The Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham, north London, is set to undergo significant refurbishment due to safety concerns associated with its construction. The estate, built in the late 1960s and early 1970s using pre-fabricated concrete panels called the Large Panel System (LPS), has been heavily criticized. Even experts were very worried about the risk of collapse if a gas boiler explodes. A subsequent structural survey carried out in 2018 found that hundreds of homes on the estate were found to be at risk.
This council-owned Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham has seen rising public safety concerns, leading the council to take timely preemptive action. Given the nature of these findings, gas service has been cut to every home still supplied with gas, as a safety precaution. As of today, two full residential blocks are set to be resettled to remove these flood risks.
We’ve put forward detailed plans to refurbish nine blocks on the estate. Our commitment goes beyond fireproofing to improving everyday safety while reinforcing the building’s form. The pilot refurbishment project, which can hopefully begin to tackle some of these urgent issues, is for two of the residential blocks. According to planning documents, fire safety and structural integrity are the only real drivers pushing the designs they’re proposing.
An application under this competitive pilot refurbishment project was submitted in January and a decision is expected any day now. As you can see, the situation is urgent. A resident ballot taken in 2022 found that community members are overwhelmingly in favor of redevelopment. Around 85% of those who voted reaffirmed their support for the progression of provision of new homes on the estate.
history and building material of the Broadwater Farm estate have been very much a part of the ongoing discussion about safety today. When constructed using LPS, these structures have been known to become dangerously flaky under certain circumstances. The planned renovation will bring the building up to state-of-the-art safety standards. Beyond making the community more physically beautiful, it will improve the quality of life for residents.
