Residents who want a better future for our children welcome this demolition and the deal we've done with the developers
Your article claimed the redevelopment of Earls Court, west London, will clear the way for some of the most expensive property in Britain, bulldozing the exhibition centres and our housing estate (London council tenants in way of Earl's Court building project hit back, 22 March).
The piece did its best to capture the horror, quoting a five-year-old girl who says: "I love my home." The story comes across as good v evil, nasty council and developers against residents trying in vain to protect their homes. The villains are Hammersmith and Fulham council and the developer Capital & Counties. The good guys include the local Labour MP, Andrew Slaughter, desperately trying to save residents from the bulldozers. If only life were that simple.
The article talks about "more than 500 testimonies" written and delivered to the council. But what it doesn't mention is that many of these testimonies were pre-completed forms. It is upsetting that we have worked so hard for our community and that outsiders have come on to the estates – including our own, the West Kensington & Gibbs Green estate, which has 760 houses and flats – with incorrect information and knocked on our doors with these forms, and statements of opposition.
The article did not mention one simple fact: many people on this estate actually want this demolition to happen, and a steering group of about 100 residents has been formed to negotiate terms with the council. Why? Because we want to live in better housing, in a better environment; we want better open space; we want a new school, shops and a health centre. Most of all, we want a brighter future for our children. This is what redevelopment would bring - why would we not support it?
Of course, this fact does not fit in with the political opportunism of people like Slaughter who talks about "gerrymandering the electorate". The article talks of "this patch of the capital" being turned into a political battleground. It is shameful that this is becoming about politicians' futures as opposed to ours.
West Kensington and Gibbs Green is not a sink estate, but in 15 years it could be, if the quality of housing is not substantially improved. This gives us a chance to do just that.
The real story here is what we have achieved. This is not the council doing something to us: we have worked hard to negotiate this deal, probably one of the best regeneration offers ever negotiated. Good quality new council homes are being built for us – where we will continue to be secure tenants and pay council rents – and we will only have to move just down the road. These conditions, enshrined in contracts, are almost unheard of in Britain. We do not need to transfer to a new landlord.
We will be surrounded by building works for years to come, but we would be even if the estates were not included. So, when you next read a story of people not wanting their housing estate demolished, think of the many less vocal people unhappy with the way things are, and who do want their homes re-built in a far better environment.
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