The future of the Alton Estate in Roehampton, South London, remains uncertain nearly 14 years after its regeneration was formally agreed, as Wandsworth Council's new Conservative leadership faces pressure to commit to the masterplan.
Petition launched to urge council to proceed
Labour MP Fleur Anderson has launched a petition urging the council's new Tory administration to proceed with the regeneration masterplan for the Alton Estate, which was backed by residents in a ballot while the authority was under Labour control. The masterplan proposes demolishing 177 homes on the estate for up to 650 new homes, including 57 per cent affordable housing.
Ms Anderson, MP for Putney, said the Conservatives, who campaigned against the masterplan while in opposition, had threatened to "scale back or stop the plan." She claimed the administration had already stopped grants for a new arts and culture programme at community centre Focus Hall on the estate.
Residents' mandate and political shift
The vote in September and October last year saw 82 per cent of more than 1,400 residents back Labour's masterplan, seemingly ending years of uncertainty. The council had formally agreed to regenerate the estate in 2012 while under Conservative control. In 2019, the authority submitted plans to demolish 288 homes for 1,108 new homes, including 261 affordable homes (24 per cent), which were approved in January 2022. However, the scheme was pulled before construction began when Labour took control of the council for the first time in 44 years that May, citing a lack of affordable housing.
The Labour administration redesigned the masterplan to prioritise affordable housing, ultimately proposing the demolition of 177 homes for up to 650 new homes, with 57 per cent affordable housing. It fast-tracked and approved plans to build a new block of 55 council homes at the entrance to the estate, along with a new community hub, so this could proceed without waiting for the entire masterplan to win approval.
Council's silence and ongoing uncertainty
However, the council had not yet submitted its planning application for the overall masterplan when the local elections arrived in May, which saw Labour lose control of the authority. The council is now led by a Conservative minority, who fell one seat short of the 30 needed to secure a majority.
Ms Anderson said the Conservatives had agreed to proceed with the fast-tracked housing and community hub plans approved under Labour, but still needed to commit to carrying out the overall regeneration. Wandsworth Council declined to comment when asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) whether it plans to move ahead with the masterplan.
MP's call for commitment
Ms Anderson told the LDRS: "Alton Estate residents have waited many years for the regeneration they deserve. In October 2025, residents voted overwhelmingly for the plans to deliver new GP surgeries, shops, community spaces, a nursery and hundreds of new homes for local families. With 82 per cent voting in favour in the biggest residents’ ballot in British social housing history, the mandate could not be clearer."
She added: "It is encouraging that the new Conservative administration has promised to uphold the plans for block A, replacing the old Co-op building with new homes and a GP surgery. But they must now commit to delivering the rest of the plan in full. There can be no pulling back and no delay on what Roehampton residents were promised - and what they voted so overwhelmingly for."
