Development Appraisal

I would propose that the design practice, together with the council, establish a framework which would allow to redefine current council housing developments. The practice would become the lead designer for the framework and under council’s guidance would develop further strategies for the scheme to be adaptable on a variety of sites.

During the research stage of the project it has been established that the site is currently owned by Southwark Council and already accommodates some council housing units. Another professional body present on site is Draper Estate who are a charity promoting ‘(...) community cohesion by providing opportunities to the residents of the Draper Estate and their neighbours in Elephant and Castle (...)’5. I believe it would be beneficial for both parties to establish a formal agreement between themselves which would allow the council to retain legal ownership of the site at the same time allowing the charity to become a formal representative of Draper residents.

Considering the funding of the project, I would propose the council to fund the development. The dismissal of the borrowing cap for the councils allows them to acquire substantial funding to meet the current housing demand. It is thus proposed for the costs to be covered by Southwark Council which would be complimentary to the £3bn already secured for the E&C Regeneration Scheme. Although this appears to potentially create a substantial deficit in the council’s budget, the investment is proposed to be gradually returned via flat sales as well as rent payments provided by both existing and new residents on a monthly basis [the diagram below represents the proposed capital flow]. It is speculated that the payments would pay off council’s debt as well s provide further capital for reinvestment.

A parallel route proposes to create a co-operative group on site; the group would be comprised of some of the flat owners [exercising their right-to-buy] and working closely with the Draper Together charity. Both would form a representative body of all [existing and new] residents of the Draper Farm that would assume control over the site at a micro-scale [see the diagram below for details]. The purpose of the group is to strengthen the community atmosphere by providing the residents with an official forum to voice their concerns as well as allowing them to represent themselves in an official capacity. All major responsibilities would still be overseen by Southwark Council.

The proposed framework is envisioned to become a turning point for the current stance to council housing by changing both public’s as well as the government’s perception of the often devalued modernist estates falling victim to demolition and regeneration schemes.