GMB welcome U-turn on Cressingham Gardens demolition plans
GMB SOUTHERN WELCOME U-TURN ON DECISION TO DEMOLISH CRESSINGHAM GARDENS ESTATE IN SOUTH LONDON AFTER VALIANT CAMPAIGN BY RESIDENTS TO SAVE THEIR HOMES
Residents on estates still facing demolition should take heart from this second U-turn. Residents should know that they can rely on the support of GMB in their campaigns to save their homes, says GMB Southern
GMB have welcomed a U-turn on the decision to demolish Cressingham Gardens estate in Lambeth, after Central government told Lambeth council that it must cooperate with a proposal to transfer the estate to an organisation of residents.
In April 2016 the Cressingham Gardens Community (CGC) organisation, set up in August 2014 by campaigner Gerlinde Gniewosz, asked the Lambeth council to consider transferring the estate to an organisation run by its residents as part of the People’s Plan" for the estate, an alternative to their scheme to demolish and rebuild the entire estate, but the plan was rejected by the council.
However, last week the government announced it had overruled council objections, that the plan would have a "detrimental effect" on regeneration of the area.
Last year, the Sutton Estate in Chelsea enjoyed a similar victory against demolition after Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire, rejected Clarion Housing’s proposals to demolish the estate due to there being a significant loss of social housing.
Earlier this year GMB Union passed a motion at their annual Congress calling on the decision to demolish housing estates to be put back in the hands of its residents.
