PARTS of a housing estate built by German prisoners of war could become Grade II listed.

The Excalibur estate in Catford contains 185 prefabricated houses which were built in 1946 to overcome a shortage of houses after the Second World War.

They were designed to last for around a decade - but have been standing proudly for over 60 years.

Lewisham Council, which owns 80 percent of the estate, wants to redevelop the site saying it would be too expensive to bring the houses up to Decent Homes Standard - a Government benchmark for the quality of housing.

But residents could keep their prefab homes if the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) protects the estate by making the homes Grade II listed.

The chances look good with a DCMS spokesman simply saying: "The case for listing at least part of the estate is compelling, and the minister will be making her decision shortly."

Jim Blackender, 55, has lived in Pelinore Road on the estate for 18 years. He said: "If they wanted us out they would have to get the bailiffs and the bulldozers ready - because we wouldn't budge an inch. We will fight to the end.

"It is such a precious part of the area and it's a great place to live. We wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

The married father-of-one added: "Even if some of the estate became listed - this would give us a huge boost as we would have a good argument for making the whole estate a conservation area."

Meanwhile Janet Tucker who is a supervisor at the Dalton pre-school opposite the estate in Baudwin Road, says she would also like to see the estate protected.

She said: "If the estate was not there we would not have any children left to come to the school and we would not only lose an important part of the community but a huge piece of history.

"All of the staff here hope it does get listed. We are just waiting for a decision to be made."

A spokesman for Lewisham Council said: "Reconciling the Decent Homes programme with tenants desires has been a great challenge.

"The estate is one of the few areas where refurbishment is unaffordable and achieving modern standards of decent homes is only possible through replacing existing homes with a new build programme.

"We are currently awaiting the outcome of the listing status decision by the DCMS and would not be able to comment further on the listing status, until a decision is announced."