Brandon Estate – the People of Providence

Brandon Estate will be known to millions of people across Britain and indeed the world, although they almost certainly will not realise it. Sociologists and other academics are likely to have read the landmark book written about people on the estate – The People of Providence. Film fans will have seen it in Rude Boy (by The Clash) and The Equalizer (with Denzel Washington) amongst others. Many television series have been filmed here, including The Bill, The Comic Strip, Silent Witness, two series of Sean Lock’s excellent comedy series 15 Stories High and the reboot of Doctor Who.

One of the largest housing estates in south London with well over 2,000 homes – depending on how you define it. It was built by the Greater London Council (GLC) and so ignores borough boundaries, with part in Lambeth and part in Southwark. The GLC transferred part of the estate to Southwark Council in 1982 – the year I moved in. I lived here for 22 years from 1982 to 2004. I was honoured to be elected Chair of the Tenants Association for 11 of those years, learning a great deal about people, housing, local government and politics.

In these pages I will add stories about various events on the estate; the epic journey of a Henry Moore sculpture, retrofitting central heating to 17-storey tower blocks, filming a BBC comedy in my flat… a lot happens (happened?) on Brandon Estate!