My name is Jim Blackender I am a tenant on the Excalibur Prefab Estate Catford SE6 1RP, a very unique Historic Estate, As tenants we are trying to highlight the difficulties we are having trying to save our historic estate from the bulldozers.
English Heritage & The DCMS
English Heritage has submitted an application to the Department of Culture Media and Sports, recommending a grade two listing of the Excalibur estate.
But things seem to take
so long, I worry this estate will be demolished before the DCMS makes it decision.
Also there is no guarantee that the DCMS will list the estate, could be a conflict of interests; after all they are part of the same government that introduced this so called opportunity, we will have to see how independent they really are.
The prefabs were expected to last ten to fifteen years but 60 years on they are still standing.
158 prefabs are rented from Lewisham council, and 29 have been bought freehold from the authority.
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St Marks St Marks Church, The church is situated on the corner of Baudwin road & Castillon road, Catford SE6.
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The land that the prefabs are situated on was given to the then LCC by Lord Forster (Governor General of Australia) in 1934. As part of a contract of sale on adjoining land. This section of land was put under the control of the parks department.
The 187 prefabs on the Excalibur Estate in Downham were erected in 1946-47 by German and Italian prisoners of war as an interim solution to the housing shortage after the Second World War.
All the roads on the estate were named after the Knights of the Round Table, as were many of the roads on the north Downham estate.
The Excalibur prefab estate has been featured on countless TV programs including, legacy of war, disappearing London, London tonight, and many more, over 20 articles appearing in local and national press . All because this is a very special Historical place to live.
There are 187 prefabs on the Excalibur estate
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| My wife and I have lived on the Excalibur estate for the past 17 years, we have been involved in the campaign to save this historic estate, almost since the day we moved in There have been many attempts over the past 60 years to redevelop the site but due to the strong community all so far have failed. Then along came the decent homes standard. | The Decent Homes Standard has given councils the golden opportunity to write off vast amounts of housing stock as non decent and transfer their stocks to housing associations who build in its place high density housing estates. Some of the prefabs are in need of repair but the vast majority are in surprisingly good condition, and on the surface would need little funds to make them fit the decent homes standards. |
The Excalibur Prefab Estate Catford
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