Demolition of South London tower Maydew House now visible
Scaffolding now surrounds a tower block after years of sitting empty and becoming a stark symbol of London’s housing problems.
Standing out on the approaches to London Bridge by train, Maydew House is finally on the way down after a fifteen year saga beginning around 2010 when plans to renovate and add additional floors were drawn up.
Those plans were eventually approved in 2018 with existing residents evicted from 144 flats. Five storeys were to be added to the 19-floor block.
After all those years of talk Southwark Council then stated costs had risen to £70 million rendering the project unviable and opted for demolition. By that time they’d spent £15m drawing up plans.
Even that has taken some time to proceed with a demolition contract awarded in 2023 that stated work would be complete by early 2025. Clearly that hasn’t happened as it’s still standing today – though not for long. The demolition contract adds another £2.3m cost.
An adjacent community centre formerly used by Bede has also closed. Planned work on other areas of Abbeyfield estate did proceed including the addition of extra floors above residential blocks.
