http://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/london-residential-research/2010/10/i-passed-the-shard-whilst/

Residents in London Bridge have clashed over the announcement Southwark Council made yesterday about building 11,000 new council homes in the area by 2043.

London Bridge is a popular tourist attraction as well as a working class area so local residents and commuters are worried that building new council homes would cause huge problems to the area. Daily commuter, Matt said, “The area is already crowded and could also cause potential building works resulting in tragic delays.”

Southwark council already released that “More than 40% of the borough is covered by a current or planned regeneration area.” In 2013 the council officials asked residents in the borough how they felt the council could improve the area, and the majority said they wanted more affordable homes. 1,500 council homes are planned to finish by 2018.

Southwark borough has 55,000 tenants and is the one of the largest boroughs in London, but as the amount of residents and householders are increasing every year, a new council plan announced that new affordable council homes would be built in the area. Southwark Council published a statement saying, “Improving housing in our borough is at the heart of improving quality of life in Southwark.”

The council have asked for the public’s opinion on where they should build the council homes. Commuter, Naomi said, “The homes should be built near the station as that’s convenient for lots of people travelling to and from work. However, it’s already busy and would make it worse as well as making the area underprivileged.”

Some residents and regular commuters argue that the new plan would improve the London Bridge area. One resident, Laura said, “The plan sounds good for overpopulation. There would be more affordable housing for people in central areas [of London].”