South Kilburn residents have voiced significant concerns regarding ongoing issues with housing quality, maintenance, and the provision of community facilities in the area. During a Brent Council meeting on Monday, July 6, 2026, deputations highlighted persistent problems that residents say are impacting their quality of life.
Pete Firmin, Chair of the South Kilburn Tenants Association, detailed a range of issues including scaffolding for cladding removal, mould, and heating problems in new housing developments. He also pointed to delays in refurbishing existing properties, neglected communal areas, and a lack of promised community facilities. Firmin stated that despite architects receiving awards for new buildings, residents are experiencing major problems, with new flats often being of poorer quality, smaller, and more expensive than previous council flats.
Residents also raised concerns about the long-term impact of regeneration, with fears that there will be fewer affordable social rent homes available compared to before the regeneration began. The sale of new homes to a US-based private equity company was also questioned, with concerns that this approach could lead to residents being priced out of the area and potentially impact school rolls. Specifically, residents fear that Homes are built that no one wants while residents are priced out of the area.
Research elsewhere in London suggests that such gentrification can contribute to falling school rolls and school closures.
Councillor Matt Kelcher, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning, acknowledged the concerns raised. He committed to a more holistic and strategic approach to high street regeneration, including walkabouts with local businesses and community groups. This approach aims to take all these areas into account
and deliver on improvements, considering so many different factors which are involved in the health of a high street and the health of a high road and how that operates.
Kelcher assured that social value would be central to the single delivery partner contract for South Kilburn, with robust monitoring and enforcement of build quality and social value commitments. The procurement documentation requires bidders to set out their processes and protocols for designing, commissioning, monitoring and evaluating robust and durable build quality and building performance.
For social value, bidders must set out mechanisms to measure demonstrable impact through KPIs, quantitative proxies and qualitative assessment to provide a rigorous, professional, transparent and evidence based reporting framework to measure, monitor and report delivery impact.
The winning bidder's responses will be enshrined in the contractual arrangements and will be closely monitored.
Concerns about neglected communal areas were also highlighted, including a systemic rubbish problem
and issues at the ex-job centre in Cambridge Avenue where residents have been asking the Council to take action against the owners over the accumulation of rubbish.
Mr Firmin noted that For eight years, residents were told this was too difficult before the Council finally instigated court action, but still the rubbish mounts up.
Councillor Kelcher expressed his keenness to meet with the South Kilburn Residence Panel over the summer before we move into the discussion and hear more of the issue.
He emphasized that South Kilburn regeneration is a top priority for the council.
Further details of the council meeting can be found in the Public reports pack.
