A Labour MP has blamed Barnet Council for alleged problems with the redevelopment of West Hendon housing estate - and said a Labour administration would do better.

Shadow housing secretary John Healey branded the estate a “stand-out example of bad regeneration” on a visit to the area on Wednesday (March 21).

The West Hendon redevelopment – a partnership between the council and Barratt Homes – involves knocking down the site’s original 680 homes and replacing them with 2,000 new ones.

But the scheme has come under fire for its impact on more vulnerable residents, with people on non-secured tenancies being evicted and relocated - sometimes to other parts of the country.

The MP said: “[Development] has dragged on and no promise has been made for long-term residents that they will have a new home. It is a sign of development in disarray.”

Mr Healey said that while cuts to funding from central government had hobbled councils, Labour-controlled local authorities were still managing to make a success of regeneration.

“Central government is making the job of councils tougher – but even with the cuts and weaker powers, there are good Labour councils doing the job,” he said.

“It is not just funding – we have got to have councils willing to do it. You can have the political will to strike good deals.

“The choice is clear – if [Barnet residents] want a council on their side willing to step in, then a Labour council will do that.”

Mr Healey was speaking ahead of local elections on May 3, when Labour is looking to secure a majority on Barnet council after the Conservatives recently lost overall control following the resignation of Cllr Sury Khatri.

He said schemes such as Bacton Estate in Camden showed councils could make a success of regeneration projects if they had the will to do so – even in the current cash-strapped climate.

The MP claimed a Labour government in Westminster would ensure regeneration projects would not suffer the same problems as West Hendon.

“No big new-build development should fail to command support from people most affected, so people would get a vote,” he said.

“Alongside that, new funding powers would give them the flexibility that would enable them to do better deals than this one.

“It does not have to be like this. These big schemes can be done, and they can be done well.”

Leader of Barnet Council Richard Cornelius said: “West Hendon has been successfully transformed into a socially mixed community with 16 per cent more affordable housing. A third of sales have been to first time buyers and just under half through Help to Buy.

“Compare this with Haringey’s regeneration plans being turned upside down by Labour in-fighting, and the Labour mayor throwing the regeneration of Graeme Park into doubt. Meanwhile residents will have to stay in substandard homes for longer.”