Regeneration of 40-year-old council estates will steam ahead despite a massive review of housing services in the borough.

Photographs taken in the late 1960s to early 1970s show the building of the estates, which are in the “upgrade” section of the council’s to-do list.

The pictures taken by Paul Spickett, of New Malden, document the springing up of the estates.

Black-and-white photos shot from above capture the looming Madingley tower block in the Cambridge Road estate looking brand new.

Over the next few years the same area faces dramatic change yet again.

Plans for a 15-year overhaul would see the Cambridge Road estate transformed first, with Kingsnympton Park and Sheephouse Way to follow.

Kingston Council leader Kevin Davis said the current housing stock was not the best it could be and needed updating, when the announcements were first made in June.

But with more than 3,600 people waiting more than five years for a council home in Kingston, the location of where current estate residents would be placed temporarily has not yet been confirmed.

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Harry Hall, chairman of the Cambridge Road Estate Residents’ Association, said: “The general feeling is fear, because a lot of us, those in the know like myself on the residents’ association there, are well aware of gentrification across London and are very fearful that that’s going to happen here. My major concern is gentrification.”

Earlier this month Richmond Park and North Kingston MP Zac Goldsmith proposed knocking down all poorly designed 1960s council estates and rebuilding them as better designed low rises.

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But Twitter user Melindola said: “Residents are terrified by what is going to happen, social cleansing, forced out of homes by developers.

She added: “These are people’s homes, eviction and development should be [the] last resort.”

Councillor Davis said it was understandable that residents would be concerned about the future of their homes, but said current plans did not involve moving tenants out of their estates during the regeneration process.

He said: “No decisions have been made yet, but what I can confirm is that all tenants will be entitled to a guaranteed new home on the estate as part of the package we will offer them.

“It is quite possible that the building of new homes will take place in one area of the estate only and then residents will be moved into completed homes as we start work on the next stage.

“This will mean not leaving the estate during the regeneration.”

“However, we hope to have a much clearer idea on the process in the early part of next year.

“We are currently engaged in the employment of an organisation that can work with the residents over the coming months as we start to develop plans.”

Discussions to implement a Community Housing Trust, for residents to take over the running of council estates, fell through last week amid planned Government cuts that had also prompted a review of the council’s Better Homes improvement programme.

A Kingston Council spokesman confirmed this review of the borough’s housing would not affect the regeneration plans for its estates, which will continue as planned.

Kingston and Surbiton MP James Berry said building social and affordable housing in Kingston was now an “urgent priority in view of the disgraceful record” it had.

He said: "I'm pleased that our Conservative council is looking to build more social housing by regenerating our ageing estates.

"I haven't seen the council's proposals, but I'm sure they will include plans to rehouse existing tenants while regeneration works take place. I will certainly do whatever I can to push to ensure that happens."