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Brixton & its Million Pound Makeover

Brixton, South West London, is an area in the borough of Lambeth that is

always changing. However recently with millions of pounds being pumped

into the area, residents are worried about how a newly approved

regeneration plan will change their community.

Recently, I’ve read so many articles on the regeneration of Brixton, written by many people

who have probably never lived there in their whole lives. However, for me, it hits home a lot

more as the regeneration of Brixton affected part of my own family. All of my mum’s family

have lived in South London for generations. Hailing from Lewisham not many people in my

family have moved afar, which is why

we were shocked a few years ago when

we got a call from my aunt telling us

she was moving out of her Brixton flat

– but not by choice.

The hustle and bustle of London life has

always attracted a diverse number of

people to it’s streets. However, with more people moving in, more space is having to be

made. The borough of Lambeth in particular is feeling the full force of regeneration

especially the area of Brixton.

Brixton’s identity in South London has changed rapidly over the years, in the 1920s Brixton

was South London’s answer to Oxford Street (my nan can still remember her mum taking all

the children to buy their best dresses ‘down Brixton.’) The 1950s saw the influence of culture

change in Brixton with immigrants from the West Indies making this area their home.

Throughout the 1980s to 2000s Brixton then changed reputation once again, having a title as

one of the most notoriously criminal areas in London. Although, Brixton and the vibrant

community pulled through the bad press… which has led us hear today. Brixton has officially

become one of the most popular areas for young people, stealing the crown off ‘trendy’ areas

like Shoreditch and Camden.

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Once a close community of people that occupied Brixton’s streets, including my own family,

the bustling area has been going under a massive redevelopment. The residents, however, are

not staying quiet about the changes.

Murphy Odeyemi, who has lived in Brixton for 25 years after moving here from Nigeria says,

‘’I’ve seen Brixton at it’s worse, when people didn’t even wanna step foot in the area let

alone all of a sudden buy houses here. It’s amazing to see this change but we need to

remember the people that have been here through everything. They’re the people that have

roots here.’’

The affordability of living in Brixton too is on the rise. The problem is that if you are one of

many that lose your flat/house to the bulldozers, will you be able to afford another? Rozine

Jahfar, a street photographer based in Brixton says, ‘’the housing crisis is a massive problem,

loads of people are being kicked out of their council flats that they've lived in for years,

which will mean that Brixton will change as a place, because richer people will move there,

as they will be the only ones to afford the housing prices, and the people that have been there

their whole lives will have to leave.’’

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According to

Zoopla.co.uk, the

average house price

paid in Brixton as

of this year is

£545,032, which on

paper is high but

not as extortionate

compared to other

areas in London.

Although when

broken down, for a

family that has just

been kicked out of their three bed flat they are looking to pay, £617,116 or £2,317pcm. This

leaves us with the question, who’s buying these new homes and flats with a such a hefty price

tag?

Assistant Sales Manager at Barrat Homes, Yolada Jacob believes, ‘’Due to the large amount

of young people living in the area flats are in high demand for renting. As of five to six years

ago there were less than a handful of new build developments however in current times new

build developments are popping up on every corner to suit the demand.’’

To make room for these new build

developments council estates are in the

firing line. Myatt’s Field estate got

notoriously demolished making many of

their long term residents homeless and

squeezing 980 homes on a plot that

originally had 477. With 150 million being

spent on regenerating the estate, more than

half of the flats are being sold privately

with even more being sold as shared-ownership. The original Guinness Trust buildings which

provided 390 social rented flats got knocked down this May making way for a total of 487

new-build apartments with space for only 211 social rented flats, just less than half than

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before! Now, Cressingham Gardens follows demolishment as Lambeth council agrees to

bulldoze another 300 homes in favour of new-build apartments.

When asked about the situation Lambeth Council decided not to comment. However, Rozine

says, ‘I know there’s pros about the regeneration, but I’m slightly biased after speaking to the

locals living there. The council just tell them that they'll have new houses for them, but for

the people that have lived there for 50 years and their families have previously its hard

because they don’t particularly wanna move to another part of London, and move their kids

out of their schools and the area they know.’’

Lambeth Housing Activists have actively been protesting against the council for the

demolishment of these long standing estates. The group has a huge following from social

media sites and are now tackling further regeneration plans and closures of public areas such

as libraries. When contacted they gave no comment on the regeneration of the area but urged

people to come to their meetings and protests to help save the borough from further

demolishment.

With new-builds taking over traditional purpose built housing another worry for residents is

the change of community. Yolanda describes, ‘’the newer builds that offer schemes for first

time buyers will bring a lot of young professionals, young couples, small families etc that

want to live in a London post code without the cost.’’ Even though housing prices are

rocketing, in relation to the rest of London, Brixton is an affordable option for people that

still want to be on a tube line and redevelopment makes the area even more attractive. ‘’The

area is growing in such a way to suit the younger generation with lively bars, artisan shops

and boutiques along with great transport links,’’ states Yolanda.

Olive Hunt, a 19-year-old student living in Herne Hill says, ‘’Brixton is way more lively than

it was when I was kid. I go there to shop and pubs are cheaper but still have the same vibe as

central.’’

With the focus of redevelopment attracting a younger generation, Yolanda assures, ‘’the

demographics of the area has already changed over the past 10 years and it is not likely to

hugely differ from how it is now. It is likely to continue in this way for a good few years until

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another more popular ‘up and coming’ area pops up around the corner and low property

prices draw attention away from Brixton.’’

With the millions of pounds being spent on redeveloping Brixton, people forget that many

people have to move out of their lifetime homes to make this happen. The voice of the long

term residents need to be heard and listened to – just how my aunt’s wasn’t. If there was one

question that the people of Brixton could air it would be this, Lambeth Council, are you really

listening to us?

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