One of my proudest achievements is helping to set up the residents group that went on to bid for – and win – millions of pounds to transform the Clapham Park Estate.  Back in the 1990s, the estate had become one of the most neglected in London.  The buildings were crumbling, crime was high, and the estate was piled high with litter and covered in graffiti.  No wonder people locked themselves away behind closed doors. 

Then, when the Labour Government was elected in 1997, came the chance for a new start.  The Government announced that major funding would be available to renew estates across the country.  To get the money, estates had to enter a bidding process and needed a strong residents’ association.  No such organisation existed on the Clapham Park East Estate in my ward – so I set one up.  With my colleague Rachel Lampard, we set up a meeting and advertised it across the estate by posting leaflets through every door.  Our local MP Keith Hill came along to speak, and we got enough people along to set up the new residents’ association.  Soon, the group joined with others on the estate and put in a bid for £50m ‘New Deal for Communities’ money.  They needed the Council’s backing, and I persuaded the then Council Leader to back our bid. 

Everyone on the estate was thrilled when the bid was accepted.  Keith Hill MP came along to announce the funding and left a message on my phone to say: “the acorn you planted has grown into a mighty oak”.  Recently, the organisation put in a bid for a further £500m to rebuild the estate, providing top quality new homes, a new park, a new primary school and library, as well as new facilities for young people, older people and for sport.  Ken Livingstone described the project as the best regeneration project in London outside the Olympics.  Clapham Park has a really bright future to look forward to.  I’m delighted that the part I played at the very start has grown into something that will change people’s lives for generations to come.