Dear Supporter of Save Truslove Hse, Save Central Hill,
The email address in this update is not correct. It should have read, helen.hayes.mp@parliament.uk.
Please do contact your MP, and ask how they feel about demolition and whole estate redevelopments. We know they break up communities, and cost the earth, literally.
Here are more details outlining why not to demolish: https://docs.google.com/.../2PACX-1vSg7d.../pub
Helen Hayes is the Dulwich and West Norwood MP, where the Central Hill Estate is found. She can be contacted at:
helen.hayes.mp@parliament.uk
steve.reed@parliament.uk is MP for Croydon North, which will also be severely affected by the demolition and rebuild of Truslove House and the whole estate.
Here is a template you can use to copy, or to add in your own comments.
Dear Helen,
I hope you are well, or as well as can be in the circumstances. I imagine this is a difficult time to be an elected representative and I applaud you for all that you do for our constituency in the context of an extremely challenging period.
I am a resident in your constituency (details: XXXXX) and I am contacting you regarding serious concerns I have about the 'redevelopment' project being carried out on the Central Hill Estate by Lambeth Council. I sent an email to my two local Labour representatives weeks ago but they have not answered my questions or addressed my concerns (one did not reply at all and the other initially sent a somewhat dismissive email and did not respond when I followed up with clarifying queries, which is a bit disappointing). I am therefore directing my concerns to you. I am hopeful that you are already aware of the controversy surrounding the Central Hill project. I have a lot of respect for your work as my local MP and am hopeful that, although the issue is primarily within the remit of the Borough Council, you may be able to exercise some influence by injecting some much-needed critical accountability.
In particular, I am deeply concerned by the affordability of the new properties which are set to replace the demolished homes on the Central Hill estate. There is a pattern, as I am sure you are aware, in London 'redevelopment' of so-called 'affordable' housing not being, in fact, in any way affordable for most local residents, leading to the relocation of individuals and families further out of the city, in turn resulting in the de facto socioeconomic segregation of Londoners. The Council has repeatedly stated that many of the new homes will be 'affordable', yet I have not yet seen any evidence of what definition of 'affordable' is being used. I am particularly concerned that the new homes will, in fact, be unaffordable for the many residents/families currently in temporary accommodation (who are, surely, the most in need of access to longer-term affordable housing). As a Labour supporter I am disappointed that my own local (Labour) Council has greenlit a development project which may well contribute to driving poorer Londoners out of the inner zones.
Another major concern I have about the redevelopment relates to the environmental 'logic' being deployed by the Council in its communications with residents. I have yet to see any evidence convincing me of the net environmental benefit of the redevelopment. For instance, I have seen seemingly impressive figures comparing the buildings’ current - relatively poor - environmental credentials against those of the new buildings, but none which include projections about current buildings’ potential environmental credentials if they were to be refurbished in line with what I understand to be the Council’s own standards requirements. The exclusion of that crucial information is deeply troubling. Moreover, given my understanding that new homes will not be built to the highest possible environmental standard (resulting in the requirement of Homes for Lambeth to actually pay money back to the Council in the form of a carbon offset tax) and will actually require themselves retrofitting at a later date in order to comply with the 2030 carbon neutral targets, I am unclear why it wouldn’t make more financial and environmental sense to simply refurbish the current buildings?
I am also concerned about the carbon and biodiversity impact of irreplaceable mature tree loss as a result of the developments. This is a particularly time-sensitive question as I understand a tree felling order is in place which would see some irreplaceable mature trees cut down outside Truslove House in the coming days (e.g. potentially this week). This strikes me as an extraordinary move in the context of a global ecological crisis - not least given all the research emerging lately about the impact of air pollution on Londoners' health. In addition to this, the existing foundations of Truslove House are very complex as it is on clay (Clayland Coppices); a new building would need deep and extensive foundations disturbing the subsoil and drainage. Central Hill is the start of many hidden tributaries for the various underground rivers down the hill. The trees therefore are an important ecosystem that maintain London's fragile environment; cutting these trees at the top of hill affects flooding further down the hill. Moreover, some of the remaining trees will be poorly protected due to the nature of the development and also completely cut off on one side by the height of the new building. This will effectively isolate these trees from the natural corridor that exists across the estate, allowing birds to live in, navigate and move freely amongst the trees. Should more buildings of this magnitude be built, this would be further diminished. Finally, my understanding is that the tree line on the proposed site is protected by an agreement between the Five Boroughs by GLC. This is not being respected by this development.
In the light of the above points regarding affordability and environmental impact I hope it is clear why I am unconvinced that Lambeth Council can justify this 'redevelopment' project on the Central Hill estate. I would be grateful if you could look into this matter on my behalf.
Thank you for your time.
Kind regards,
Name
Thanks,
Save Truslove House, Save Central Hill
Donate:
https://chuffed.org/project/stop-the-demolition-of-the-central-hill-estate
Presentation: