According to a report before Southwark NewsAt a meeting last month, locals were told that demolishing Maydew House – a 1960s tower block built for London County Council – was one of the options being considered by the authority rather than handing over the approved Haworth Tompkins amendment.
The practice has proposed refurbishment of 144 apartments and construction of an additional 24 homes within a five-storey rooftop extension, used to help support the renovations.
Although those plans were It was approved again in 2018However, construction work has yet to fully commence within the £25m scheme – although the council has spent millions on asbestos removal. The Haworth Tompkins scheme also included the demolition of the adjacent Bede Community Centre.
Southwark Council Leader Kieron Williams blamed “a perfect storm of massive increases in building costs, major new regulatory standards in relation to fire safety and a national inflationary crisis” for delaying the scheme.
“These factors combined mean we need to go back to the residents to look at other options for their properties,” he told JJ.
A Southwark Council spokesperson confirmed that it “looks forward to reporting to Cabinet in January on the future of Maydew House” and that “any decisions will be made in full consultation with residents”.
[Demolition]would be an option included in that report, but so far no final decision has been made,” Williams added.
Maydew’s house has been empty since 2015 after the council identified faults in plumbing and electrical, as well as asbestos, in 2010. Of the previous residents, 12 people have chosen to be re-housed in the building following the renovation.
Haworth Tompkins has told AJ he cannot comment on Southwark Council’s current thinking. The local authority invited contractors to bid on the work in late 2019. The practice at the time said renovations would begin in spring 2020.
The scheme included stripping Maydew House to its concrete frame and cladding the structure in terracotta cladding, replacing window frames and reconfiguring and extending the east lift core.
It was also possible to create a new entrance on the ground floor, along with new residents’ facilities, a new community center for local Bede charities, and improvements to the public area.
Last July, Southwark Council temporarily halted rooftop construction following a local campaign to end the phenomenon, local group Yes to Fair Redevelopment. Call ‘Stupid’.
Maydew House in Southwark