When Southwark Council (which includes Peckham) carried out a survey (mid-nineties) of their then more than 65,0000 dwellings, they found certain streets had had no rent collected for ten years or more, including several streets almost entirely squatted in the Walworth Road area. A friend working for the Council Housing Department (!), discovered one of the then vacant properties and took it over for his own use, living rent-free for three years.

After the murder of the child, Damilolah Taylor in late 2000, Southwark Council obtained massive funds to demolish the north Peckham Estate and replace it with better housing.

There was in fact very little wrong with the North Peckham estate housing. It was the people living illegally in the houses that were the problem. Friends living on the estate described to me in great detail how the sub-letting scams were operated. At least half of dwellings on North Peckham Estate were illegally occupied. Gangs of criminals operated sales of keys and rent collection, use of addresses for housing benefit etc. Middle level drug-dealing (to small dealers only) and moving around of illegal immigrants were core business activities.

These events were known to officers of the council. Rather than address them, they knocked down the whole estate!

Those who want social housing, have to come up with some ideas about how this mass illegality can be avoided. Left-run councils have ignored it for decades.