LORD Tebbit's visit to Chingford Hall comes as the Housing Action Trust (HAT) nears the end of its life.

The then Chingford MP was among those instrumental in gaining government funding for the establishment of the HAT, which has rebuilt Chingford Hall and three other crumbling Waltham Forest estates.

Another was Prince Charles, who featured the scheme in his Vision of Britain exhibition and commended the idea of redesigning the estates.

But, long before these two worthies became involved, it was Waltham Forest Council, led by Neil Gerrard (now Walthamstow MP), which conceived the idea.

The council carried out surveys and opinion polls on the estates, commissioned the original plans and set about searching out funding.

It seemed that every money trail it tried following was blocked and, in the end, it was others who managed to get the finance together.

But we do hope that, in all the fanfares that mark the completion of the ten-year project, the inspirational role of Waltham Forest Council is not forgotten.