The refurbishment of a listed London housing block is facing further delays with residents fearing they will be hit with huge costs. Plans to carry out repairs and upgrade the windows on Grade-II* listed Crescent House in the Golden Lane Estate were approved by the City of London Corporation in December 2023.
Residents had long been fighting for repair works to the exterior of their homes, though concerns were raised about the likely cost to leaseholders and ongoing issues such as damp and mould. The upgrades are part of a wider project designed to deliver improvements to the estate, which itself is Grade-II listed, though planning applications are yet to be submitted for the rest of the blocks.
In the Crescent House submission an expected completion date for the works was given of June 2025. Separately, in a release dated May 11 2023 in which the Corporation announced funding into repairs at the estate, it was stated work would begin in November that year and was hoped to take a maximum of 24 months.
Corporation documents presented to a recent Housing Management and Almshouses Sub-Committee meeting revealed how Crescent House has now been included in a High Risk Building (HRB) registration, also covering the neighbouring Hatfield House and Cullum Welch. This is because it shares communal staircases with the two other blocks, and so will require more fire safety works.
The report read: “Further to a review of the scope, there is now active consideration of additional works, including fire safety, electrical compliance, communal decorations and external fabric repairs. Subject to detailed surveys and design development, an updated cost plan should be available by early August 2025.”
The tender for the works has also now been withdrawn, with a new one to be launched once the revised scope has been confirmed. The expected cost is listed as £13 million. Legal advice on how much can be recovered from leaseholders is yet to be received.
Crescent House is a Grade-II* listed block on the Golden Lane Estate
(Image: LDRS)
At the meeting earlier this week, Deputy Ceri Wilkins said there is concern among residents about the lack of updates they are receiving on the planned works. Peta Caine, Assistant Director in the Housing, Community and Children’s Services Department, assured her the team are in the process of reintroducing more regular meetings.
Sue Pearson, a former Corporation member and the current Chair of the Golden Lane Estate Residents’ Association (GLERA), told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the delays are the result of years of inaction by the Corporation.
“Golden Lane residents are really struggling with this cold winter – any heat goes straight out of our windows, and that is if you can afford to put the heating on,” she said. “There has been no help for residents from the Corporation this year and now the project is delayed there will be who knows how many more miserable winters to suffer through. What are the Corporation’s plans to support residents?”
Ms Pearson added leaseholders ‘also need to be assured that they are not going to be charged for any of the abortive work involved in the withdrawn tender process’.
“It’s the pile-up of not doing work when it was originally planned and when it became necessary that has turned it into a very complex programme now.”
An updated cost plan for Crescent House is expected to be ready by August
(Image: LDRS)
A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “We are proud to be investing £110m in a refurbishment programme for all our social housing. This includes window repairs, re-roofing, new kitchens and bathrooms, electrical and heating upgrades, and energy efficiency improvements to help bring bills down.
“Crescent House has been included on the Higher Risk Building registration as it shares communal staircases with two adjoining blocks, and requires additional fire safety works. The safety and comfort of our residents is a top priority. We are currently working on a revised programme for the building which will be shared with residents shortly.”
Of the £110m pot, £70m has been spent with the remaining £40m committed to projects either being delivered or at design development. Other estates with completed or ongoing works as part of the programme include the William Blake Estate in Lambeth, York Way Estate in Islington and the Middlesex Street Estate in the City.
The Golden Lane Estate was designed by the same architects as the Barbican prior to the Brutalist icon’s construction. It has recently featured heavily in the hit Apple TV show Slow Horses.
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