London housing plan approved

A £200 million (€241.5 million) plan to regenerate a housing estate in West London, UK, has been approved, with more than 900 new homes to be built.

The Havelock Estate in Southall was originally built in the 1950s and 1970s, and now Ealing Council has approved a masterplan put forward by Catalyst Housing, working with Pollard Thomas Edwards architects (PTEa).

A council review in 2008 highlighted problems with the construction and design of existing different housing types on the estate, with low resident satisfaction, anti-social behaviour and poor security identified, along with overcrowding.

The approved proposals for Havelock will see 922 new homes built – a mix of houses and flats for rent, shared ownership and sale, with the intention that people from all income brackets will be able to live in the new neighbourhood.

The regeneration programme will demolish large sections of the current estate. It will also create new roads, a new community facility and shops, while opening up a canal-side area and providing new public open spaces.

Virendra Sharma, Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall, said, “I am delighted that work can soon start on the transformation of the Havelock estate. And with the coming of Crossrail promising faster commuting times from Southall to central London, Catalyst’s regeneration is starting at just the right time, as it will bring much-needed new high-quality homes to the town.”