Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
New line sparks redevelopment
HOUSING ESTATES ACROSS THE NEW ELIZABETH RAIL ROUTE ARE SET TO BE MODERNISED
THOUSANDS of homes across London could be demolished or totally regenerated in an attempt to modernise the city, many of them due to the arrival of the Elizabeth line.
From Ealing and Hillingdon to Havering and Bexley, there are schemes in the pipeline that could see the areas transformed.
Councils have identified the areas for regeneration, but each one will be dependent on getting planning permission, which councils can give themselves, however they have to go through the same process as any application and if the council has submitted the plans itself it requires further approval from the Mayor of London.
Recently, it was reported 122 London housing estates may be demolished or regenerated, and among those are eight that have been earmarked because of the Elizabeth line’s opening.
Some 500 homes could be demolished or regenerated if plans for the
Marks Gate Estate in Barking and Dagenham are approved.
There are currently 230 homes facing demolition on Ealing’s Friary Park estate in Acton, with planning permission granted in 2019.
It sits opposite Acton main line rail station, which now runs along the Elizabeth line.
The estate consists of 230 homes, including 225 social rent units, as well as five privately owned units.
Meanwhile, the Green Man Lane Estate is just a five-minute walk away from West Ealing station, which is served by the Elizabeth line. Some 464 homes are facing demolition on this estate, with phase three of the development given planning permission in 2016, which is now under construction. The scheme will provide 714 new homes in total.
There are five more estates that have been earmarked for regeneration in Ealing, which hosts Ealing Broadway and West Ealing Crossrail stations, though it is unclear at this stage if this was because of the Elizabeth line. They are the Golf Links,
Havelock, High Lane, Sherwood Close and South Acton estates.
Six years ago, Hillingdon Council applied to the Mayor’s office to make Hayes Town Centre a ‘housing zone’, with the Austin Road estate listed as a potential site for redevelopment.
Savills was then commissioned in 2020 to determine whether it was a suitable option for redevelopment, with residents voting in favour of redevelopment in spring 2021. Plans were approved in March 2022.
This was earmarked partially because of Crossrail, with Hayes and Harlington train station a five-minute walk away.
The redevelopment of 150 new properties on Picardy Street in Bexley is possible, though a ballot is yet to take place and plans are yet to be drawn up fully.
The Lesnes Estate is in the second phase of Peabody’s redevelopment of the Bexley side of the Thamesmead estate. Regeneration of the development has started and, like Picardy Street, it is just a short distance from Abbey Wood station.
Meanwhile, the development of Thamesmead South is also underway after the Mayor approved plans in 2016. More than 220 homes are set to be replaced by 1,622 new homes, with Abbey Wood Station also a short distance away.
There are 209 homes under threat of demolition on Havering’s Waterloo road, situated near Romford town centre and is just a third of a mile away from the new Crossrail station in Romford. Planning was approved in November 2021.