Dolphin Square – update
AXA has bought Dolphin Square from Westbrook for £850 million. AXA is a major investor in rented residential assets in Ireland, Spain and Germany, but this is its first significant deal in the sector in the UK. The General Manager of Dolphin Square has issued this statement:
“AXA’s intention is to bring forward the gradual refurbishment and modernisation of the estate, over the long-term, in order to enhance its sustainability credentials and provide a contemporary environment for tenants to live and enjoy, without losing the heritage of the estate.
As part of the transaction, the planning application appeal for the redevelopment of Dolphin House and additional floor across the estate has been withdrawn.”
We also very pleased to receive this message from the Dolphin Square Preservation Society:
“The DSPS would like to record their thanks for the support which you have given to Dolphin Squarewith its tradition of providing housing at moderate rents for those working unsocial hours in London.This support goes back a very long way. In 2017, it was thanks to you in the Labour Party that thecampaign to save the Square was able to take off and develop. With your help, it continued andgrew to be a community effort involving so many people in Pimlico. Very many thanks for your vital support and for the support of all those who helped so valiantly to win the hard-fought fight”
Ebury Bridge Estate
You can read the latest on the ongoing story of the Council’s plans for the Ebury Bridge Estate
‘A community broken apart’ – How it feels living on a London housing estate that’s going to be demolished. Residents say ‘half’ the flats are boarded up and they fear for the future”
https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/a-community-broken-apart-how-18996359
Lupus Street
After years of it being broken and unsightly, the laundrette on Lupus Street has now finally fixed its signage – thanks to Labour’s Churchill Ward Councillors pressing the Council to take action on the issue.
https://www.westminsterlabour.org.uk/pimlico/2020/09/17/lupus-street-laundrette-sign-finally-fixed/
We have also asked the Parking Team to take action to stop Tesco delivery lorries parking on the zig zag lines and blocking the road with metal crates to ‘reserve’ parking spaces.
Churchill Gardens Estate gardens
We are pleased that the gardens on Churchill Gardens Estate have now been registered as Grade II listed.
Chelsea Bridge Road
A missing street sign on Chelsea Bridge Road was replaced after a resident informed us this had not been actioned via Report It.
St George’s Square
A redundant and obstructive pole was removed from the pavement in St George’s Square after residents complained to us that this had not been dealt with.
Denbigh Place
We have received further concerns from residents in Denbigh Place about the failure of Sanctuary Housing to maintain their properties properly. Residents say there is:
“serious dampness in almost all basement flats and dangerously decaying facades and balconies that one day could kill a person, plants taking root in drains to become trees and causing huge deterioration of properties and which additionally causes serious water leakage into some properties whenever it rains (Months/years of neglect). Scaffolding at the back of a house in Denbigh Place that has been up for over a year (costing thousands) and yet no longer needed after a year +, many empty properties that have had no tenants for months (dire housing shortage), and so much more. Have been waiting for months and months for Sanctuary to do some essential maintenance work – still waiting and yet faulty air-vents still causes water to come into kitchen and bathroom whenever it rains (totally unhygienic), disruptive neighbours causing misery for whole street but no notice at all taken of these issues /occurrences, the list is endless.”
Helicopter noise
We are making enquiries about this recurring issue:
“We are really at our wits end in Abbey Orchard Street Estate with the noise day and night from helicopters. Our lives are being made a misery day and night by low flying helicopters. It is not only impossible to sleep but life during the day is terrible. I spoke to a policeman who had been drafted from Bexleyheath yesterday and was shocked at how much per minute it costs to run a helicopter. During these times of severe financial restraint, it is obscene that this is happening”
“In the past month or more the helicopters have been hovering directly above our homes day and night. On the local social media it has gone viral. People are appallingly disturbed whilst trying to sleep, work from home, in their sick beds or simply trying to make themselves heard to family members. It is outrageous.”
“The steadily increasing noise from helicopters day and night is quite unacceptable. They fly so low that the windows rattle and for me, among others, they are a threatening reminder of my childhood in WW2. We are supposed to have the right to the peaceful enjoyment of our properties, but apparently that excludes helicopters”