Many of Thamesmead estate’s long-standing residents want revamp not demolition

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

Bexley residents have protested against plans to demolish their estate to build nearly 2,000 new homes on the site.

People living in the Lesnes Estate in Thamesmead have been occupying an empty house on the estate since Saturday, opposing plans from Peabody to build 1,950 new homes.

Bexley council gave outline planning permission to the housing association for the project in October 2022, with homes on the Lesnes Estate being knocked down to accommodate the new scheme.

The residents said they would stay in the house until a conversation is opened between them and the executive director of Peabody, John Lewis, to discuss refurbishing empty homes on the estate instead of demolishing them.

Dolorosa Buhari, 69, who has lived in a home she owns on the estate since 2003, said: “It’s disheartening that we are all facing this.

“Most of us here are retired and we have worked our lives to pay and to say ‘this is our home’ and then Peabody come in to tell us they want to take our property, offering peanuts.

“I don’t think even Peabody’s forklifts would lift me away from here.”

She added: “Now that the Elizabeth line is here, Peabody wants to make money out of it and think they should take us away. They are not going to.”

Maria Ivanova, 72, bought her home on the Lesnes Estate in 2007 to live with her son and said she often walks around the nearby lake and park with him. She claimed that she had experienced health problems due to the stress associated with being told to sell her home to Peabody.

“They are interested in the land to build this big block of flats but they are not interested in people who live here at the moment,” she said. “This is not a charity organisation in my opinion if they don’t care about the people.”

She added: “When they said that they’re going to demolish our houses and pay peanuts to us, it means that they will leave us homeless. I will not be able, at the age of 72, to be able to buy another house with the money that they suggest that we can have.”

Dr Johnnel Olabhie, 56, has lived in the estate for more than 20 years, after buying a house there. He said a consultation on the project opened with residents in 2016, followed by caseworkers from Peabody telling homeowners on the estate they had no choice but to give up their property.

He added that tenants’ homes and communal areas of the estate have been in a state of managed decline ever since then by lighting and bins on the streets being removed.

He said: “When the consultation came up, the booklet claimed they visited homes and they were all damp with fungi and unfit for living. We were surprised, they did it deliberately because when tenants ask them to come to fix some issues or leakage, they don’t do it. They let it deliberately get dilapidated.”

Dr Olabhie said people on the estate are not against the development, but feel that the solutions offered by Peabody to those who do not wish to leave their homes have not been sufficient.

He claimed homeowners were told at a meeting with the company in 2017 that if they did not sell their homes, they would be issued with a compulsory purchase order.

He said: “That really angered the residents. They don’t have a say here. It was so bullying.”

A Peabody spokesman said: “Redevelopment is the very best option for the estate. It will provide high-quality, energy-efficient homes for local people, while helping to address the housing shortage.

“We consulted with tenants and resident homeowners about our plans over a four-year period and held a ballot in 2020, with the majority voting in favour.”

The spokesman said Peabody would continue to carry out repairs and maintenance in people’s homes and that its environmental services team works on the estate daily alongside providing frequent waste enforcement officer visits.

They said: “We want to keep the community together. That’s why we’re offering all resident homeowners the opportunity to move to a brand new Peabody home in South Thamesmead through our shared equity offer.

“This means they can buy a home up to double the value of their current one, without having to take on an additional mortgage.

“All tenants who are paying social rent now will continue to pay social rent in their new home in South Thamesmead.”

Pictured top: Johnnel Olabhie, 56, has lived on the estate for more than 20 years (Picture: Joe Coughlan)