Arthur Street Estate, London, UK

Project type:	Estate & Housing Renewal
Client:	Wates Residential, Orbit Homes
Stage:	Detailed Planning Consent

A high-density neighbourhood recreating the site’s historic Victorian street pattern

The Arthur Street estate occupies a triangular site between North End Road and the Dartford to Blackheath railway line in Erith, Bexley. Built in the late 1960s, the site is characterised by three 13 storey tower blocks and a range of low-rise buildings, all of which were in a poor state of repair and failed to meet modern standards.

The site has suffered from significant amounts of anti-social behaviour and the regeneration offers the opportunity to create a new neighbourhood which fosters a strong sense of community and provides natural surveillance. This new vision for Arthur Street will create an inclusive community for local people who want to live and work in London, whilst delivering much-needed, high quality new homes and bringing further economic and social benefits to Erith.

The masterplan was developed through a collaborative process with Bexley Council and the local community and seeks to recreate the Victorian pattern of streets, re-establishing Arthur Street and Boundary Street as routes addressed by dwellings and the delivery of a new central landscaped space to be enjoyed by all. The project is due for completion in 2022.

“

The redevelopment of Arthur Street will be about more than just bricks and mortar. It will provide an inclusive community for local people who want to live and work in London, but who also want to live in a friendly community.

Caroline Field, Head of Regeneration at Orbit

Project Delivery

– 320 new high-quality homes, of which 80% will be for affordable rent and shared ownership with associated parking and public open space.

– The delivery of new homes will include a broad mix of sizes, from one-bed apartments to three-bed homes.

– New buildings will range from three to nine storeys and feature a robust brick aesthetic to frame the key public spaces, with a strong rhythm and regular plot width expressed along the streets.

– The historic Arthur Street will be reinstated as a human-scale street activated by front doors, creating a vibrant and active street scene, incorporating pockets of green space and a central park.

– A central landscaped space, providing a focus for activity and creating the opportunity to foster neighbourliness and generate a strong sense of home.

– A green edge to the east reinforcing a biodiversity corridor to the railway.

– Two landscaped podiums providing private amenity space for all duplex family homes, and offering long views across the east to green space.