In September last year, Bellway backed out of a joint deal with the council to rebuild the Avenue Road Estate, saying it was no longer financially viable due to difficult market conditions, reports Marco Marcelline
Residents at an ageing Leytonstone estate have told Waltham Forest Council they will seek to move out if a long-promised rebuild is not delivered.
In September last year, Bellway backed out of a joint deal with the council to rebuild the Avenue Road Estate, saying it was no longer financially “viable” due to difficult market conditions.
In 2021 residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of rebuilding the 1960s estate. When they signed up to the scheme, they were under the impression that the first phase of the development would be complete in 2026.
Those plans would have seen the estate more than double in size, with 617 flats compared to the current 258. It would have also gained a 23-storey tower, two retail units and two community buildings.
In a bid to keep the promise of regeneration alive after Bellway pulled out, in July the council secured a total of £190million from the Greater London Authority (GLA) towards five strategic projects in the borough including Avenue Road.
Speaking to residents at a meeting this summer, the council’s regeneration director Meera Kumar promised that the council will finalise a full funding strategy in October, before it procures a fresh development partner on the market. Stating that she aimed for “boots to be on the ground” by “early 2026”, she failed to rouse much support from residents, with some saying that it was “unfair to wait so long while we live in squalor”.
In response to being asked what provisions the council had made to ensure that a developer cannot pull out again like Bellway did, council’s director of housing delivery Mark Crane said: “We will robustly test the business strength of any potential partner, but also make sure that their case is realistic and ensure there are contingencies within their budgets to absorb financial risks.”
Many residents at the meeting also slammed the council’s enforcement officers and local police for not doing enough to tackle an epidemic of open drug taking and anti-social behaviour on the estate.
One said: “If people were coming to the Town Hall and doing drugs and leaving needles around it would be stamped out immediately.”
Another, criticising the uncertain wait they will face for the rebuild, said: “Our mental health hasn’t got years; we’ve got kids playing right next to drug users strapping up and shooting drugs.”
Residents have also spoken about a range of structural issues with the 1960s estate, which was built using prefabricated concrete panels. Problems raised include “building movement”, “gaps in stairs and window frames”, and “leaking ceilings”.
One said: “My window doesn’t match my frame. We’re feeling movement. The building is definitely moving and our flats are showing it.”
Another resident at the meeting said he had seen “22 mice” running around his bedroom because the wall had moved away from the skirting board, leaving a gap for the rodents to come through.
Across the borough, housing developments have been stalled as the council works to procure new developers. These projects include the Patchworks development on Forest Road in Walthamstow, which the council secured GLA grant funding for in June.
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