“We’re gonna fight till the end”: One group of residents are fighting hard to save their green space
By Tallulah Taylor, Local Democracy Reporter
The residents of an estates are campaigning against plans to build new blocks of flats in their communal green space.
Families living on the Dacres Road Estate say they do not want the new homes which would cut their green space, increase pollution, decrease wildlife in the area and add to crime levels.
They claim they were not properly consulted about the planned developments by Lewisham Homes – the arms-length development firm of Lewisham council.
Their protests have involved their children painting big colourful banners in their shared garden.
On another day some of the other residents tied yellow ribbons around the trees to show the plan’s impact on trees and wildlife.
The residents also say the council has neglected some of the flats and worry about the potential for more of these issues if the plans go ahead.
Their homes have mould and damp problems, which they have told the council about – but the issues have remained unsolved.
Jennie Herbert and her daughter Katie said how much they value the green space and they often see starlings and other birds along with foxes and bats.
A resident (who did not wish to be named) said: “My concern is them repeating the same mistakes of the 60s and socially they know it doesn’t work.
I think there needs to be more thought into where they’re putting social housing. It will be a travesty.”
This resident is referring to the plans under David Cameron in 2016 to demolish many council estates which were built after the war and were referred to as ‘slums’ by Lord Heseltine.
This resident added: “It will be a sad thing to see if they build up a space and then in 20 to 30 years time we have the same problems of the estates that (were) pulled down.
I think there needs to be more thought into where the council puts social housing.”
Jennifer Dacres, a resident and organiser, said: “We just feel that Lewisham council has no sympathy, has no care, they just care about having their rent each month from the residents.
We do understand that there’s people who need to be rehoused but it’s a bit of a slap in the face.
“I hope they look at this and know how much we’re against it; we’re gonna fight till the end.”
Some of the damp in the videos provided by the tenants shows black mould in cupboards and dripping condensation on the walls. Jennifer said that when her son was younger he developed asthma after the damp in her flat got so bad.
Mr Plummer said: “Going ahead with this project will cause us tenants irreparable harm.
“We do not want it to become a concrete jungle.”
Lewisham Homes say they have engaged in consultation with the residents since March 2020 and made one-to-one phone calls and replied to queries.
They say that their team and appointed architects met with residents online, had door knocking sessions and posted a survey. There was a workshop for some tenants on reading architectural plans by an independent Lewisham architect.
A spokesman from Lewisham Homes said: “Building new homes means we can help families move out of temporary and emergency housing into a home of their own.
There are over 2,450 Lewisham families currently living in temporary accommodation, of which over 700 people stay in nightly accommodation.
“Lewisham Homes recognises that there are a number of concerns, and the local community will be able to have their say.
“We are working to ensure we effectively deal with repair issues like inter-flat water leaks, which if left unchecked lead to damp and mould.
We are seeking to be more proactive with leaks and ensure we manage these cases through to completion making sure we have fully resolved the problem…. We have engaged a specialist ‘track and trace’ company to resolve complex water leak cases.
We have also recently begun operating a damp and mould case register.”