Cressingham Gardens

Cressingham Gardens
Cressingham Gardens Estate
Location	Brockwell Park, Lambeth, London
Coordinates	51°26′46″N 0°06′44″W / 51.4460°N 0.1121°W / 51.4460; -0.1121
Status	threat of demolition
Area	10 acres (4.0 ha)
Units	306
Constructed	1968–1978
Construction
Architect	Edward Hollamby
Contractors	Direct service organisation
Authority	London Borough of Lambeth
Influenced by	garden city and garden suburb
Refurbished
Proposed in	2015
Proposed action	Demolition and rebuild
Directing authority	London Borough of Lambeth

Cressingham Gardens is a council garden estate in Lambeth. It is located on the southern edge of Brockwell Park. It comprises 306 dwellings, a mixture of four, three and two-bedroom houses, and one-bedroom apartments. It was designed at the end of the 1960s by the Lambeth Borough Council Architect Edward Hollamby, and built at the start of the 1970s. In 2012 Lambeth Council proposed demolishing the estate, to replace the terraced houses by apartment blocks. Most of the apartments would then be for sale to the private sector. The residents, those in Lambeth who wish to prevent the gentrification of the borough, and those who want to conserve what they believe to be important architectural heritage, are campaigning to prevent its demolition.

Its design was inspired by the social reformers who advocated, and showed the benefit of providing houses with gardens for those who can only afford to rent. It was a reaction to the failure of council estates of multi-storey apartment blocks to provide a good family homes. Ted Hollamby's innovative design showed how it was possible using low rise dwellings, to achieve the same residential density as estate of multi-storey apartment blocks; and how pedestrianizing the estate allowed much better use of the space between the dwellings, as this space could be used for gardens rather than car parks and access roads. The estate has been a proven success and has enabled a good quality of life for its residents, and led to the development of a mutually cooperative community. There are however, supposedly insurmountable structural defects on the estate, i.e., problems with the guttering - currently being dealt with through a Lambeth Council programme of "weathertight repairs", and supported by a ten year warranty - and the land drains. These problems have led the Labour controlled Lambeth Council elected in 2010 to propose demolishing the estate, and replacing it with an estate of multi-storey apartment blocks. The majority of the new apartments will be for those can afford to buy. The site is a prime location, and two bedroom apartments could sell for over half a million pounds. This makes re-developing the estate profitable. In July 2015, the residents were granted permission to seek judicial review of the Lambeth Council's decision to demolish the estate and not consider the option of repair and refurbishment. In November 2015, the high court ruled that it was unlawful for Lambeth Council not to consider the option of repair and refurbishment. Lambeth Council "resumed" consultation for 5 weeks in early 2016, and used the results of the sparsely-attended workshops and exhibitions to justify arriving for a second time at a decision to demolish. In August 2016 residents were granted permission to seek judicial review of the second demolition decision. There is also a controversy concerning listed status. An application for listed status was made and rejected. It is suggested by those interested in urban design that Historic England failed to appreciate the importance of Cressingham Gardens as an architectural model for high residential density inner city housing.