Wandsworth’s Tory administration has refused to commit to a regeneration masterplan that would see an estate rebuilt with more than half of the new homes being affordable.
Wandsworth Council’s Conservative leadership has faced calls from Labour to stick with its plans for the Alton Estate, in Roehampton, that it drew up while still in control of the authority.
However, the Tory administration has declined to confirm it will move ahead with the masterplan, which was supported by 82 per cent of more than 1,400 residents who responded to a ballot last October.
It means residents are still waiting for answers on the future of the 1950s estate, nearly 14 years after the regeneration was agreed in principle in 2012.
Conservative councillors said that while they remained committed to regenerating the estate, the design of the masterplan was under review at a council meeting on Wednesday (October 21).
Labour councillor Matthew Tiller urged the administration to go ahead with the masterplan. He said Putney MP Fleur Anderson’s petition making the same demand had gained more than 1,000 signatures.
Councillor Tiller read out a statement from estate resident Charles, who said: “We had real hope that this promised renewal was soon to become a reality, guided by input from a diverse group of residents from the estate. Please do not let this long-overdue renewal get shoved to the sidelines again.”
Ms Anderson previously said the Conservatives, who campaigned against the masterplan while in opposition, had threatened to “scale back or stop the plan”.
The council originally submitted plans to demolish 288 homes on the estate for 1,108 new homes in 2019, while it was under Tory control.
The scheme included 261, or 24 per cent, affordable homes and was approved in January 2022.
The scheme was pulled before building had begun when Labour took control of the council for the first time in 44 years that May, over its lack of affordable housing.
The Labour administration redesigned the masterplan to prioritise affordable housing, ultimately proposing the demolition of 177 homes for up to 650 new homes – including more than 40 per cent council housing and 57 per cent affordable housing.
It fast-tracked and approved plans to build a new block of 55 council homes at the entrance to the estate, along with a new community hub, so this could go ahead without needing to wait for the entire masterplan to win approval.
But the council had not yet submitted its planning application for the overall masterplan when the local elections arrived in May, which saw Labour lose control of the authority.
The council is now led by a Conservative minority, which fell one seat short of the 30 needed to secure a majority.
While the Conservatives are moving ahead with the fast-tracked housing and community hub plans, which are due to be completed next month, administration councillors did not detail their plans for the remaining regeneration at Wednesday’s meeting.
Plans for a new building housing the family hub and nursery, known as Portswood Place, have already lost funding under the new administration, which agreed to pull £9.5m from the proposals on October 12.
Councillor Tiller said the authority’s plan to instead move these services into the community hub was not practical.
He said: “We know that the Conservatives and Labour do not view the council’s financial situation in the same way, but the Alton renewal should transcend such divisions because of the urgency of providing new shops, new services and most importantly new council homes and the record-breaking endorsement of the plans.”
He added: “It’s imperative that the Alton renewal plans go ahead as balloted on, with GLA funding, without delays and without backsliding into some scheme that benefits only people outside the estate rather than those within it.”
Conservative councillor Matthew Corner, cabinet member for housing, said the administration was “committed to supporting regeneration” of the estate, but it was working with limited resources.
Councillor Corner said the masterplan relied on £120m of council borrowing and still had a funding gap of £47m, while the authority had only got 40 per cent of what it asked for from the latest round of grants from the Greater London Authority (GLA).
He said: “Designs do remain under review as we engage with stakeholders. Regeneration is a complex endeavour, but residents will have the chance to share their views before those designs are finished.”
Councillor Corner said the authority was surveying the condition of all of its housing stock to understand where investment was needed, looking to secure more GLA grant funding and working with developers on investment opportunities in the borough.
He added: “It is only right that officers continue to review all elements of the scheme in this context, and the broader priorities for investment I have set up.”
