Residents support demolition of London estate
The residents of a run-down estate in south-east London are supporting plans to demolish their homes and replace them with improved housing.
The majority of people living in the decrepit Milford Towers estate in Catford have given their local authority, Lewisham Council, their full support to tear down the decaying housing block - which is situated above Catford Shopping Centre - and begin work on 1,000 new homes.
A report due to be presented to the council's cabinet today, 13 July, states that the majority of residents on the estate were "overwhelming positive" about demolition plans, according to the results of a full consultation carried out last month.
The mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, said that they were working with Tesco to try to secure them as a tenant for the shopping centre. The development of a new Tesco store would take place in conjunction with the construction of a new housing block.
"You only have to go down to the shopping centre to realise it’s not exactly a hive of activity," he said. "We've been working with Tesco to identify how we can move forward on the redevelopment of the shopping centre and the housing. This is an important stage in that."
A number of serious crimes have taken place in the estate in the last few years, as it has slipped further into dereliction. In September 2005, 15-year-old Rochelle Holness was snatched and killed on the estate, while in May 2007, Warren Gray, 24, was shot dead in a stairwell.
