A major milestone was reached last week in the renewal of Old Kent Road’s Ledbury estate as council works to replace unsafe towers and transform the estate topped-out.
Progress at the Ledbury estate was celebrated with a topping-out ceremony on 26 March 2025
Southwark Council has been working collaboratively with Ledbury residents to redesign and redevelop the estate after four 1960s towers constructed using Large Panel System (LPS) methods were identified to be unsafe with fire and structural risks.
The work on the site of the former Bromyard House is the first phase of the Ledbury Estate renewal. In total, the renewal 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 37 new council homes, taking the total to 261 council homes, as well as 14 shared ownership homes and 65 homes for private sale.
As well as providing new homes for Ledbury residents, the estate renewal will transform the wider neighbourhood, with landscaping, new outdoor communal areas, a large garden courtyard with space for community growing, a play area and tree-lined paths creating new pedestrian and cycle friendly connections between the Old Kent Road, Pencraig Way and Bird in Bush Park to the south-west. The council had worked closely with local residents over many years to develop the designs for the new homes and the wider area.
Construction is now taking place on the site of one of the old towers, the former Bromyard House, to provide 80 new homes across two blocks, with 46 council homes and 14 shared ownership homes. There are also 20 homes for private sale, to help pay for the new affordable homes.
Building work at the site has now reached its highest point – roof level – and the moment was celebrated at a ‘topping out’ event on Wednesday 26 March.
Following extensive consultation Ledbury Estate residents voted in favour of demolishing the four blocks and providing modern high-quality new homes and a range of other improvements to the estate.
The new council homes will be prioritised for former residents who had to move out of their previous homes due to safety issues with the aging buildings. The shared ownership homes will be earmarked for leaseholders of Ledbury towers.
Southwark Council receives grant funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to support the estate renewal with a fixed amount for each council home the council provides. The council received £5.7m for the council homes in the current phase of works.
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development, said:
“We want all our residents to have decent, sustainable and safe homes, so it’s fantastic to celebrate the incredible progress, working alongside local people, to renew and transform Ledbury Estate.
There is such a strong community here and we are proud to provide both existing and new Ledbury residents with new homes that will support their community to continue to grow and thrive in this great location, just off of the Old Kent Road.
These new council homes are among more than 3,000 that we’ve built or that are under construction in our borough.”
The work on the site of the former Bromyard House is the first phase of Ledbury Estate renewal.
In total, the renewal 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 37 new council homes, taking the total to 261 council homes, as well as 14 shared ownership homes and 65 homes for private sale.
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