Monthly (or thereabouts) round-up

Excellent write-up from London blogger Joshua Surtees walking around the estate. He interviews a couple of remaining residents. 

From Southwark Notes: A history of the Heygate regeneration

An amazing slide show from Milkshake, Heygate plans first in 2009, then 1969: 'First as tragedy, then as farce'.

A couple of art projects involving the Heygate: 

matteo borzone's collage of garage doors from the Heygate

A fictional re-inhabitation of the estate 

A documentary series called HAM, by William Williamson. HAM episode 1, is divided between the Heygate estate and Commercial street. 

Photography:

Photographer Mauro Battoro's series: Mainliners.

An amateur slide show of the estate early this year.

Latecomer: fellow named gaskinz on flickr

Yet more filming on the Heygate: The Bill

And last, but certainly not least: Facebook group The Original Heygate SE17 is close to 500 members!

Update (monthly or thereabouts)

At last an update . . .

What with the hols and being ill for weeks after said hols, I haven't had the energy to update this blog. But not much in the news has come my way either . . .

A couple of things

From the South London Press : Facebook group for the Heygate Estate.

As of this writing, 412 former residents of the Heygate Estate have joined a group called 'The Original Heygate SE17

Another Elephant-related facebook group: The Elephant and Castle is a dump but we like it that way

From Southark News: 'Council Looks to Government for 'payment holiday' on Debt'

Apparently, Southwark council is still paying off the debt, with interest, incurred 50 years ago to build, among other things, the North Peckham Estate and the Heygate.

Snow on the Heygate

                                          Photo: Johnathon Gales

A couple of new photo essays of the Heygate have turned up in my google news feed, taken during the recent snowstorm in London. The above photograph, taken by Johnathon Gales, is of my old home, Claydon House, with the new 'gateway to the Elephant' the Strada Tower, rising up behind it. His blog, thoughts not thoughts has more photographs.

   What was most striking, aside from the empty windows, was the desolate quality of the Strada. At first I wasn't even sure what it was - the tower was still at the foundation stage when I left last year. From this angle it looks like a giant American flag . . .



Also, more haunting images from Dan Tassell at  Captured City: the bleak beauty of the Heygate Estate

                                          Photo: Dan Tassell

Apperently, some people still live on the estate. These images remind me of one of my last entries when I still lived on the Heygate: Endgame One More Step, when I wrote:

How will it be when the whole estate is empty but for one or two holdouts? How would it be occupy a single flat in a building this vast, to feel the emptiness spreading out through the building at night, to walk down gangways past sealed off flats, knowing no one else’s steps will tread the concrete stairwells – to know the building will soon be rubble?

I wonder how that feels to occupy these hulking empty buildings now . . .

    

Weekly (or thereabouts) round-up . . .

I've put off writing this post because even if the deadline came and went Monday evening it is still a little unclear what is exactly is going to happen:

From LondonSE1: Elephant and Castle Deal 'excellent value for money' says Southwark leader.

Southwark Council's executive agreed to a 'heads of term' agreement with developers Lend Lease, which means at least a part of the Elephant development will go through. However, questions remain. Also from London SE1:


Call for Greater Transparency over Elephant and Castle Regeneration Deal

The development would be in six phases. Phase 1 to 5 involve the Heygate, phase 6 the shopping centre. However no timetable has been set for the latter. Demolition would begin on eastern end of the estate, down by Rodney Road (which if memory serves is off the main section of the estate) in February.

It seems that Lend Lease's investment in the 1.5 billion project is small: Lend Lease wins London bid, shares jump.  Though a Lend Lease spokesman later reiterated that Lend Lease is responsible for all six phases of the development, and as such is responsible for investment.

The reaction on the SE1 forum remains skeptical, as few details of the plan and what it will mean for the Elephant and Elephant residents are being released: 

Lib-Dem Councillor Tim  McNally writes:

"I look forward to the bulldozers going onsite in February 2010 to start the demolition, and will welcome the creation of additional new homes of all tenures - including social for rent in excess of that in the current Heygate, shared ownership and private - in what will surely be the revitalised centre of South East London"

To which, one forum member responded:

"All the planned regeneration is going to do is to replace a load of architecturally ambitious post-war social housing slums with some bland early 21st century private rabbit hutch slums."

