‘It’s like a ghetto’: Residents fear estate left to rot before redevelopment

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Estate residents fear it is being left to crumble as the council plans to knock it down.

Lewisham Council plans to start rebuilding the Achilles Street estate in New Cross over the next few years.

Lewisham says it wants to increase the number of social rent homes on the estate with the redevelopment.

Residents voted in favour of rebuilding the Achilles Street estate in 2019 in a ballot where the other option was leaving the estate as it was.

Residents say they have since been forgotten about, with broken walls and gates still unfixed months after being reported to Lewisham Homes – the council’s housing company.

One resident said she felt the estate was becoming a “ghetto”.

Suzy Bukasa, 22, said: “The wall outside has been broken for months since someone crashed into it. A lady from the council came around at the time and said she’d fix it herself. I haven’t seen her since then. It’s like a ghetto. I don’t see anything happening for a few years.

“It would be a good thing if they got on with the rebuild. I’ve been living here since primary school and it’s depressing to see the same thing every day.”

Lewisham council previous estimated it could construct 450 homes on the Achilles Street estate but has yet to confirm the exact number.

James McCord, 82, was in the minority of residents who voted against the rebuild in 2019. Despite this, he said he wasn’t worried about the plans as he expected to be dead before the council got around to starting work on the development.

He said: “They’ll rebuild it but not in my lifetime. I’ve been here for 30 years and I don’t see anything wrong with the estate as it is. The problem is they don’t maintain it.

“The front gate came off nine years ago because the people upstairs threw a settee down when they were moving out and it has still not been fixed. This is Lewisham’s way of getting us to move I think. I would move if they moved us out to the countryside.”

A Lewisham council spokesman said: “The redevelopment of the Achilles Street estate was supported overwhelmingly by residents in the ballot in 2019, with 73 per cent voting in favour on a 92 per cent turnout.

“It will deliver a significant increase in the number of social homes on the estate, helping families on our housing waiting list. Residents have been closely involved in developing designs for the scheme, including appointing the architects, ensuring this is a truly resident-led redevelopment.

“Lewisham Homes are continuing to carry out repairs on the estate and residents should continue to report any issues with their property or the wider estate to Lewisham Homes.”

Pictured top: James McCord voted against the rebuild of the estate in a 2019 ballot (Picture: Robert Firth)