79

of 100 signatures

To Peter Fortune Sadiq Khan Michael Gove

We, the concerned residents and supporters of the Lesnes Estate in Thamesmead, London Borough of Bexley, object to the proposed demolition of our homes as part of Peabody's regeneration plans in our community.

This proposal, having been approved by Bexley Council, has been referred to the office of the Mayor of London for Stage 2 approval. We have petitioned the Mayor of London to direct that this planning application be subject to a public hearing on the following grounds:

Residents’ Ballot:
As part of its obligations supporting its proposed regeneration of the area, in 2020 Peabody held a residents’ ballot on the Lesnes Estate, which asked eligible residents:

“Are you in favour of Peabody’s proposal to include Lesnes Estate in their regeneration plans for South Thamesmead?”

Of the 65.4 per cent of residents that took part in the ballot, 70.2 per cent voted ‘yes’.

However, nowhere in the document were the words ‘demolish’ or ‘demolition’ used.

This is not transparent, nor is the phrasing of the question asked in the ballot. Therefore, the resident ballot and engagement did not meet the guidance set out in the document, "Better Homes for Local People: The Mayor’s Good Practice Guide to Estate Regeneration."

Lack of affordable housing:
The proposed development to replace the Lesnes Estate will double its building density and triple the resident numbers, yet lead to a net loss in social housing provision, at a time when Bexley council has over 7000 homeless families in its books. In its report on the Stage 1 application to Bexley Council, the Mayor's Office is at a loss to explain this, and considers it an impediment to the application complying with the London Plan.

Viability Assessment:
Peabody are on record as saying they stand to lose £35 million from redeveloping the Lenses Estate, based on figures the Mayor’s Office report to the Stage 1 application refers to as "conservative" and part of an "unreasonable approach" of scheduling costs. Bexley Council’s own viability assessment of the proposals puts Peabody's profit from the proposed works at nearer £100 million.

Whole Life-Cycle (WLC) emissions:
The Mayor's office report on the Stage 1 application does not include a WLC assessment of the proposals, as required by the London Plan Policy S1 2, and is therefore unacceptable.

Sustainable and Green Measures:
The Office of the Mayor's report on the Stage 1 application concludes that it fails to address and/or meet: Flood risk; Sustainable drainage; Water efficiency and Transport - all of which are requirements provided for by the London Plan policies.
You can also see our petition to Stop Peabody demolishing the Lesnes Estate, Thamesmead London here: https://www.change.org/p/stop-peabody-demolishing-the-lesnes-estate-thamesmead-london-refurbish-don-t-demolish-c12fcc92-2fe1-4ff0-b901-bec27a5e565a

Open letter text

Bexley Council, in a recent communication to us, absolved themselves of any responsibility for any and all of the above. They have reneged on a promise to meet with us, the residents of Lesnes Estate, and listen to our concerns, directing us to take our concerns to Peabody instead.

We therefore ask that you use your offices to intervene on our behalf with the Office of the Mayor of London to immediately call for and hold a public hearing on this application, at which we will be able to hold Bexley Council and Peabody
to account.





Please see petition against the demolition. https://www.change.org/p/stop-peabody-demolishing-the-lesnes-estate-thamesmead-london-refurbish-don-t-demolish-c12fcc92-2fe1-4ff0-b901-bec27a5e565a.

Yours sincerely Lesnes Resistance

Sign the open letter

Signers list

Momodu Buhari
Mary Light
Morag Gillie
Sabine Mairey
Helen Simpson
Militza Smith
Drew Gur
Débò Adégòkè
Ana Heyatawin
Hang Liu
Alexander Forbes
Grace Cooper
Zara Tomkinson
Isaac Olatunji
Alessia Gammarota
Michael Yacoub
Geraldine James
Tate Kiveal
Adam Turk
Claudia Singer
Clare Pashby
Rev.Jim Osas Igunma
Gina Prat Lilly
Doris Hayford
Lucy Trinder
Marcin Wawrzyn
Val Saunders
Alice Brown
Georgia Twigg
Diosdado Biaho Soy
Nneka Ajasa
Sarah Leyemi
Theresa Norton
Karen Wildin
Wilhelmina Hayford
Linda Pashby
Anthony Harvey
Juliet Micah
Anne Richards
Mavis Addo-Pappoe
Zoe Anderson
Luke Plowden
Tamara Buhari
Charly Helyar
Peter Somerville
Rosen Pitman-Wallace

Re: Stage 2 decision for GLA 2021/0853/S2 and LPA ref 21/01948/OUTEA – Lesnes Estate and Coralline Walk

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Re: Stage 2 decision for GLA 2021/0853/S2 and LPA ref 21/01948/OUTEA – Lesnes Estate and Coralline Walk

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