They asked for 80 homes – she gave them 157! Council-housing miracle named Britain’s best new building

Rising from bluebell woodlands and framed by rolling hills, this cluster of pink and brown brick towers in Croydon is a bittersweet winner of the prestigious RIBA Stirling prize If Andy Burnham is looking for inspiration for his great “ council housebuilding comeback ”, he would do well to visit Croydon. There, nestled into a steeply sloping site, sheltered by a canopy of mature trees, stands a cluster of…