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Council’s first homes built in decades named after murder victim
The first council homes delivered by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) in decades have been named after a man who was murdered in the borough by white youths in 1959.
Kelso Cochrane House will provide 38 homes, of which 28 for will be social rent and 10 for key workers such as NHS employees or teachers.
Antigua-born Kelso Cochrane was 32 years old when he was attacked and killed by a gang of white youths in Notting Hill while on his way home.
He had moved to England five years before the murder, which is believed to have been a racist attack.
No one was ever convicted of his murder, and his family and friends continue the fight for justice to this day.
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Days after the 65th anniversary of Mr Cochrane’s murder, members of his family, councillors and community campaigners came together to officially open the development in North Kensington.
At the opening, Millie Christian, Mr Cochrane’s niece, said: “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.”
RBKC said the homes are energy efficient as they have a heating system that is better for the environment and cheaper than conventional heating, as well as insulated walls and double-glazed windows and doors to retain heat.
The homes are also fitted with sprinklers and a fire alarm system, and there are automatically opening vents in communal areas to release smoke. A CCTV system has also been installed.
Sof McVeigh, lead member for new homes at RBKC, 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.”
The development was delivered as part of the council’s new homes programme, which aims to deliver 600 new homes across the borough, 300 of which for council tenants at social rent.
In February, it emerged that RBKC had paused four housing projects in order to review its viability after inflation led to a hike in construction costs.
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