Bye bye bungalows: post-war prefabs on Catford's Excalibur estate to be replaced by 371 new houses and flats

New flats on the Excalibur estate will cost from £320,000.
Excalibur Estate: Britain's largest collection of post-war prefabs to be replaced by new homes
David Spittles12 December 2017

Britain’s largest collection of postwar prefabs can be found at the Excalibur Estate in Catford, southeast London, where 187 homes were built by German and Italian prisoners of war.

Their design followed a strict Ministry of Works template: detached 600sq ft bungalows with two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen, indoor loo and bathroom plus a bit of garden.

Several dozen of the tenants later exercised the right to buy their prefab.

However, following a 10-year conservation battle, with the Twentieth Century Society siding against Lewisham council, the major part of the site will now make way for a new estate of 371 houses and flats built with housing association L&Q, the council’s development partner.

There will be a mix of private sale, rented and shared-ownership homes. Existing owners and tenants have priority to buy or rent a new home.

Six prefabs will remain, plus a sheet metal barrel-roofed church from the same era. They have been listed by English Heritage and will become community buildings.

The first phase of new homes is complete but the rest of the site will take some time to clear.

By London standards this is a cheap location, if something of a backwater.

From £320,000: one-bedroom flats heading to Catford's Excalibur estate

However, it is within a 15-minute walk of three railway stations. Estate agent KFH says the properties are 35 per cent lower in price than the Greater London average.

One-bedroom flats start at £320,000, with two-bedroom homes from £385,000. The Government’s Help to Buy low-deposit scheme is available, making these flats even more affordable for first-time buyers. Call 020 3486 2250.

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