The pioneering scheme, which is scheduled to start on site in early 2001, involves the redevelopment of two council estates in south London into 3500 homes for rent and sale.
The main component of the scheme, the Ethelred Estate, contains 1000 homes. It was originally planned to increase this to about 2000, but that target has been increased by another thousand. The other estate, China Walk, contains 481 flats that will be refurbished
The project as a whole will include more open space, retail units, a technology centre, a nursery school and rebuilt secondary school.
The time allocated to the ambitious scheme, being built by a joint venture of Wimpey Homes and Berkeley Group subsidiary St George, has been extended from 10 to 14 years. It is now in its second year.
Tony Carey, managing director of St George, said: “The scale of the redevelopment is huge. The ability to take a site of 1000 homes and provide 3000-plus homes there by good design is the key to the regeneration of what is frankly a really crappy council estate.”
Carey added that if the scheme to redevelop the 12 ha site was successful it could be used as a template for other redevelopments. He said: “If we get this thing right it could become a solution for some other estates in London.”
Wimpey Homes development director Suzanna Lubran said the value of the scheme had risen because of an increase in the number of private units planned (from 1700 to 2500), the more comprehensive nature of the scheme and rising property prices.
She said: “This has been a gradual evolution. It is a 21st-century urban regeneration scheme that has at its heart high density and mixed use.”
Changes have been made to the layout of the Ethelred Estate by masterplanner Carey Jones in response to residents’ concerns. A central pedestrian walkway has been scrapped, and more roads and open space have been included.
As well as the private units, 604 new-build and refurbished social housing units will be included. These will include council homes, making it the largest council housing project in London for 20 years.
Additional facilities will include a health and fitness centre, a supermarket and the rebuilding of Lilian Baylis secondary school, which will be a private finance initiative project.
Residents will vote on the proposal this summer in a ballot organised by Lambeth council. If accepted, outline planning approval will be sought in December.
The development team includes landscape architect EDAW, and QSs MDA and Harris Rourke & Simpson. PRP Architects, which submitted a masterplan for the scheme, has been retained to carry out phase one.
