London, UK. 12th February, 2019. The Cressingham Gardens Estate, built between 1967-1979, is a high-density low-rise estate of 306 mixed housing units on the southern edge of Brockwell Park in Lambeth, of which around 200 are social rent or temporary accommodation homes. Designed by architects led by Edward Hollamby to include a children's nursery and accommodation for disabled residents, it has long been considered of architectural merit, is popular with its residents, a thriving and longstanding mixed community, and was described by Lord Esher, President of RIBA from 1965-67, as 'one of the nicest small schemes in England'. It has, however, been poorly maintained by Lambeth Council and the council now plans to demolish the entire estate and redevelop it to create 465 homes at an estimated cost of £120m. A long-running campaign to save Cressingham Gardens by 1,000 residents included a 273-page 'People's Plan' produced in consultation with technical experts which would have required no 'unnecessary demolition' and consequent dispersal of a community, providing an additional 37 genuinely affordable homes at council rent (a total of 237 social housing units alongside 100 affordable homes) for an estimated cost of £7.1m. This plan was dismissed by Lambeth Council officers within hours of submission, no ballot of residents has been permitted and a demolition funding order has since been signed by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. <br /> <br /> Some of these photographs feature images forming part of the Sanctum Ephemeral installation by photographer Mark Aitken.
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