[‘Poplar HARCA: Making Poplar a better place to live’ logo appears. Foreboding synth music repeats on loop. Video of dark silhouette of Balfron Tower against the sky, followed by predominantly still shots of it and Carradale House]

Balfron Tower and Carradale House form part of a suite of buildings on the Brownfield Estate in Poplar. Representative of the style of the British Brutalist architecture movement, they were designed by the Hungarian-born architect Ernö Goldfinger, who also designed Trellick Tower.

Their concrete construction, detached circulation towers and prominent detailing inside and out easily distinguish the buildings.

The 25 storey Balfron Tower built in 1967 and the 10 storey Carradale House built in 1972 form bookends to the dying days of mass social housing tower blocks. The flats within the buildings are well-designed and conform to the generous Parker Morris space standards. Many of the flats have extraordinary views over the city, most with dual-aspect. Both buildings have Grade II listed status. 

However many of the building’s design features have contributed to the current state of neglect - long, anonymous corridors which were originally intended to create streets-in-the-sky, have instead created spaces that are difficult to control and manage. The type of construction used, especially the internal services to flats, has created a range of problems for existing residents and any attempt for renewal or refurbishment.

The public spaces around the blocks have also become neglected and abused. Hidden areas lack passive surveillance opportunities or ownership and house abandoned cars and drug dens. The ground-level play areas were closed shortly after the buildings opened and their design problems have never been properly addressed.

Despite the obvious negative perceptions of Balfron Tower and Carradale House, there are many residents that appreciate their location and far-reaching view and architecture. However the unusual and bespoke design of the buildings means that the investment needed to maintain them has exceeded the Borough’s resources. 

Social housing policy is moving away from the promotion of tower blocks as family accommodation but real choice in social housing currently does not exist. We feel that returning an element of choice to existing and potential residents would stimulate greater investment in the buildings and ultimately enhance perceptions of them.

There are many problems with Balfron and Carradale: 

• externally the buildings suffer from concrete corrosion, this will be difficult to repair and match with the existing finish as required by their conservation status; 
• the underground garages are poorly lit and intimidating, they suffer from constant vandalism, water leaks from above and discarded rubbish. A large number are sealed-off and disused;
• the flat roofing is in serious need of improvement;
• all windows, including the U-PVC units fitted a few years ago require extensive repairs and will require ongoing maintenance. The buildings will have to be completely scaffolded to achieve this;
• the play areas are overgrown and neglected;
• the sheltered homes are without proper access for elderly residents that they were designed for. They suffer from poor security as well as rubbish discarded from Balfron Tower;
• the ground-floor maisonettes in Balfron have gardens that are poorly fenced and maintained, further contributing to its run down appearance;
• the rubbish collection includes the use of an open skip below the entrance walkway which is unhygienic and prompts fly-tipping.

Internally the story continues:

• the buildings are riddled with asbestos;
• the internal wiring runs within the steel door frames and floor screed, in many frames the conduit has corroded. In-situ re-wiring is not possible;
• water from the corroded service pipes seeps through the wiring conduit and can drip through light fittings;
• the water pipes are also laid within the screed. Water leaks from corroded pipes often cause problems in Carradale House;
• because the communal heating boilers are located at the top of the buildings, fuel oil must be pumped from basement storage tanks. Corrosion in the fuel-riser pipes recently caused the liv shafts to be flooded with heating oil;
• leaking pipes in the boiler room allow water to drip into the entrance lobby below;
• concealed service pipes pass through the building structure without protective sleeving, this allows corrosive chemicals in the concrete to attack the pipework;
• there is no pressure relief to the heating system which is fed with water from the roof-top tanks, consequently the lower flats experience extremely high water pressure;
• as the system with its inherent corrosion problem reaches the end of its natural life, major emergency works will be necessary before refurbishment works can be started;
• the extract system that ventilates the internal toilets and bathrooms no longer functions causing condensation and mould-growth;
• a lack of security has led to the water tank room being used for drug-taking and squatters inhabiting basement service rooms and pram stores;
• service cores are very poorly-lit with severely rusted access-ladders, leaking pipes and vermin infestation. It is unlikely that these service cores could accommodate essential refurbished services because of current health and safety legislation;
• lift lobbies are in poor condition with the original finishes worn and damaged;
• the lifts regularly fail;
• rubbish chutes are damaged in many places and are too small, causing regular blockages;
• sound-transmission between flats is an issue, as many party walls were constructed in lightweight concrete block-work.

