The lengthy redevelopment of the Cambridge Road estate in Norbiton is contributing to the existing housing crisis, according to affected residents.

Current residents of the Cambridge Road estate have been re-housed whilst it is subject to a multi-year redevelopment programme.

However, this has left those from outside the estate who are also looking to be re-housed squeezed out.

Sara Fenwick lives in Kingston and has been waiting to downsize her home for around three years.

She said that the redevelopment left her struggling to secure a property despite there being suitable options available, because housing stock had been reserved for residents of the estate whilst the work takes place.

“Even though 23 houses were available to move into, none of them got onto the bidding system at Kingston Council because they were pre-allocated to families based on the Cambridge Road Estate,” she added. 

Kingston Council’s housing bidding system normally allows locals to register their interest in a property online.

Original plans to knock down the estate and replace it with 2,170 homes were approved in 2021 and proposals are currently due to be submitted for phase two of the redevelopment this winter.

However, the five-stage project is expected to last up to 15 years.

Another Kingston local, Kyla Reddick, said she was concerned about how long the rebuild would take, as housing is already scarce with long waiting lists.

“I’ve been in my current one-bed property for seven years since I had my first-born child and have received no help with getting moved to a bigger property,” she said.

“I now have a second child in the property and also have my parents, who have suffered heart attacks, occupying my front room. The council do not and will not help them get housed as they don’t meet the criteria.”

Applicants for housing allocations must meet certain eligibility requirements, which can include those living in overcrowded housing conditions.

However, individual needs must be considered within the scope of very limited available housing resources, according to the council.

Additional concerns have been raised over the lack of affordable housing being set aside in the redevelopment.

Aaron Mafi, who stood as a parliamentary candidate in nearby Wimbledon in this year’s General Election, attacked the development as prioritising “private profit over public good”.

“Over half the homes built on public land will be sold off at market rates. The private developer stands to make an estimated £680 million from these developments. That is money made off of land that should have been reserved for affordable housing,” he said.

“They [the council] are not thinking about future generations and what they are going to have. When does this end? How much more property and land does the council have to sell?” he added.

The current planned redevelopment has set aside 871 new council homes to be built in total, 218 more than were originally included on the previous estate.

However, this only amounts to 40.1% of the total number of dwellings, despite the Kingston Council’s 2013 housing policy stating that all developments would require at least 50% affordable housing.

The criticism comes as the government has revealed plans to build 1.5m new homes in England over the next five years.

However, the proposals will likely involve more private developments, with local authorities across the country being told to adopt new targets for privately-built housing projects.

Kingston Council have been approached regarding residents’ concerns and the lack of planned affordable homebuilding, but at the time of publication had not responded to a request for comment.