Residents of Fulham’s Clem Attlee estate hit back over government deprivation study

BY OWEN SHEPPARD
Local Democracy Reporter
yann@slpmedia.co.uk

Residents of Fulham’s Clem Attlee estate have said their neighbourhood is a “lovely” place to live, despite being singled out in a Government study on deprivation.

Comprising 19 high and low-rise 1960s blocks, the estate has been placed in the top 10 per cent of most deprived areas in all of England.

The ‘Indices of Deprivation 2019’ study, by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, also suggests it is the most deprived area of Hammersmith and Fulham.

The community of social tenants and leaseholders sits beside North End Road, renowned for a market that has existed since the late 1800s.

It was named after the post-war Labour Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, who also served as deputy PM in Winston Churchill’s war cabinet.

Typical of those speaking up for maligned estate is Paulett Rawlings, 73, whose ground-floor flat overlooks a manicured garden square. He said the estate has a “nice atmosphere”.

“I’ve lived here 45 years and raised three children,” said the retired chemist.

“It’s like most places, it’s had its high times and its low times, but for a few years it’s been lovely.

“There’s people who say good morning. You see children go to school and back, and it makes a nice atmosphere.”

Retired Mohamad Ehoubi, 70, feels that despite London’s growing problem with violent crime, the Clem Attlee is “safe”.

He said: “There has been a lot of change. Some buildings have been knocked down and rebuilt on the estate. But it’s neighbourly and secure. I feel safe.

“I had five children. None of them could afford to stay in Fulham, but they all went to the local schools, which are very good.”

Not everyone is enamoured, though. Abdul Wahabutt, 71, another long-standing resident, who once owned Price Cut Supermarket in North End Road, said he believed the area had a lot less to offer for shopping and local employment than in the past.

“About 10 to 15 years ago there were so many more shops and the market was really big,” he said. “A lot of people who lived on this estate had jobs in those shops and the market.

“Tourists would come to see it and coaches would stop in Lillie Road. Now no one really comes from outside the area.”

Mr Wahabutt said the estate once had much worse problems with gangs, however. “For about three years in the mid noughties, there were a lot of gangs of teenagers who did drugs. But the police got them under control and it’s much better now,” he said.

With its proximity to Imperial College London University, the estate also has its share of student digs.

An Imperial student, 19, who asked not to be named, said: “The flat itself isn’t very good. It’s an old council building. But the area around here is great, there’s loads of pubs and places for us, and we’re near Fulham Broadway.”

Peter Matty, a resident of 19 years, praised the council for its upkeep of the estate. He said: “I really like it here.

The estate is well tended to and we love having Normand Park across the road. It’s like our little corner and it has an attendant. We think the council do a good job of looking after the place.”

The Clem Attlee sits inside the Fulham Broadway council ward, with a population of almost 12,000.
On Hammersmith and Fulham council’s website, an “area profile” says 77 per cent of residents in the area are either employed or self-employed.

And it said the area was one of contrasts, with “relatively affluent” neighbourhoods sat beside “pockets of deprivation”.

Looking at the inner-West London borough as a whole, the Government study said Hammersmith and Fulham was the 96th most-deprived council area in England, out of 317.

For schools and access to skills and training, the borough scored exceptionally well, and is ranked the 18th best place in the country out of 317.

However, it is the 30th worst place to live in terms of affordability of housing, and the 16th worst in terms of quality of the environment.