Published: Wednesday 22 May 2024
Days after the 65th anniversary of Kelso Cochrane’s murder, Kensington and Chelsea councillors, members of his family and community campaigners came together to officially open Kelso Cochrane House in North Kensington.
At the opening there were several speeches, a bench unveiling in Kelso’s memory by Millie Christian, Kelso’s niece, and Cllr Sof McVeigh, Lead Member for New Homes, as well as a performance of ‘Since Kelso Cochrane Died’ by local calypso singer Alexander D Great.
Kelso Cochrane House, in Kensal Road, offers 38 new homes - 28 homes for Council tenants and the remaining 10 for key workers. These are the first Council homes to be built in the borough for decades.
The award-winning development is named in memory of Kelso Cochrane whose life was tragically cut short when attacked and murdered by a gang of white youths in Notting Hill while on his way home in 1959. No-one was ever convicted of his murder and his family and friends continue the fight for justice to this day.
Millie Christian, Kelso Cochrane’s niece and pictured above (centre), said at the opening:
“The family are immensely grateful that the tragedy of Kelso’s death is finally being recognised. We are thankful to Kensington and Chelsea Council for approaching us to name this building in his memory so that Kelso can be remembered as part of the North Kensington community.
“We can only hope each and every time people come and go in this building, it will remind the community that we are all equal under the law. Had those who took Kelso’s life recognised and treated him as equal, this terrible tragedy would not have occurred.”
The new homes deliver on our Council Plan promises to create a greener, safer and fairer borough, as well as our commitment made after Grenfell to build more truly affordable homes for our community.
They are energy efficient, have a heating system which is better for the environment and cheaper than conventional heating, and have well insulated walls and double-glazed windows and doors to retain heat. The homes are also fitted with sprinklers, a fire alarm system and offer automatically opening vents in communal areas to release smoke as well as a CCTV system.
Cllr Sof McVeigh, Lead Member for New Homes, said:
“It is completely right and fitting that Kelso’s name is attached to these new homes and I’m so pleased that Kelso’s family, who have remained steadfast in their fight for justice, were present to remember Kelso.
“Building new homes since Covid has been extremely challenging and as with many councils and developers, we have had to adapt our programme to address the challenge of rising costs due to factors such as inflation and the war in Ukraine. But we remain committed to addressing the urgent need for properties in our borough and I hope the new residents at Kelso Cochrane House will be very happy in their new homes.”
Not only does this development offer homes for the local community, but a supermarket will soon be opening its doors to serve local residents as well as a brand-new NHS centre providing easier access to health services.
Baroness Scott, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Housing and Faith, who also attended the opening ceremony said:
“This is a great example of the government’s long-term plan for housing offering London councils the opportunity to invest in the future of their communities. I’m pleased to see how our programme has enabled the council to put affordable housing at the heart of its offer to residents.
"Today’s ceremony is just one example of new social housing supporting healthy, prosperous neighbourhoods in London and across the country.”
Kelso Cochrane House is one of the Council's New Homes Programme sites which is delivering 600 new homes across the borough, 300 for Council tenants at social rent.