A day after the local elections, Southwark Council made documents publicly available which detailed their plans for the Options Appraisal process on the four Ledbury Estate tower blocks. Going against their own Cabinet report and the Terms of Reference for the role of the 'Ledbury Tower's Resident Project Group', Southwark Council attempted to significantly widen the size of the Options Appraisal to include the entire estate, adding the potential to 'refurbish' or add storeys

Southwark Council appear to be attempting to turn the Ledbury Estate towers repair/rebuild project into a massive estate-wide regeneration programme in alliance with the Old Kent Road Area Action Plan without any resident approval. Two weeks ago, discussions began for the first time between Southwark Council and the Ledbury Estate Resident Project Board about the demolition and rebuild option to the four tower blocks, revealing some of Southwark's intentions and ambitions for

Wednesday 16th May 2018 will mark the 50th anniversary of the partial collapse of Ronan Point, a 22 storey tower block in Newham, East London. On 16th May 1968, tenant Ivy Hodge lit a match to light her gas stove, resulting in an explosion which brought down one side of the building, killing four people and injuring many more. Ivy Hodge herself survived the blast. Ronan Point was a Large Panel System tower block, built cheaply and quickly in response to the urgent need for ho

On Friday 4th May 2018, a day after local elections, Ledbury Action Group were sent documents that were drawn up in February by Southwark Council, laying out the brief for the Options Appraisal Consultants on the next steps for the Ledbury Estate. We were alarmed to see written within this document the sentence. 'Various options ranging from strengthening and reinstatement works to full demolition of the estate'. The Ledbury Estate contains nearly 400 homes, 224 across the fo

Residents of the Ledbury Estate towers, hoping to move into the new development at nearby Sylvan Grove, recently purchased by Southwark Council face a huge hike in monthly housing costs, including rent, service charges and council tax. As some tenants pull out of the 'expression of interest' list due to the eye-watering increase in costs they would be burdened with, we examine the breakdown which is causing Southwark's new council housing at council rent, to still be out of r