Whitelands Park

On Saturday I had a look round the new Whitelands Park housing development off Sutherland Grove in West Hill. This used to be the University of Roehampton Whitelands College site before it moved a couple of years ago when the University consolidated in Roehampton itself.

This was one of the very last sizeable sites that the Council could have approved for affordable housing, but as usual instead of putting local housing need first it allowed over 400 top-end homes ranging from semi-detached houses to penthouse flats way beyond the means of most Putney residents.

It consists of three distinct parts: Whitelands Crescent, which is a cul de sac of nice semi-detached houses plus three residential blocks; in the middle of the site is the Sir George Gilbert Scott building - part of the old university which has been converted into flats and a private library for residents (and which also has the oddest flat numbering system I've come across); and in the north is Scott Avenue, which in the main comprises more residential blocks of different sizes, plus a smaller terrace of houses and some other "leftover" conversions from the University.

Despite this attempt by the Conservatives to polarise Putney even further what we've ended up with in Whitelands is a rather interesting mix; the only thing it lacks is affordable rented homes - which of course are the one housing tenure we need most of all.