21st century town
For Jacky, who deserved better.
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Thamesmead is a housing estate built at the end of the 1960s on 1,600 acres of marshland south of the Thames. Finding a solution to the problems that had already started to affect other social housing estates was central to its planning. GLC architect Robert Rigg applied lessons from housing complexes in Sweden where it was believed that lakes and canals helped to lower levels of crime and, in particular, vandalism. Thamesmead's five lakes also provide drainage for the area which is susceptible to flooding. Like other surviving long-term tenants, Terence Gooch,
74, loves his flat: the light cast by the windows opening to a balcony that juts out like a cabinet drawer; the open-plan 1960s feel of a kitchen and large living room divided by a sliding partition. His neighbour joins us, and the two explain how the immediate residents on this landing continue to maintain the neighbourliness of the streets that Gooch left in Peckham, south London, when he finally moved out of rented rooms, with outside toilet, after 14 years on the housing list. However, the development of the estate failed to include banks or retail outlets larger than corner shops. A railway line isolated Thamesmead from Abbey Wood, the nearest town with larger shopping facilities. The estate was later divided in two by a dual carriageway by-pass. Residential building continued on the other side of the new road, which cut this part of Thamesmead off from rail travel to central London. Early proposals for the Jubilee Line to be extended to Thamesmead were rejected, forcing residents to rely on slower and less frequent bus services. Thamesmead is also in the centre of a 15 mile gap between the Blackwall Tunnel and the Dartford Tunnel/QE2 Bridge which makes access to facilities on the north side of the Thames impractical. Proposals for a new river crossing have been rejected. (Adapted from Thamesmead, Wikipedia and 'Dreams set in concrete' by Michael Collins) |