Copies to : Mr Kenneth Livingstone, Mayor of London.
The application is on the ground 10A of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985. This is because the application is to sell the land to a Housing Association - a Registered Social Landlord - prior to demolition of the existing housing blocks mentioned above, leading to a redevelopment scheme of mixed housing. As well as redevelopment of Aragon Tower - a 24 storey tower block, of 144 flats, for possible private sector development.
This will reduce the 100% social housing provision on Pepys Estate to a new unspecified number. A decanting programme for Aragon Tower has already been in progress since the end of 1999, without the Secretary of States' approval, and is now being implemented for Barfleur, Dolben Court and Limberg. The diversion from the Estate Action regeneration begun in 1992 has been vigorously objected to by tenants and their representatives.
Background to Estate action on the Pepys Estate, Deptford
Estate Action was granted to Lewisham by Government in 1992 for 7 years to 1999. Later extended by 2 years to April 2001. The initial sum granted, we believe, was 37m in total, less 9m for administration, leaving 28m to refurbish all the properties on Pepys Estate.
The work for this scheme has gone ahead over the latter several years, which people living here have been very pleased with. Until the council diverted from the original programme using a survey of the whole estate to get a view. However, at Pepys Neighbourhood Committee a unanimous vote was taken that only the people in the blocks concerned should determine their future - these flats did not have tenants associations and were therefore not represented on the Neighbourhood Committee at that time.
Owing to the fact that the estate is over a quarter of a mile wide, many
tenants and residents do not know where other parts of the estate are. Therefore they did not appreciate of what they were actually being asked to give their view upon. Also it needs to be taken into account that their own properties had by this time already benefited from the refurbishment
programme, e.g, 2 tower blocks, and several low rise blocks of flats had been subject the renewal.
Challenge the survey results
We challenge the results of the survey conducted on the estate for Lewisham
council in 1998. Only 799 households were interviewed from a total of 1445 - which is only 55% of the estate as a whole. Out of this Lewisham council have presented a figure in such a way that it appears to be 65% of the total for the whole estate - which is incorrect - see below :-
Ref : Consultation 9.1 ( Report - Pepys Estate Action - Decant Policy )
"This culminated in an independent survey of the residents, with a 65%
response rate, and of the the four options presented, there was a majority in favour of the current proposals."
Overall the actual percentage then reduces to be only 35.7% ( as only 55% were interviewed ). Therefore the report presented contained misleading information when it came before the councils' own Executive Committee for approval on Wednesday 26th July 2000. In fact the figures from the survey show that only 39% of residents were in favour of the "current proposals", and 33% were in favour of 'no change", i.e, continue with the Estate Action refurbishment.
This is despite the fact that 3 out of the 4 proposals were for 'selling off' or demolition of low-rise blocks, and only one option involved continuing with the programme. That is to say that there was a 75% to 25% 'slew' in the way in which the survey sought to obtain its results in a way that most favoured the councils' own thinking at that time. Yet, despite this all this, a clear 1/3rd of tenants expressed the wish to see the programme continue. It is our view that had the survey been both more balanced, and far less complex to understand, the outcome would have been very different. A good amount of the questions on a very long survey form, taking about 45 minutes or more to complete, were nothing to do with the proposed change of plan for Estate Action - the decision actually being sought by Lewisham - which also helped to confuse people's response.
As tenants and residents of Pepys estate we set up a Steering Committee in January 2000 to address our concerns about this process. The committee now known as The Action Group ( TAG ) has met regularly every 2 weeks, and is entirely reliant on voluntary effort from its members.
We have conducted our own simple surveys in the blocks of flats directly
effected, interviewing over 90% of the residents, to counter the mis-leading
information from Lewisham's commissioned survey. We asked whether people
favoured the councils now declared view for selling off and demolition, or whether they wished to stay and see refurbishment through the Estate Action. A great many of the people effected have been here since the estate was built, and have lived their lives here.
The results of our simple surveys have consistently shown that all the blocks have a majority in favour of staying if they could do so, and in having the refurbishment of the Estate Action programme as enjoyed by the other low rise blocks and the two tower blocks. This is despite the Councils survey having already been well known to the residents as producing a result that favoured the selling off of the one tower block Aragon Tower, and the demolition of the five named low-rise blocks.
