Deal likely on controversial estate where Foxtons withdrew from sale

A Labour MP says a deal is now on the cards for an estate to be purchased after months of controversy, including Foxtons and other estate agencies pulling out of instructions to sell individual properties.

Last month we reported that haart, Strettons, Estates 17 and Kings Group had joined Foxtons in turning down the opportunity to sell properties on Walthamstow's Butterfields Estate.

The estate, which has over 60 homes, was owned by a charity called Glasspool but sold in January to a private company, Butterfields E17 Ltd. In March, the firm contacted tenants living on the estate to inform them that it was starting legal action for possession of the properties and all residents would need to find somewhere else to live.

Now local Labour MP Stella Creasy - who in the past has been sharply critical of estate and letting agents - says that after several weeks of negotiations a deal has been agreed between Dolphin housing association and Butterfields E17 to enable Dolphin to purchase the estate.

“If completed, this deal will enable all the tenants to remain on the estate and end the threat of evictions as they will all become tenants of Dolphin. I’m grateful to RBS, Dolphin and the current owners of Butterfields E17 for their efforts to make this deal happen and offer these families and residents of Walthamstow the opportunity to stay in our community. We may have had our differences, but their willingness to get round a table and work together for the best interests of Walthamstow residents has paid off” Creasy has stated on her website.

In August campaigners from the Butterfields Won’t Budge group canvassed estate agents in Walthamstow and asked them to assist in retaining the existing community.