One of London’s most deprived areas ‘secure and neighbourly’
RESIDENTS LIVING ON CLEMENT ATTLEE ESTATE PRAISE IT FOR ITS NICE ATMOSPHERE
LONDON has extremes of poverty and wealth, wider perhaps than any other city in the UK.
More and more families are being forced to use food banks, while at the other end of the scale property tycoons are buying up London’s plush flats and homes for millions.
These gulfs are also reflected at local level in the boroughs where we live.
This summer, the results of a major government study into deprivation were published.
We visited the Clem Attlee Estate in Fulham to find out if life there really matches up to the deprivation rating it has been labelled with by the government. Some residents of Fulham’s Clem Attlee estate have said their neighbourhood is a “lovely” place to live, after it was singled out in a government study on deprivation.
Comprising 19 high and low-rise 1960s blocks, the estate was placed in the top 10% of most deprived areas in all of England.
The Indices of Deprivation 2019 study, by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, also suggests it is the most deprived area of Hammersmith and Fulham.
The community of social tenants and leaseholders sits beside North End Road, renowned for a market that has existed since the late 1800s. It was named after the post-war Labour Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, who also served as deputy PM in Winston Churchill’s war cabinet.
Paulett Rawlings, 73, whose groundfloor flat overlooks a manicured garden square, said the estate has a “nice atmosphere”.
“I’ve lived here 45 years and raised three children,” said the retired chemist.
“It’s like most places – it’s had its high times and its low times, but for a few years it’s been lovely.
“There’s people who say good morning.
The Clem Attlee estate was placed in the top 10% of the most deprived areas in England
You see children go to school and back and it makes a nice atmosphere.”
Retired Mohamad Ehoubi, 70, feels that despite London’s growing problem with violent crime, the Clem Attlee is “safe”.
He said: “There has been a lot of change. Some buildings have been knocked down and rebuilt on the estate.
“But it’s neighbourly and secure. I feel safe.
“I had five children. None of them could afford to stay in Fulham, but they all went to the local schools, which are very good.”
However, another long-standing resident, Abdul Wahabutt, 71, once owned Price Cut Supermarket in North End Road.
He believes the area now has a lot less to offer for shopping and local employment than in the past.
“About 10 to 15 years ago there were so many more shops and the market was really big. A lot of people who lived on this estate had jobs in those shops and the market,” he said.
“Tourists would come to see it and coaches would stop in Lillie Road. Now no one really comes from outside the area.”
Mr Wahabutt said the estate once had a much worse problems with gangs.
“For about three years in the mid-noughties there were a lot of gangs of teenagers who did drugs, but the police got them under control and it’s much better now,” he said.
With its proximity to Imperial College London University, the estate also has its share of student digs. An Imperial student, 19, who asked not to be named, said: “The flat itself isn’t very good. It’s an old council building, but the area around here is great.
“There’s loads of pubs and places for us, and we’re near Fulham Broadway.”
Peter Matty, a resident of 19 years, praised the council for its upkeep of the estate.
He said: “I really like it here. The estate is well tended to and we love having Norman Park across the road.
“It’s like our little corner and it has an attendant.
“We think the council does a good job of looking after the place.”
A woman, who asked only to be named as Shirley, said she loved the views offered by her ninthfloor flat by Lillie Road.
“You can see Chelsea’s stadium and Battersea Power Station. I wouldn’t get this anywhere else,” she said.
However, she too was unimpressed with the current state of North End Road Market, saying its offer was now “very limited”.
The Clem Attlee sits inside the Fulham Broadway council ward, with a population of almost 12,000.
On Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s website, an “area profile” says 77% of residents in the area are either employed or selfemployed.
It also said the area was one of contrasts, with “relatively affluent” neighbourhoods sat beside “pockets of deprivation”.
Looking at the inner-west London borough as a whole, the government study said Hammersmith and Fulham is the 96th mostdeprived council area in England, out of 317.
For schools and access to skills and training, the borough scored exceptionally well, and is ranked the 18th best place in the country out of 317.
However, it is the 30th worst place to live in terms of affordability of housing, and the 16th worst in terms of quality of the environment.