Estate plans unveiled

6:31pm Monday 21st July 2008

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PLANS to revamp a deprived area are now on display to the public and News Shopper has received an exclusive preview.

The final plans for the £1bn regeneration of the Ferrier estate in Kidbrooke will be unveiled today as part of the second stage of a public consultation.

The plans are the result of a consultation with residents last November.

Nearly 2,000 1970s homes will be demolished and 4,398 new ones will be built, along with a shopping centre, a school and an NHS health centre.

The 15-year project is being led by Greenwich Council in partnership with developer Berkeley Homes.

Greenwich Council hopes to tackle social deprivation in the area by creating more open spaces and moving away from the previous inward- facing block design of buildings.

Deputy leader Councillor Peter Brooks said: "This will no longer be a gated area.

"It will be stretched out with parks and shops and will turn an area which is predominantly grey concrete into a green open space environment."

Demolition is due to begin in 2010, with all residents moved out by 2012.

Around 1,000 households have already moved off the estate, but many residents feel they are being forced to leave.

Ferrier Freeholders and Leaseholders Advisory Group chairman Gerry McWilliams said: "We feel like we are being harassed and forced out of our homes.

"The price offered to us for our properties by the council is not enough for us to buy anything comparable elsewhere.

"Many of us have decided to stay until we receive an offer we can accept."

However, the council insists affordable housing will account for 50 per cent of the new homes built on the site and residents will have the right to return if they wish.

The plans will be on display at the Kidbrooke Regeneration Project office, formerly the Meadowside Leisure Centre, in Tudway Road, today from 3pm to 8pm.

They will also be on show from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and 9am to 5pm next Wednesday.

Feedback from the second stage of the consultation will form part of a planning application, which will be submitted to Greenwich Council this autumn.