Tower block demolition plan agreed by council despite elderly residents refusing to sell

Enfield Council has yet to reach a resolution with three elderly leaseholders at Walbrook House, who claim the compulsory purchase price undervalues their homes, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Enfield Council has agreed to demolish an Edmonton tower block – but accepts it “can’t frogmarch” out its remaining residents.

At a cabinet meeting last Wednesday (9th), the local authority agreed to “the commencement of demolition” of Walbrook House “as soon as vacant possession, funding and the necessary approvals are in place”.

The 23-storey building in Devonshire Road was one of three Edmonton tower blocks flagged with serious issues following safety inspections carried out in 2022. The other two, Cheshire House and Shropshire House, are located nearby, on Shires Estate.

Inspections at all three towers discovered that the 1960s-built blocks were in need of substantial repairs, running to tens of millions of pounds. The trio were built with the same prefabricated concrete panel construction method, which has led to safety concerns on blocks across the country in recent years.

These assessments led to the council deciding in 2023 to decommission the blocks, with an understanding that they would likely be redeveloped once fully emptied.

At Walbrook House, essential repair costs escalated from an initial estimate of £14million in 2020 to over £30m by 2023, due to “skyrocketing” material and supply cost.

Early last year, it was announced that the last tenants of Walbrook House were being moved out in March 2025.

The local authority also claimed it had received “overwhelming support” from residents for the move.

But the council is yet to reach a resolution with three elderly leaseholders at Walbrook House, who remain living in the building and claim the compulsory purchase price offered to them by the council undervalues their homes.

In January 2025, a number of leaseholders told the BBC that they weren’t being offered enough money for their flats, meaning they wouldn’t be able to buy similar properties in the area.

Now, over 18 months later, the remaining leaseholders claim the compulsory buyout is worth £60,000 less than the true valuation price of their homes.

Edward Smith, cabinet member for council assets and culture, explained ahead of last week’s decision that the local authority “can’t frogmarch them out”.

Joanne Drew, executive director of housing and regeneration at the local authority, said the council had “successfully removed” around 112 residents from the tower block.

But Drew added they “want to engage” with the three remaining leaseholders in the flats “to find an equally suitable solution”.

The senior officer maintained that the building is safe for the time being, but warned: “However, long term, over the next few years, the risk continues to increase. That’s why we must take this action to support the residents to relocate.”

Regarding complaints about the compulsory purchase valuation of the remaining homes, Drew said: “The financial settlement is in line with statute and in line with the evaluations – so I can’t comment any further on the details but I can say it is all undertaken in line with due process.”

She continued: “We’re very committed to supporting these residents to be rehoused. I understand it’s challenging but we are here to help.”

Last year, the council concluded that refurbishment costs at Walbrook House and the two Shires Estate blocks were too severe and decided to demolish or decommission and sell off all sites in the borough built with the problematic ‘large panel’ construction system.

Explaining the decision at the time, a council spokesperson said refurbishing the blocks to an acceptable standard “would have been extremely expensive for both the council and leaseholders and very disruptive” and that decommissioning was “the only viable and feasible option”.

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