Welcome to the website for residents of the Golden Lane Estate to provide updates on refurbishment works.
Background
The City of London Corporation is investing £29 million in the Golden Lane Estate to carry out repair works. In May 2023, members of its Community and Children’s Services Committee agreed the funding, which includes the refurbishment of windows, roofing, heating, ventilation, insulation, and redecoration works across all blocks on the housing estate.
The upgrades are part of the City Corporation’s Housing Major Works Programme, which includes the installation of new fire doors and sprinklers, with lighting, signage, and accessible routes upgraded.
The City Corporation is aware that climate action is required to counteract the impacts of a changing planet and is committed to reducing its contribution to the factors that cause climate change and adapting to the impact of a changing climate. As a result, our works on Golden Lane will deliver the highest standard, climate friendly refurbishments to the estate.
Spring 2026 Update
Progress on the Golden Lane Estate continues across all phases of the programme. Resident Liaison Group meetings have now taken place for all three groups, Crescent House, Great Arthur House, and the Wider Estate — with meeting notes available on the Working Groups page.
The Golden Lane Estate Residents’ Association (GLERA) technical group has met with the project team to discuss the programme in detail, and we welcome their ongoing engagement with the works.
A ballot of Crescent House residents has been conducted regarding the proposed new door entry system for the block. This returned a vote in favour of the new system, with over 80% of the vote.
About the estate
The Golden Lane Estate is a post-war, 1950’s social housing complex, designed by Chamberlin, Powell & Bon. Original proposals for the estate aimed to create a sustainable, self-contained community that in turn comprised a sympathetic environment, enclosed and separate from adjacent, then-derelict sites. The overall design of the estate is significant given its achievement of a viably sustainable community set within a tightly defined space. When completed, the Estate therefore became a symbol of post-war recovery.
The design was chosen following an open architectural competition in 1951 that saw 178 entries. The winning scheme comprised an 11-storey block - a deliberate landmark feature – along with a further 12, lower level blocks and a community centre. All were configured with an inward looking layout situated around a series of pedestrian courts.
In view of its importance as an example of post-war residential architecture and urban design, the Estate’s component buildings were individually listed in 1997. The Golden Lane Estate represented pioneering post-war design and structural technologies, some of which are clearly distinguishable via individual elements such as windows. Therefore the vast majority of windows utilise then-innovative, light aluminium frames, with the aluminium system in turn comprising the framework for exterior cladding panels. Internally, such a system allowed for the infiltration of natural light and/or impression of light, across all areas of individual apartments.
Crescent House
With its distinctive crescent shape and rich history, this Grade II* listed building holds a special place in the Golden Lane Estate’s architectural heritage. The first to undergo refurbishment, Crescent House is prioritised due to the challenges posed by its unique curved windows. Following extensive public consultation, a Pilot Project was established to compare potential refurbishment options and to better understand the scope of works required.
The Pilot Project, completed in October 2023, has informed our strategy for the works required on the rest of Crescent House.
The Wider Estate
Phase two of the project to revitalise Golden Lane Estate takes in the Grade II listed buildings of Cullum Welch House, Stanley Cohen House and the Maisonette blocks (Basterfield House, Bayer House, Bowater House, Cuthbert Harrowing and Hatfield House).
An empty flat in each block type has provided an opportunity for the same Crescent House windows refurbishment team to work on all the different window types to inform the strategy for the works. Frames have been refurbished, solutions for installing trickle vents are being explored, strategies developed as to how to reduce impact on residents when works take place, etc. Most of this exploratory work has been completed and the Project Team are now focusing on the ‘guillotine’ windows in the Maisonette blocks. The aim is to keep the vertical sliding operation and counterbalancing effect to allow the lower window to open easily.
Great Arthur House
Great Arthur House is the tallest building on the Golden Lane Estate. A dedicated Resident Liaison Group has been established and meets every two months to discuss the project as it develops. The project team will hold a public consultation event before any planning applications are submitted, residents will be notified in advance.
If you are a tenant or leaseholder in Great Arthur House and would like to get involved with the RLG, please get in touch at info@goldenlaneprojects.co.uk