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London council estate resident wins battle over misuse of planning law

A woman who fought the gentrification of the south London council estate that has been her home for 30 years has won a high court battle against the local authority for its misuse of planning law.

Aysen Dennis, 65, who lives on Aylesbury estate in Southwark, said on Wednesday that the decision was “brilliant, brilliant news” and that she had begun preparations for a big party.

Her judicial review against Southwark Council and the housing provider Notting Hill Genesis challenged amendments to the wording of planning permission for the redevelopment of the estate.

The new wording pushed through as a “non-material amendment” made it easier to wave through changes that had not been previously agreed with residents without making a new application. This included issues such as making proposed buildings higher.

The case sets a precedent that will be watched closely by councils and developers, who increasingly rely on “drop-in” planning permissions to change parts of large developments.

The judge, Justice Holgate, said he was “in no doubt” that the new wording made a material difference to Southwark Council’s original plan and was, therefore, unlawful. The judgment was handed down on Wednesday after a hearing in November.

Dennis has said she believes demolishing council blocks and replacing them often with mixed-use homes – which can also feature homes for sale or private rent – amounts to “social cleansing”.

She said: “It is incredible because at last justice is done. They were wrong, we were right, and we exposed them.”

Last year, Dennis was moved to a new two-bedroom council flat with panoramic views of the park, which was part of a new block bought back by Southwark Council for £193m in 2020.

Dennis believes she was moved there in the hope that she might stop campaigning, though Southwark Council denies this.

She said she was determined to carry on her fight. “They sold off the community at the end of the day,” she said. “It’s going to be a very good example for developers to realise [what they can’t do]. And also to campaigners, to give everyone the courage to keep fighting.”

She said: “This needs to be celebrated. They used to say when people got married, they celebrated for 40 days and nights, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to celebrate every day because it’s really big news, not just for us but all campaigners.”

Dennis had tried to prevent the demolition of her two-bedroom flat in the original Aylesbury estate block she lived in for 30 years, even opening it up for an anti-gentrification exhibition.

The case was brought amid a wider trend of social housing being replaced with expensive private properties. It hinged on the addition of the word “severable” to the broader planning permission granted to the regeneration project. This made it easier to tweak structures within it without needing to apply for new permission.

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