The national standard for well-designed homes and neighbourhoods.
Pepys Estate
Deptford, London
Occupying a historic Thames side site close to a number of Grade II listed buildings, this project represents the first two phases of a staged replacement of several blocks of 1960s and early 1970s corridor access council flats.
Hyde Housing Association took over part of the problem-ridden Pepys Estate, long notorious for crime and racial tension, from the London Borough of Lewisham in 2001. Architects bptw's scheme consists of four blocks of flats plus two terraces of three storey houses overlooking three existing green spaces (Phase 1), and a block of 42 flats overlooking a garden and the Thames beyond (Phase 2). A third phase is currently under construction.
The scheme provides 169 affordable units of shared ownership and social rented homes. Particularly commendable is the way the ground level has been restored using 'home zone' principles which incorporate car parking and clear pedestrian links between the open spaces. The scheme meets Lifetime Homes Standards and gained an Ecohomes rating of "very good".
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