Degeneration game

The Ferrier estate in Greenwich, South London, is a desolate place. The sprawling 1970s estate is a wasteland of derelict homes plagued by vermin. There are nearly 1,000 empty properties, some boarded up, others with windows ripped out and toilets smashed to make them uninhabitable.

Seven-year hitch: The first of the new homes on the Ferrier won’t be ready until 2010–11. By that time some former residents will have been waiting seven years to move back.

Remaining residents feel ignored and left behind. One resident told ROOF: ‘My flat was full of flies that were traced to a sealed-up flat on the floor above me. The fridge-freezer had just been switched off, not emptied, and the remains of someone’s breakfast were still on the table.’