In 2023, after a two-year campaign, developer Hondo Enterprises, which owns Brixton Village, formerly Brixton Market, withdrew plans for a 20-storey tower on Pope’s Road. Locals hated the Hondo tower designed by architect David Adjaye, not just for its size but because they argued Brixton needs affordable houses rather than the offices planned for the site. The Greater London Authority agreed, recommending Mayor Sadiq Khan refuse planning permission. But while one tower block scheme had been blocked another had popped up. Mike Bright, 75, a retired council officer, and his wife Janice, 79, who worked for a housing corporation, have owned their Edwardian terrace near Acre Lane since 1980, which has given them a front-row seat to observe the gentrification of Brixton.
How Brixton’s gentrification gravy train is pushing locals aside