Limberg and Dolben have in fact already had double-glazing fitted in the flats and entrances refitted as a part of the Estate Action programme. Barfleur was due for refurbishment as early as 1994/95 in the programme, yet then postponed, and has not been progressed since that date. This block remains the least maintained of any on the estate as a whole, having not had any security entrance doors fitted as elsewhere. Marlowe and Millard houses have similarly had nothing done, effectively a 'blight' has been placed on these properties for the past 7 years.
Changes in the programme
Since the councils decision to use the survey results from 1999, there should be around 6m of Estate Action money left - adequate to actually
complete the programme. However, this has been diverted to the parts of the estate that have already received earlier refurbishment, to carry out further improvements like dust chutes, new roofs, and environmental works. Money that should have been found from the HIP budget granted to councils by government. It seems to us that this decision was made as far back as 1994/5 to exclude Barfleur from Estate Action, on which we were not consulted. This was a long time before the controversial survey by Lewisham was conducted.
In 1998 the Council set up a Review Group for Estate Action, which had one meeting only. As all tenants representatives voted against these proposals going ahead, it was not reconvened. Since that time it has consistently been opposed at Pepys Neighbourhood Committee and the Regeneration Forum ( a Forum specifically set up to monitor regeneration to the tenants
interest ).
Reluctantly the diversion to sell Aragon Tower to a Housing Association was accepted provided that it remained principally for social housing. However, the HA involved, Hyde Housing have subsequently pulled out of the negotiations, and Lewisham are now engaged upon a 'marketing exercise' to sell Aragon Tower to the private sector.
Throughout this process it has been very difficult to get accurate information
about the real intentions of Lewisham council in their planning decisions for the area. Consultation as been reactive to many rumours, and occasions even forced upon them. For example, there has from the outset been no Right To Return for tenants and residents, and their RTB has not been promoted.
After pressure from TAG and through Neighbourhood Committee over a period of 4 months in early 2000, Lewisham have only agreed to a 'special one-off' right to return for Aragon Tower only - this taken after around 90 tenants have been decanted. The low rise tenants in the named blocks are still left with no such assurance - unlike a similar situation on the Evelyn estate, also in Lewisham. Where the Right To Return was assured at an early stage. It seems that on Pepys the Right to Return is denied so that 'new' people can come in and live here. Most likely this will 'gentrify' the area, and move social housing into the interior of Lewisham, away from the riverside site of Pepys.
When Estate Action first began on Pepys in 1993 the plan included no demolition
- apart from one low-rise block of flats, Merrick House, where new shops have now been built - because the housing stock is in such good condition. The Secretary of State at that time queried the decision, as it was so unusual for an EA to have so little demolition involved.
The whole of the Pepys Estate, as a part of the original Deptford Naval
Dockyards site, is of both historical significance, and is in the red alert area for flooding. The Thames Barrier was built subsequent to the Estate being completed, yet the Barrier is not designed to withstand the expected surges anticipated in the Twenty-First Century.
On the behalf of The Action Group - Steering Committee.
Mr S Greening - Aragon, Mr M Cadman - Marlowe, Ms P Devito - Barfleur,
Ms M Dunn - Barfleur,
On behalf of the Pepys Neighbourhood Committee.
2nd November 2000
Attention : Mr Nicholas Raynsford, Secretary of State.
Mr Tiri Oyawole, Chair Pepys Neighbourhood Committee.
Dear sir,
We object to Lewisham councils' application for approval for the decanting of Dolben Court and Barfleur, Limberg, Marlowe and Millard Houses on the Pepys Estate and for the repurchase of properties sold under the Right to Buy ( RTB ).
Mr L Brooks - Aragon, Ms S Jeffrey - Limberg, Mr A Djourdem - Millard,
Ms T Lane - Limberg,
Mr D Kenrick - Barfleur - Ms M Sanh - Marlowe, Ms K Clark - Limberg,
Ms N Nyaulingo - Aragon.