The Totterdown Fields Estate was London County Council’s first housing development, as well as being the country’s first municipal ‘garden estate’. When completed in 1911 it consisted of over 1,200 cottages, the vast majority of which remain today.
Having lived near the Totterdown Estate myself, I’m aware of how it forms a key part of Tooting’s cultural heritage, so I was delighted to be approached by local residents looking to play a more active role in conserving it. Ideas generated so far to achieve this include:
- replacing the existing road signs with new signage that promotes the presence of a Conservation Area
- creation of information packs for all residents currently on the Estate, and those new ones who subsequently move in, which explain the conservation standards and local suppliers who can meet them
- one or two ‘heritage boards’ on local streets which explain the area’s history to passing pedestrians.
We are currently seeking a commercial sponsor to underwrite some of these costs, but it may also be that we can obtain some funding from the Council.
Since our initial conversation, this potential project has expanded to also include the establishment of a residents association to run other community-focussed projects on the estate, such as an annual street festival.
The first open meeting on the project was held in the newly renovated Derinton Community Hall on Tuesday 29th April and you can read the minutes of that meeting at the following link:
www.danwatkins.org.uk/news/totterdown-residents-launch-new-community-group
And on Monday 4th August we had our second meeting to offically create TEFRA, the Totterdown Estate Friends & Residents Association:
http://www.danwatkins.org.uk/news/tefra-established-improve-totterdown-estate
It would be helpful to receive your feedback on the project, so please complete the survey at the following link:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/TotterdownEstate