Southwark Council, Ledbury Estate residents and the council’s development partner Higgins Partnerships celebrated the start of the first phase of building works at Ledbury Estate at a ground breaking ceremony on Monday 5th February 2024.
The first phase of construction works is taking place on the site of the former Bromyard House and will provide 80 new homes across two blocks, made up of 45 council homes, 15 shared ownership homes and 20 homes for private sale. The new council homes will be prioritised for former residents who had to vacate their previous homes due to safety issues, and the shared ownership homes will be designated for leaseholders of the Ledbury towers.
The start of these building works marks a key milestone in the redevelopment of the whole of Ledbury Estate, which the council has been working closely with local residents on for many years.
The redevelopment was proposed after four towers on the estate, built in the 1960s, were identified as having serious structural and fire safety issues. 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.
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development, said: “I’m so thrilled to see works get underway on this estate — it’s a really exciting marker in the long journey we have been on with residents to replace the previous homes in the towers with the fire safe, high-quality new homes our residents deserve. Today we can celebrate being one step closer to Ledbury residents moving back onto the estate they know and love and bringing this wonderfully tight-knit community back together.
“Thank you to all the residents who have worked so closely with us on this and helped to co-design a wonderful redevelopment which will transform the lives of everyone on this estate.”
Dominic Higgins, Chief Operating Officer for Higgins Group commented: “We are delighted to be marking this important milestone on site with residents and Southwark Council. As well as delivering these high quality new homes for local residents, we are committed to delivering community engagement and social value and ensuring we leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
“As work progresses, we will be working with the local community to provide training and employment opportunities as well supporting social value opportunities and providing volunteering hours to community projects.”
In total, the Ledbury Estate redevelopment 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 36 new council homes, taking the total to 260 council homes, as well as 15 shared ownership homes and 75 homes for private sale.
The wider neighbourhood will also benefit from landscaping and new outdoor communal areas with a large, multi-purpose 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 first phase of building works is expected to complete in spring 2026 and the entire Ledbury Estate redevelopment is expected to be finished by 2030.
