Hated Robin Hood estate in Poplar, east London, to be demolished
20 May 2009
A GIANT eco-friendly development of 3,000 houses is set to be built after planning chiefs gave the go-ahead to demolish a run-down council estate dubbed "hell" by its residents.
Robin Hood Gardens, in Poplar, east London, is hated by many of the 400 residents who live in the 1970s block.
But leading architects, including Richard Rogers – who designed Heathrow’s Terminal 5 – led a campaign to have the block listed, describing it as a modernist masterpiece. They urged Tower Hamlets Council to refurbish the flats instead.
However, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham rejected an appeal to have the estate listed, paving the way for redevelopment of the site, surrounded by busy road junctions and the entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel.
The plans would see the tunnel approach being covered with a deck to build more houses and shops on, and allow residents easier access to the surrounding Blackwall Reach area.
Designers promise a third of homes will be affordable and plan energy efficient features, including devices to recover rainwater for use in the buildings. Plans to generate renewable energy on site are also in the pipeline.
A Tower Hamlets spokesman said: "We will now speak to local residents and organisations to take the plans forward – it is a massive project."
But Jon Wright, of preservation group The Twentieth Century Society, said: "The new plans might be eco-friendly, but it would be more eco-friendly to refurbish flats that are already built."
Eyesore or Icon? What do you think of the Robin Hood estate? Have your say!
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