-editorial/news/regenerated-heygate-estate-to-be-named-elephant-park| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150326021034/http://www.elephantpark.co.uk/news-and-editorial/news/regenerated-heygate-estate-to-be-named-elephant-park| archive-date = 2015-03-26| title = Elephant Park}}</ref>

==Heygate inIn popular culture==

Due to its [[urban decay]] and location, the estate has been extensively used as a filming location. Films and TV productions have included ''[[Attack the Block]]'', ''[[Shank (2010 film)|Shank]]'',<ref name=southpress>{{cite web|url=http://www.icsouthlondon.co.uk/tn/News.cfm?id=36494 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110724171706/http://www.icsouthlondon.co.uk/tn/News.cfm?id=36494 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2011 |title=Controversial new film 'Shank' causes a stir on the Heygate Estate |publisher=South London Press }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ''[[Harry Brown (film)|Harry Brown]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmaps.com/films/harry-brown-ref-1226/ |title=Movies filmed in &#124; Enjoy the best film locations in with filmaps |publisher=Filmaps.com |access-date= |accessdate=2013-12-31}}</ref> ''[[The Veteran (2011 film)|The Veteran]]'',<ref name=BBC>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10662012 | title=Actors on The Veteran film spark police gun inquiry | workpublisher=BBC News | date=16 July 2010}}</ref> ''[[World War Z (film)|World War Z]]'',<ref name=TheLocationGuide>{{cite web | url=http://www.thelocationguide.com/blog/2012/02/world-war-z-filming-location-in-london-to-prioritise-more-optimistic-projects/ | title=World War Z filming location in London to prioritise more optimistic projects | publisher=The Location Guide | accessdateaccess-date=2013-10-02}}</ref> ''[[Luther (TV series)|Luther]]'' (series 1 ep. 2), ''[[The Bill]]''<ref name="Walker"/> and gang drama ''[[Top Boy]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16858535|title = South London housing estate residents say no to film-makers|date = 3 February 2012|publisher = BBC News}}</ref> High-profile music videos, including "[[Hung Up]]" by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] and "[[Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)]]" by [[David Guetta]] vs The Egg, were also filmed on the estate. A total of 76 films were made on the estate over the three years to 2010, earning Southwark Council £91,000 in fees.<ref name=Film>{{cite web | url=http://www.southwarknews.co.uk/00,news,20795,440,00.htm | title=Filming on Heygate Nets Council £91,000 | publisher=Southwark News | accessdateaccess-date=2013-10-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726110218/http://www.southwarknews.co.uk/00,news,20795,440,00.htm | archive-date=26 July 2011 | url-status=dead| df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The estate was served by [[London Buses]] routes [[London Buses route 142|142]], [[London Buses route 12|12]], [[London Buses route 35|35]], [[London Buses route 40|40]], [[London Buses route 45|45]],

===London Undergroundunderground===

===National Railrail===

The nearest station was [[Elephant & Castle railway station|Elephant & Castle]] for [[Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern]] and [[First Capital Connect]]
services towards [[Ashford International railway station|Ashford International]], [[Bedford railway station|Bedford]], [[Dover Priory railway station|Dover Priory]], [[London Blackfriars railway station|London Blackfriars]], [[Luton railway station|Luton]], [[Sevenoaks railway station|Sevenoaks]], [[St Albans City railway station|St Albans City]], [[St Pancras International railway station|St Pancras International]], [[Sutton (Surrey) railway station (London)|Sutton]], [[West Hampstead railway station|West Hampstead]] and [[Wimbledon railway station|Wimbledon]].

==RelatedSee also==

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}