Social housing residents on a London estate feel they are being “gagged” in discussions about the future of the place where they live, as the council prepares one of the capital’s controversial “infill” plans, which cover green spaces with homes.
Residents on the Dodson and Amigo estate in Elephant and Castle say they have been asked to sign documents promising not to speak to other residents or journalists, in exchange for taking part in meetings about new homes planned for their estates.
They showed the Guardian a document that also warned they could not campaign against the new homes if they were part of the discussions.
The council, however, argues that the documents only mean residents need permission to speak, in order to keep the discussions fair and civil.
The row is one of many heated debates on council estates across London over “infill housing” – where councils build new homes on existing estates.
The housing crisis in London is acute. About 8% of households are overcrowded, with 35% of children in social housing living in overcrowded conditions.
Southwark alone has more than 16,000 people on its social housing waiting list and aims to build 11,000 homes for social rent by 2043. The picture is similar in every borough, with thousands of families and individuals desperate to find safe and affordable places to live.
Meanwhile councils lose housing every year under right to buy policies, putting them in an impossible position. Private developers are failing to build enough social or affordable homes even when building on large sites once owned by councils.
Building on land they already own is a vital solution for councils looking for space for new homes. To this end officers have scoured estates looking for “unused” patches of land, old garages, car parks – and, to the distress of residents – green spaces, play areas and communal gardens.
This “infill” housing has been heralded as a tool in getting families out of bed and breakfasts and into safe homes.
The women, families and community leaders in some of the poorest parts of the capital who resist it have sometimes been labelled Nimbys.
But those living in flats without gardens in dense and polluted corners of London say it is wrong to take precious communal green spaces away.
“We refused to sign,” says Jacquie Gilmartin, a longtime resident of the Dodson and Amigo estate. “And in fairness to them, we really think they are listening now. The residents here – many who are very vulnerable – matter. We are the last real community in this area.”
Gilmartin argues that the plans to bring more homes to the estate are unfair. “We don’t mind them building on this estate; we could point them to unused land. We agree there is a housing crisis. But they have been talking about knocking down a building, moving out longstanding residents, taking small areas of green space that are well used and increasing the density on this estate.”
When Gilmartin was asked to sign a document earlier this year that would have required her to get permission for speaking about the discussions and even banned her from campaigning, she balked at the idea.
“We refused to sign. I felt we were being gagged. We wanted to be in the room discussing the plans, but we wanted to be able to talk openly about our concerns with the wider project.”
Southwark council insists the agreement was not intended to silence anybody. Kieron Williams, the council leader, said: “The wording in this document is not intended to silence people’s views – the opposite is intended. It does not say that people cannot speak to the press without the agreement of the council – it states that they can speak to the press with the agreement of the whole group, so they can represent the collective views of residents within the group. In context, there are other expected behaviours written down.
“We continue to run a sensitive and collaborative consultation with residents.”
The frantic search for space has drawn other London councils into similar battles. Lewisham council has just won a legal battle against their own residents over plans to build 110 new social homes on the Mais House estate, taking part of the communal green that families say was well loved, and removing 19 mature trees. It has also just won planning permission to build 41 new homes on the Valentines Court estate, despite concerns over the loss of trees, light and a shared green.
Robert Roy told the Guardian that the residents felt disrespected at several parts of the process. “On a walkabout, when a resident mentioned feeling worried about losing play space, someone from the council said ‘well, where do you suggest we build then?’ in a rude way. There has always been this total lack of empathy that we are losing our green space.”
Lewisham points out that with 10,000 people on their housing waiting list they have to use land they have available. They say the new development at Valentines Court – while losing 30% of the green space overall – will upgrade the play provision and improve other areas.
On the other side of London, in Brent, Kilburn Square estate is set to lose well-used communal gardens while over 80 new homes add hundreds of residents to the reduced space.
Margaret von Stoll has lived on the estate for 30 years and watched the trees on the large communal garden grow from saplings. She says the large communal garden and trees that will disappear were their lifeline in the pandemic. “It was our communal green space where people brought picnic rugs, where I sat in the evening.”
Now, she says: “We accept them building on the unused buildings on the site, even though it will increase the density and pressure on our shared gardens, but please, leave our green space.”
Promise Knight, Brent council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “These proposals have been brought forward in response to the chronic shortage of genuinely affordable housing and issues of overcrowding in Brent.
“We are committed to developing a scheme that works for as many people as possible and have already changed the proposals several times based on resident feedback.”
Sian Berry, a Green London Assembly member on the housing committee believes there should be ways to look for new housing without destroying green spaces. “We are seeing really valued green space being built on. Councils should think more creatively about where they find space for new housing, look at buying land or ask residents which land is not being used.”
Councils remain in a hugely difficult position – paying to buy back council properties while losing them in a steady stream under Right to Buy.
For now, residents say they will carry on pushing to save their precious scraps of green space.
