Residents of Walworth’s deprived Aylesbury estate were aghast to discover that their homes may be subject to a compulsory purchase order, Nicola Coaker reports

Residents of Walworth’s Aylesbury Estate were shocked to discover their homes would be acquisition by compulsory purchase order earlier this month. A letter from the council was delivered to leaseholders by second-class post, arriving just a day before a cabinet meeting to discuss the compulsory purchase of their homes. Council leader Peter John apologised to residents, but the meeting proceeded nonetheless and it was decided that use of a Compulsory Purchase Order was “the direction this is travelling in”.

The Walworth area has been subject to substantial renovation in recent years, and so the likelihood that the famously-deprived Aylesbury community would face compulsory purchase and demolition was very high. However, few could have predicted the the callousness with which the process would be carried out and the lack of consideration paid to the estate’s low-income residents.

Two weeks after this meeting, Cllr John confirmed to a town hall meeting that the council was “going to look at” balloting residents for their input but failed to rule out simply continuing with their present strategy regardless of residents’ beliefs. The current development plans would see these concerned residents’ homes converted into a car park.