Earls Court community group begs Pidgley to rescue residents

An Earl’s Court community group has pleaded with Berkeley boss Tony Pidgley to buy the beleaguered estates at the £18bn regeneration site. Jonathan Rosenberg, chair of Walterton & Elgin Community Homes, approached Pidgley and begged him to step-in and acquire the estates and save the residents of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green, who have been fighting to preserve their community for a decade. Pidgley said he couldn’t comment on Berkeley’s position on any potential acquisition. But he said: “If we did, we’d definitely be speaking to the people.” At the Creating Communities event, held by Create Streets and Onward, community organiser Rosenberg called on both Homes England and Berkeley to buy the sites and allow the community to manage them. Rosenberg said: “I wonder whether there might be a commitment from Sir Edward [Lister] for Homes England to buy that site, or indeed for Tony [Pidgley] to give a commitment that if he bought he he would ensure that those two council estates are actually handed over to the community for them to be in charge?” Lister said: “London is responsible for housing, the Homes England role is now at City Hall. It’s a question you have to direct to them. The only thing that Homes England does in London is some loans, but they are done very much in conjunction with City Hall.” However, Pidgley was not given the opportunity to respond. After the discussion Rosenberg approached him personally. Pidgley’s position on community engagement echoed comments earlier on the panel. He said: “I’ve said the same thing for 20 years, and it comes down to the same thing. It is about people, it’s about focusing on people, it’s always been about people. “We as a group have always gone to the people first, we don’t talk to the politicians first, we talk to the people first.” He pointed to Woodberry Down as an example of resident-led good management. “The people run, they care about it, they meet each other and talk about it. They make friends of all ages and get the violence off the street. You can apply that to mixed-use wherever you want to go.” Pidgley added: “What is the job of government? Get rid of the ruddy bureaucracy.” He said the lack of resources and people in local planning authorities was “frightening”. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette