IHBC features ‘Heritage from the doorstep’: London council estate demolition – with family still living inside – sparks protest

The Hackney Post has reported on how almost 80 people took to the streets of Hackney to protest against the demolition of Marian Court while a family is living on the premises.

…[family] is living on a demolition site…

… Council have said the initial demolition ‘will not impact the building…’

The Hackney Post writes:

Hackney Council began the demolition of Marian Court on Homerton High Street earlier this year as part of their plan to build 275 new homes on the site. The work is going ahead in spite of the fact that a family with young children is still living in one of the blocks.

“The aim of the protest was to draw further attention to our neighbours’ plight… she is living on a demolition site and we have to do something about it,” said Lawrence Leason, one of the protest organisers.

“It’s really about trying to put pressure on the council and show them that there’s a lot of people who have their eyes on what’s going on,” Mr Leason said.

Hackney Council have said the initial demolition “will not impact the building where the remaining family on the estate is still choosing to live”. The council have also said that they have undertaken a “full health and safety assessment to ensure that the work will not cause any health risk to the family”.

However, in a tweet, Hackney-based charity, Sisters Uncut, condemned the demolition as a “total disregard for safety”….

The council said: “Unfortunately, the extent of improvements sought by the resident has changed significantly since a tenancy agreement was signed, and their failure to engage with us on the work they would like to see means that, four months after they signed a tenancy agreement, we are no further forward in being able to make these changes.”…

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