Prefab city estate may be listed

A south-east London estate of post-World War II prefabricated houses could get a Grade II listing.

Excalibur estate in Catford has 185 prefabricated houses built in 1946 and is one of the largest communities of its kind in the UK.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) said the estate had a "compelling" case for being listed.

Lewisham Council wants to redevelop the site and said refurbishing the houses for modern amenities is "unaffordable".

DCMS said they are looking into listing the estate after English Heritage visited the site.

A DCMS spokesman said: "The case for listing is compelling and the minister will be making her decision shortly."

The easily-assembled timber panel houses, which were built in the post-war period to overcome a housing shortage, were designed to last for 10 years.

But more than 60 years on, the houses are still firmly in place.

Lewisham Council, which owns 80% of the prefab houses, said it needs to meet Decent Homes Standard and will not be able to modernise the current properties.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The Excalibur Estate is an area where reconciling the Decent Homes programme with tenants' desires has been a great challenge.

"These buildings were originally constructed for a temporary life - 10 years or so - and have been standing for over 60.

"The estate is one of the few areas where refurbishment is unaffordable and achieving modern standards of decent homes is only possible through replacing existing homes with a new build programme."

The council said it is awaiting the outcome of the listing status decision by the DCMS before it consults residents on plans to demolish the estate.

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