Robin Hood Gardens faces £40m cash gap
3 July, 2009
Number of proposed new homes almost halved owing to falling demand
The controversial regeneration of Robin Hood Gardens is facing a £40 million funding black hole after the number of new homes proposed for the site was almost halved, Tower Hamlets Council has admitted.
Only 1,600 new replacement homes rather than the original 3,000 will be built due to a fall in demand for new private housing, which, together with lower anticipated sale values, means there is now a gaping hole in the council’s plans for Robin Hood Gardens and the wider Blackwall Reach area.
“Only 182 social housing units feels very low in comparison with the size of the scheme”
Tim Archer
The news comes just a week after BD revealed new evidence suggesting residents are increasingly in favour of refurbishing, rather than demolishing, the Smithsons-designed estate.
The latest financial update was published ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting due to take place as BD went to press, at which members were being asked to find an extra £13 million to continue buying out the site’s 42 leaseholders.
Unless this money can be agreed, the decanting of residents will have to be delayed, the council’s financial officer admitted in the meeting agenda.
Local Conservative councillor Tim Archer said the recession had so altered the scheme’s viability that it was time to revisit all the options again.
“There are only going to be 182 extra social housing units now, which feels very low in comparison with the size and cost of the overall scheme and the disruption that will be caused to the existing residents,” he said.
Archer also questioned whether the council would now be able to keep to its deadline on demolishing the estate. “They need to have bought out everyone by 2011 to begin the decanting,” he said, “but I think that’s looking particularly challenging.”
In the meeting’s agenda, the council’s chief financial officer Chris Naylor suggests raising the £13 million from anticipated housing sales on the project but admits “there is a small residual risk” the money will not be there.
He writes that if the money cannot be found in the short term, “the council would have to defer the decant and buyback process until a development partner has been selected”.
But Steve Oakes, north London area director for the Homes & Communities Agency, said he was not worried by the revised plan. “Tower Hamlets has to report to their members what the latest situation is. But the housing market is expected to pick up in the near future and density can be increased with later phases.”
RHG Re-visions: RIBA Gallery
Opens tomorrow, runs until August 26
No kickstart for rhg
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Government initiative will only help “shovel ready” projects
New money announced by the government this week will not help with the redevelopment of Robin Hood Gardens because the project is not “shovel ready”, it has emerged.
Gordon Brown has announced that the government will spend an additional £500 million on kickstarting stalled housing and regeneration schemes — on top of the £400 million already announced in April’s Budget.
The Homes & Communities Agency will be in charge of spending
the extra cash, which will see an additional 4,000 affordable homes built, and is part of a wider £1.5 billion pledged in the prime minister’s policy relaunch on Monday, Building Britain’s Future.
The HCA’s “Kickstart” programme has already injected cash to prevent schemes including Urban Splash’s Park Hill development in Sheffield from stalling.
Readers' comments
If the refurb goes ahead one suggestion for the list would be to put somehow a geometric tiled pattern on the balcony walkways: floor stones the size of farm kitchen slates in a large rectangular, preferable to square, but large square would suffice. This simple device would increase groundedness to naturally sustain buttressing against the stronger zephyrs gusting hither and thither and even enhancing such an experience of crossing such spaces.
Don't demolish, refurb, and don't buy out any leaseholders. There is a demand for private housing, but not at the sale prices they want. Either change the sale price or do something else. The something else is to get rid of the £13m target and refurb. That's if anything needs to be done at all, of course.
Given the market circumstances we can now let pragmatism take hold where cultural arguments have been ignored. Let's have a properly organized RIBA competition for the refurbishment which focuses on the needs of the residents while showing some civic enlightenment by improving the urban situation during the process. To my mind Robin Hood gardens is a particularly good example of this type of housing; The profession has the knowledge and responsibility to bring it in line with modern expectations. Here's to the successful regeneration and future listing of Robinhood Gardens!
We should lessons from the tragic fire in South London. Tenants had called for the block to be demolished two or three years ago - but had been told it was a listed building, and had to be preserved. (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8134734.stm).
I actually live next door to Robin Hood Gardens for the past 8 years, and frankly getting bored with this debate! I live, day in and day out with this Monster, alongside the anti-social behaviour and abuse I get from the residents. Those wide 'streets in the sky' give an excellent extended bowling run for the kids when they throw eggs at me from above. The place is horrible, and located directly adjacent to the 6-lane A12, and the fumes of the Blackwall Tunnel approach will never make this place Notting Hill. RHG needs to be demolished for the area to improve and for investment to come into the area (where 50% of the local population do not work, or have any intention of working) I too am a struggling architect (hence cannot afford to move out of Poplar), and do not agree with the rest of you. - the building just does not work for those who live in or near it. I suggest that all you overworked and underpaid architects should swap your comfortable, wage-slave, mortgaged to the hilt 2-bed flats, in West London, and move into a £120K Robin Hood Garden duplex flat if you love it so much. Perhaps ACTUALLY living in the building might open your eyes, and burst your rose-tinted architectural bubble in a way that a 2 hour pilgrimage, with your leica camera cannot..
Heritage Gateway returns no listing for the building?
The anti-social behaviour described above is not the fault of the building; it is surely the fault of certain residents?
Geoff's comment certainly puts light on the debate - suggest making a video alongside the other two - and tweeking the invective a bit?
This building in itself does have appeal discounting the surrounding environment around, its mistakes have been admitted, but other aspects are worthy of consideration elsewhere.