I’ve lived on the West Hendon estate for more than 30 years. There are people here who’ve lived on the estate all their lives. People have known each other for decades and for generations. They have deep roots here.
Regeneration of the area had been talked about in broad terms since the early 90s, but it was the change in local government that enabled a switch in direction; suddenly it was the council homes in West Hendon and Graham Park that were targeted as a cash cow for the council.
As part of the community consultation, a ‘pledge’ was signed between the council and residents, agreeing to a regeneration programme that would see homes upgraded and some partial demolition of the older homes. That legally binding pledge was later ripped up and the residents’ choice of developer mysteriously dropped out of the contract to be replaced by Barratt. We knew things were starting to go drastically wrong.
Despite being legally obliged to consult with residents, we were left out of meetings and items we raised were left off the agenda. When the council sold the estate to the developers for £3 without securing any of the housing rights – whilst simultaneously billing residents for £10,000 repairs to their homes despite impending demolition – we started the Our West Hendon campaign.
Our original aim was to try to save the estate, but as that increasingly became less likely, the next priority was to ensure that everybody got treated fairly. That means that tenants got rehoused and homeowners got the proper reimbursement. Although that hasn’t really happened in the way we would like it to, we’ve gained far more for residents than what they otherwise would have got if we hadn’t done anything.
The moon, stars, sun and sea are promised with these regenerations. As soon as planning permission is given, then a viability study comes in and the majority of the social housing and social benefit gets dropped, with the blessing of the council. Not that the figures ever become public. You need to get your objections in before that and get as much press as possible so that there’s public awareness.