Another Three Years for 'Mandela House' in South Acton
Tower featured in Only Fools and Horses scheduled for 2027 demolition
Trotters Independent Traders van in front of Harlech Tower. Picture: Facebook
May 8, 2024
Ealing Council has confirmed that South Acton’s ‘Nelson Mandela House’ will not be knocked down for at least three years.
Harlech Tower, which is most famous for being the home of Del Boy and Rodney in the TV series Only Fools and Horses, was originally due to be demolished this year.
When plans to replace it as part of the £850 million redevelopment of the South Acton estate were first announced in 2019 a campaign was launched to save it with over 300 people signing a petition. David Jason, who played Del Boy, even suggested it should be made a listed building.
The block had appeared in the opening credits of the series in the early eighties even though the Trotter family was meant to be based in Peckham.
The council is in the process of moving residents out of the older buildings on the estate with most of them having accepted one of the new ‘energy efficient’ flats and demolition is now provisionally scheduled for 2027.
Visualisation of the new flats viewed from Hanbury Road. Picture: Barton Willmore
A spokesperson for Ealing Council said, "In 1949, work began to clear the old housing in South Acton and replace it with a new estate centred on large tower blocks of the kind that sprang up across the country after World War Two. The redevelopment – widely considered at the time to be a huge step forward, with indoor bathrooms and central heating – took over 30 years to complete.
"Unfortunately, it also quickly fell into decline, suffering from the same fundamental design and social issues that blighted many post-war high-rise estates. Harlech Tower was already so shabby by 1981 that it perfectly fitted the bill when BBC producers were casting the down-at-heel Nelson Mandela House for Only Fools and Horses’ opening credits.
“The decanting of Harlech Tower’s residents so it can be demolished is provisionally earmarked for 2027.”
Ealing Council’s South Acton masterplan, which was approved February, aims to transform the area with new homes as well as improvements to local amenities, streets, and public spaces.
Councillor Shital Manro, the council’s cabinet member for good growth, said: “This is a huge boost to the future of south Acton. Delivering the new affordable homes and jobs the neighbourhood needs is a top priority for us. Once the masterplan project is completed, the area will be transformed into a place that encourages local enterprise. That will be supported with new homes for local people and the new infrastructure they need to flourish as a vibrant and productive community.”
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