Camberwell Council acquired the site on which Hilversum Crescent stands from the Dulwich Estate in 1960; the existing houses were relatively large and by the late 1950s were in poor condition and nearing the end of their lease. The first drawings of the new scheme were submitted in 1964 by the borough architect F.O. Hayes to the Dulwich Estate’s office. The scheme had 136 units divided up into 36 two-person houses, 61 four-person units and 39 five-person units. The Dulwich Estate gave their approval, noting that "the problem of complying with a density of 70 persons to the acre has been well solved by erecting houses rather than flats."

The Dutch Estate’s road names were a direct response to Camberwell’s twinning arrangement with the city of Deventer in Holland. The estate was completed in 1969; The Architects’ Journal of 16 December 1970 favourably reviewed the scheme as part of a report on the RIBA Housing Awards, with the project winning the award for Higher Density Public Sector Development. The assessors’ report praised the "excellent judgement in the size of spaces, heights of walls and choice of materials which produces an outstandingly pleasant scheme with the simplest of means."