Residents, councillors and officers from Higgins Partnerships celebrated the start of redevelopment at Old Kent Road’s Ledbury estate last week.
Ground breaking ceremony marks start of redevelopment at Old Kent Road's Ledbury estate.
The redevelopment of the 1960s Ledbury estate came about after four tower blocks were identified as having serious structural and fire safety issues.
Following extensive consultation, residents voted in favour of demolishing the four blocks and replacing them with modern, high-quality new homes and a range of other improvements to their estate.
The first phase of the redevelopment got underway with a ground breaking ceremony on the site of the former Bromyard House on 5 February.
This first phase will provide 80 new homes across two blocks, made up of 45 council homes, 15 shared ownership homes and 20 homes for private sale. The new council homes will be prioritised for former residents who had to vacate their previous homes due to safety issues, and the shared ownership homes will be designated for leaseholders of the Ledbury towers.
The council has been working closely with local residents on this project for many years, and the start of the first phase of building works, in conjunction with the council’s development partner, Higgins Partnerships, marks a key milestone for the redevelopment of the whole estate.
In total, the redevelopment will provide 340 new homes, 224 of which will be council homes to replace those from the old towers. The council will also build an additional 36 new council homes, taking the total to 260 council homes, as well as 15 shared ownership homes and 65 homes for private sale.
The wider neighbourhood will also benefit from landscaping and new outdoor communal areas with a large, multi-purpose garden courtyard with space for community growing, a play area and tree-lined paths to create new pedestrian and cycle friendly connections between the Old Kent Road, Pencraig Way and Bird in Bush Park.
The first phase of building works is expected to complete in spring 2026 and the entire redevelopment is expected to be finished by 2030.
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development, said:
“I’m so thrilled to see works get underway on this estate – it’s a really exciting marker in the long journey we have been on with residents to replace the previous homes in the towers with the fire safe, high-quality new homes our residents deserve.
Today we can celebrate being one step closer to Ledbury residents moving back onto the estate they know and love and bringing this wonderfully tight-knit community back together. Thank you to all the residents who have worked so closely with us on this and helped to co-design a wonderful redevelopment which will transform the lives of everyone on this estate”.
Dominic Higgins, Chief Operating Officer for Higgins Group commented:
“We are delighted to be marking this important milestone on site with residents and Southwark Council.
As well as delivering these high quality new homes for local residents, we are committed to delivering community engagement and social value and ensuring we leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
As work progresses, we will be working with the local community to provide training and employment opportunities as well supporting social value opportunities and providing volunteering hours to community projects.”
Find out more about the Ledbury estate redevelopment
