Housing chiefs announce redevelopment that will force vulnerable residents out of homes forever
By Jacob Paul
Vulnerable residents are furious after the housing chiefs announced a redevelopment project that will force some of them out of their homes forever.
Southwark Council plan to knock down eight studio flats which house residents suffering from mental health issues and disabilities, in Little Dodson of the Dodson and Amigo Estate, Dodson Street.
But the council have said that only half of those the residents will be allowed to move back into the newly built flats.
No residents have been told which of them will be allowed back, and have not made it clear where the tenants will be rehoused during and after the build gets done.
The rest of the estate has had new kitchens and windows put in and been painted, apart from the block with these eight studio flats for vulnerable residents.
There are five tenants, two leaseholders, and one empty flat, in the block of eight. One resident recently passed away from COVID-19.
The council plan to build an estimated 22 homes which residents think will be a mix of maisonettes and flats, most of which they expect the council to sell off.
There are five tenants, two leaseholders, and one empty flat, in the block of eight. One resident recently passed away from COVID-19.
George Dargan, 45, a tenant who has spine problems and suffers from several mental health disorders, said: “I’m fuming and I’m not leaving. All my support network is here, I have a history here, my primary school is across the road.
“I have memories of my children growing up here. Take that away from me and I think my mental health will go back down.
“The council know that I have mental health issues but they haven’t even thought about how this affecting me, and they’re not very businesslike in their emails, they just tell me to piss off.
“A lot of us just thought this was a bad dream, they’re trying to make a quick pound while relocating the locals and bringing in the outsiders.
“They’re trying to destroy the community, the council are telling everyone that were happy to leave but we’re not.”
Bob Morris, 57, a resident of the Little Dodson estate, said: “They’ve let that little block run into rack and ruin.
“There’s such a lack of engagement from the council under Covid, there’s damp everywhere and the heating doesn’t work, they’re almost derelict those flats.
“They’re just going to cut out the old and drop in new and they won’t answer our questions, they either act dumb or won’t answer and we’ve had three project managers on it in a year.”
Leon Pelage, 39, a leaseholder in one of the eight studio flats, said: “It’s making me quite anxious to be honest because I’ve been here since 2003, Ive been in this area since I was a teenager.
“Most of my adult life has been spent here so I have a lot of memories here. It’s the first property I’ve ever had.
“I thought it was good idea to get on the property ladder in a sought-after area and when it come to selling it I could make a good profit, but I’m not so sure now.
“Now I think I’m going to get duped and hung out to dry and no one’s going to have any thoughts about us.
“As a leaseholder I feel like I should be kept in the loop and because I’m not I feel like something sinister is going on, it’s extremely worrying to me.
“The council are being very sneaky and doing a lot of stuff behind our back. I’m appalled really, I think it’s disgusting.”
“I remember what they did to the Heygate Estate and I thought that was disgusting, but I never would have imagined that this would happen to me.“
The Heygate Estate was a housing estate stretching from Walworth Road to New Kent Road, Southwark, with 1214 homes.
The estate was redeveloped between 2011 and 2014, and residents were moved out to areas like Manchester and Birmingham and some could not afford to come back.
Little Dodson residents fear the same may happen to them.
A spokesperson from Southwark Council said: “We will be replying individually to all those who have concerns and will support residents as we normally would, and advise them in terms of their housing situation.
“We cannot comment on individuals, particularly as there are so few in this instance, as it could compromise confidentiality in regards to their housing situation.”