Weekly (or thereabouts) round-up . . .

Fungus on decayed gangways - Heygate

I delayed writing this because on Tuesday evening, the council was meant to rubber stamp its deal with Lend Lease, the Aussie developers. However, no deal was signed, and another meeting is set for Monday, the 30th of November, after which the exclusivity agreement between Lend Lease and Southwark Council will end. This has already happened in July. A new deal could be signed, or both parties could end their relationship, putting the whole regeneration in limbo.

From Southwark news: Yet Another Delay in plan to regenerate Elephant and Castle:

 London SE1 reports: Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre redevelopment to be delayed indefinitely.

The article quotes Peter John, leader of the Labour group:

"This new deal with Lend Lease amounts to little more than throwing Heygate residents out of their homes and building new luxury housing which they won't be able to afford. What are tenants and residents getting out of it? The Lib Dems are selling Elephant & Castle short and betraying the existing community.

"Demolishing the shopping centre and removing the roundabouts and underpasses is absolutely central to starting a new chapter for Elephant & Castle, but this new deal put those plans on ice. It doesn't even include an indication of when the Lib Dems expect the core of Elephant & Castle to be transformed.

"Leisure facilities which made up such a central part of the original deal aren't even mentioned in this new deal, and neither is the new school, library or Northern line station which were also promised."

Also from London SE1: Could Elephant and Castle be the new South Bank?  Southwark Council holds culture conference.

I have also discovered the community forums on LondonSe1, including a lively discussion under the heading: E&C: back to the drawing board? which began in June, 2008 and continues to this day.

I tried to find some information on the Southwark Council news page but nothing has been posted as of yet.

Weekly (or thereabouts) round-up . . .

                      New face of the Elephant? Condos behind the Heygate Estate

From London SE1: Boris Johnson 'actively trying to broker Elephant and Castle regeneration deal'. Developers Lend Lease are 'in a dire position' due to the credit crunch. Boris goes on to say:

"It's a fantastic project and we'll do everything we can to help it go ahead," said the Mayor.
"The trouble is we've got a credit crunch and the developers – Lend Lease I think it is – are simply in a dire position.
"So the [section] 106 money that's normally available is not going to be available to do the fantastic things.
"I know that we're actively trying to broker a deal between Southwark Council and Lend Lease. We want to get it done, and if we possibly can, we will."

Micheal Caine has been all over the papers, of course, due to his film 'Harry Brown', part of which is being filmed on the Heygate.

From the Sun: 'Screen Legend Micheal Caine on Broken Britain' (Sir Micheal blames Labour). And from femalefirst.co.uk: Harry Brown Looks at Broken Britain

And even Clint Eastwood has been spotted on the Heygate and the Walworth area. From South London Press: Clint Eastwood rides into Walworth

And from the blog Love London Council Housing: a live report from the Heygate Estate. Aside from complimenting yours truly, they write:

. . .as of last Friday (Oct. 30th), there wre 117 secure, non secure tenants and leaseholders left - 67 secure tenants, of whom half have direct offers for alternative accommodation.  Those left behind . . . are living surrounded by vacant properties boarded up to keep out squatters.

 So the drama continues. According to London Se1, Lend Lease's exclusivity agreement is due to expire at the end of November. If all falls through, maybe the council can turn the Heygate into a movie set!

Valentines Day on the Heygate, 2009.

Found this on Youtube this morning: 

Valentines Day Ball at the Heygate

Mostly old folks gathered in a community hall - I"m guessing the hall behind what used to be the doctor's office, now the office for the Heygate Tennant's Association. Probably the last time people got together like this on the estate.

It says a lot that in the six or seven months I lived on the Heygate, I was hardly aware that this older, white working class still existed. The faces I saw were mainly those of immigrants - Africans, South Americans, East Euros. This, I"m sure, had a lot to do with the fact I was an immigrant myself, albeit of a different kind. But it does say a lot about the alienating power of the estate, when you can't even get a sense of the people who live around you.

Where are these folks now, I wonder?