Time is running out for the Heygate Estate, one of the Elephant & Castle's more troubled locales, due to be torn down to make way for the area's ambitious regeneration plans. But not everybody's delighted. According to the Irish Post (what can I say... I was browsing) one resident, a defiant 62-year-old woman, is refusing to budge. Now it's not entirely clear from the piece whether she actually lives in the famous 60s high-rise itself, or in some neighbouring maisonettes (the row's called Chearsley, I don't know it), but she's quoted talking about the area's sense of community, and the uncertain plans for the current residents' futures. She's not alone. Here's an elegant writer on the subject, pointing out that Heygate is - in its own way - quite a beautiful 60s construction. Perhaps, one day, we'll all miss it, in the same way we'd have missed Trellick Tower, if it hadn't been allowed to languish long enough to become trendy again. And, as Monbiot pointed out recently, the urban poor learnt long ago that regeneration is unlikely to benefit them. The Rat and Mouse has discovered with regard to the Ferrier Estate... this is always an emotional subject.
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