Kidbrooke Village Phase 1
This masterplan for an exciting new area of the existing Ferrier Estate which was completed in 1972 and contained 1900 social housing units in concrete blocks. Due to bad management and poor connectivity to the surrounding suburbs the estate fell into a state of serious physical and social disrepair. The development consists of 109 hectares of land and is located immediately to the east of Blackheath Park with Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory beyond.
The first phase of housing is located at the south of the site overlooking Sutcliffe Park and the existing community along Eltham Green Road. Four C-shaped apartment blocks front the park, three linear apartment blocks bound the south of the site and the southern portion of the park, and two blocks of 3-storey terraced housing link to the existing suburb.
The C-shaped blocks are arranged around a landscaped podium courtyard that opens out onto the park, creating a visual connection between the private courtyards and the public park.
Phase 1 provides 449 units of mixed-tenure housing, including 80 units of new social housing, designed to sit comfortably between the existing suburban housing of Kidbrooke suburb and the market housing blocks of Phase 1, rehoming many of the families of the Ferrier Estate.
Establishing the masterplan and new homes as an extension to existing neighbourhoods rather than a separate estate renewal programme has been central to the area’s transformation from an isolated estate to a broader, thriving community.
The three-storey terraced houses with traditional pitched roofs are arranged back-to-back, providing secure perimeters to two squares. To provide interest and articulation to the streets houses are paired, with every other pair set back from the street frontage and varied brick.
A break between every fourth house provides a side access to the back gardens. The form presents a recognisable typology, familiar but with modern amenity and comfort. They were immediately popular with residents and neighbours alike
