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New Era Estate to be demolished and rebuilt
A housing estate in east London that hit the national headlines after a resident-led campaign stopped huge rent hikes is set to be demolished and rebuilt.
The New Era Estate was bought by private equity firm Westbrook in 2014, which soon after announced its intention to increase rents by 10%, pushing out families who could not afford the new higher rents.
However, after residents launched a high-profile campaign – backed by celebrity Russell Brand – to save the estate, affordable housing provider Dolphin Living stepped in to buy the estate. The landlord introduced personalised rents where households pay according to their income.
Dolphin Living has now written to residents to tell them it has decided to demolish and rebuild the estate. The landlord said major repair work is required because the estate “does not meet the standards and quality of accommodation we like to provide to our tenants”.
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The landlord has promised all original residents of the estate the following:
- They will be offered a new home on the rebuilt estate “and you will pay no more rent than you would have done had we not rebuilt the estate”
- They will be offered somewhere to live while the estate is being rebuilt and Dolphin Living will cover the costs of moving
- Residents’ views will be listened to so the way the estate is rebuilt “works for everyone”
The landlord wrote to residents in August to say it was considering a number of options for the estate, including refurbishing existing homes and rebuilding the entire estate. The landlord said the best option would be to rebuild the estate as the “only way” to deliver all the improvements it wants to carry out without residents having to pay more in rent.
Meetings were held with residents and Dolphin Living said 84% of residents supported the rebuild plan - 69 out of the 82 households that live on the estate.
Dolphin Living is building new flats near the estate that it plans to offer to residents to live in temporarily while the estate is being rebuilt. It intends to submit a planning application for the rebuild in the autumn and by September 2019 it will start moving residents into the temporary flats. Inside Housing asked how long the rebuild is expected to take but a spokesperson for Dolphin Living said this is not yet clear and will depend on further consultation with residents over how the rebuild will be carried out.
The landlord said the rebuild will result in “larger homes with bigger rooms that have outside space such as balconies, terraces or gardens”. The estate does not currently have any outside space apart from parking areas.
The rebuild will also include lifts being installed and new kitchens and bathrooms.