[6m Foreboding synth music ends. ‘Poplar HARCA: Making Poplar a better place to live’ logo reappears. Soothing, swooshing synth music repeats on loop. Images of bright sweeping 3D computer render of Balfron and Carradale sitting amongst a landscape of bleached white surrounding buildings and coloured proposed infill blocks, interspersed with some other video of current use]

Poplar HARCA believes a transformation is possible for Balfron and Carradale. Key to this transformation is giving people a choice. Poplar HARCA believes it can offer residents a range of options to improve their living conditions, their local environment and their perceptions of living in a tower block.

We will offer new homes on the Brownfield Estate to residents of the two blocks should they choose to move out. New homes will be effectively designed to allow good accessibility for people of all ages. If residents choose to stay, we will refurbish all homes to meet the decent homes standard, and improve heating, lifts, wiring, windows and communal areas with the residents in place. 

After refurbishment the empty flats, whose residents have chosen to relocate to the new homes built in and around the estate, will be sold on the open market. This will help fund the building of the new replacement homes for Balfron and Carradale residents and create a mixed community within these buildings. This option means no resident will lose their home involuntarily and will give families who choose the home that they want.

By selling some of the homes in the tower blocks, we can create a mixed community of people who want to live in them and facilitate the much-needed investment. The underground parking areas will be transformed to create a more welcoming and attractive environment. Open spaces will be redeveloped, security improved, a multi-use sports area and play facilities will be provided. 

Jolly’s Green: Proposed housing to the east of the green will provide a barrier between the green space and A12 motorway and is located to avoid the removal of mature trees. The small housing development to the south-west corner completes the enclosure of the Jolly’s Green open space, providing the added security of residential property overlooking this public area. 

The proposals include closing off Andrew’s Street adjacent to Carradale House, the removal of the stark concrete walls that currently form unsafe and intimidating spaces along the northern edge of Carradale, rolling out the green over the closed road to the base of Carradale, remodelling the overgrown abandoned tennis court into a multi-use games area for public use. This, together with the newly rolled-out green, will provide an additional 500 square metres of public open space which will be transferred back to the Borough. It will also greatly enhance the quality of Jolly’s Green, providing a barrier from the motorway, improving security in line with the safer homes and Secure by Design guidelines. The scheme also includes improved public lighting to the green and the base of Carradale House.

Balfron Tower: The area to the south of Carradale and west of Balfron currently consists of neglected concrete structures, hidden sunken areas and unsafe intimidating places that will be remodelled to provide quality public open space. This will be more easily controlled and overlooked by residents. 

[The 3D render overlays the concrete areas on the podium with greenery and circular play spaces linked by curved paths. The individual ground-floor maisonette gardens appear to be replaced by a long pool of water and mature trees.]

Improvements will include the provision of a quality play space, landscaping including a water feature and lighting scheme

Overall: This scheme allows for the refurbishment of Balfron and Carradale. It will give real choice to the existing residents, facilitate the building of a real, mixed community and improve the quality of the existing public open spaces, creating quality games and play spaces. 

In these days of hungry development where amenity land is at risk, the Council and Poplar HARCA have a rare opportunity to progress a scheme which will offer so many real benefits to the Brownfield community. 

There are still many detailed issues to be resolved in order to satisfactorily refurbish Balfron and Carradale and these will present Poplar HARCA with numerous challenges. The ‘Choices Proposal’ reduces some of those challenges, risks and costs by giving us the opportunity to carry out the works whilst some of the flats are vacated, and the ability to temporarily relocate some residents within the building should the need arise while the works are underway. This will require careful project management and consideration of individual resident needs and wishes.

Agreement to Poplar HARCA’s plans for refurbishing Balfron Tower and Carradale House will mean that the required improvements are carried out in the wider social, environmental and economic context. These historic and interesting buildings will receive the necessary renovations for long-term mixed use. Residents will get a real choice of where they live, social issues will be addressed, Brownfield Estate should once again become a thriving, vibrant and sustainable community in line with the ethos of our organisation. This is Poplar HARCA.

[‘Poplar HARCA: Making Poplar a better place to live’ logo reappears]