The demolition of a west London housing estate is going to cost half a million pounds more than was intended, after fly-tippers took advantage of delays over the site's future and dumped building waste at the vacant site.
The length of time spent on ongoing talks over Watermeadow Court's redevelopment has resulted in Hammersmith & Fulham Council (H&F) paying for extra security following a spate of illegal dumping.
H&F wants to bulldoze the Sands End estate to make way for private housing, with plans to use £6 million from the sales to pay for the Edith Summerskill House social housing redevelopment in Fulham.
However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan's office rejected the proposal, reasoning that splitting social and private accommodation instead of blending them was a "segregated" approach, which did not fit with the London Plan.
The Edith Summerskill redevelopment is under way. But the Watermeadow works have been held up by delays over deciding its future.
The council was asked to revise its plan last October.
Fly-tippers then struck in December and January, the council has said.
The Metropolitan Police were asked to investigate who dumped the building materials which have since been cleared at the council's cost, an H&F spokesman said.
Its cabinet approved an additional £563,000 in spending on the works on Monday (June 4).
The spokesman said the cash would be used for increased site security costs, as discussions with the Greater London Authority (GLA) had continued longer than anticipated.
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The money would also cover the costs of removing the fly-tipped waste, and for extra health and safety work on the site while it awaited demolition.
Watermeadow has been vacant since the previous Conservative council deemed the units no longer fit for purpose and removed the residents in 2013.
It previously contained 80 residential units, made up of 62 social tenancies and 18 leasehold units.
The Conservative council had proposed 150 council homes at Watermeadow and Edith Summerskill be replaced with 300 new flats across the two sites, with 40 per cent classed as affordable.
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The plan was criticised at the time by Hammersmith's Labour MP Andy Slaughter, who agitated for more affordable housing to be offered.
The plan was revised after Labour took over the council in 2014.
It proposed redeveloping more than 190 homes for market sale at Watermeadow Court.
The new homes would be offered first to people living and working in the borough, which the council said was in contrast to many London developments sold off plans to overseas property investors.
The council would use the proceeds to help pay for the 133 affordable homes at the new Edith Summerskill House, redeveloped as a tower block on the Clem Attlee Estate.
Four out of five units would be social housing and be offered first to people living at Clem Attlee, and then to Fulham residents.
The rest of the units would be available for intermediate affordable rent or sold at a "low-cost" to first-time buyers, the council's plan says.
It has been ruled, however, that the application failed to meet the London Plan's mixed and balanced communities principles, and does not follow guidance for estate regeneration.
The Mayor's office says the style of housing would reinforce "segregation" by concentrating affordable housing on one estate, while developing private homes in an area where market housing already dominated.
The plan would result in a net loss of affordable accommodation in the borough, the decision said, dropping the number of affordable homes across the two sites by 17.
The Mayor's office suggested both estates should have a mix of private and social rent units to better fit with the London Plan.
H&F said on Wednesday that talks with the GLA are ongoing.
The redevelopment is due to be carried out by HFS Developments, a joint venture the council set up with Stanhope, the developer behind the former BBC Television Centre's redevelopment.
