ALT Statement on the Aylesbury Estate regeneration and the divorce between Southwark Council and Notting Hill Genesis Finally, Southwark Council and Notting Hill Genesis have recognised that this regeneration has failed and it is time to go back to the drawing board. The project’s dysfunction has been obvious for years, not least to Aylesbury residents. The official position was increasingly untenable and this announcement is a welcome dose of honesty that allows everyone to begin to move forwards. What Southwark calls “the next phase” for the Aylesbury is really a blank page. This was a necessary step but it creates huge uncertainty for residents and a gaping hole in strategic planning and vision remains. There must now be a process of genuine engagement with

ALT the Aylesbury community and it is essential that they are the driving force behind any future refurbishment or redevelopment. Prior commitments from the council must be honoured – including on the right of return, and the full replacement of council housing. Aylesbury residents have shown extraordinary strength and resilience throughout all this: 25 years of a glacial, disruptive, and often harmful process. They are owed an apology. There must also be a full accounting of the financial and human costs of a project that from its inception was a poor deal for Southwark Council and for residents, and has derailed in ways both predictable and predicted. Questions remain as well on the capability of NHG to deliver the next (now final) phase, 2B, which will be under close scrutiny in the coming months and years. Cllr Sam Foster, Green Party Cllr Kezia Harper, Independent