Smith joins Labour's first estate

Baroness Smith, widow of the late Labour leader, opening a new street yesterday named after her husband.

Lady Smith unveiled John Smith Avenue on the Clem Attlee Estate in Fulham, west London, as part of celebrations to mark the completion of the first phase of a redevelopment on the estate.

She was joined by the widow of the former Labour mayor of Hammersmith, Len Freeman, who died in 1995 and has also had a street named in his memory.

Opened in 1957 by the leader of Labour's post-war government, the estate has been rebuilt in a pounds 10m scheme by Notting Hill House Trust in partnership with Wimpey Homes and Hammer- smith and Fulham Council.

Touring the estate yesterday, Lady Smith said: "I'm very excited and very impressed by this project. The estate looks like a very pleasant environment in which to live. The reason I agreed to come along today was because this project seems to be making a real difference to people's lives."

Once a series of high-rise blocks, the estate now sports a mix of low- rise houses and flats.

Neil Newton, managing director of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, said: "If people are happy and proud of the community in which they live they will take good care of it."