Emerging from its chrysalis

With ambitions to double its population by 2031 the Northamp­ton­shire town of Corby has a huge task ahead of it and housing is set to play a massive part

The demise of steel making in Corby in the 1980s had a devastating impact on the town, leading to decay, decline and unemployment. But when Corby Borough Council restructured its management team in 2003 it brought about a change in objectives and a five-year corporate plan was launched to spearhead the regeneration and growth of the borough.

Fast forward six years and Corby is emerging from its chrysalis with the council’s housing services department at the forefront of the regeneration.

“Corby’s ambition is to double its population by 2031 and that was from a base point in 2001 of roughly 50,000, so we are looking to double our population to 100,000. That is going to be one of our biggest focuses and housing is going to play a huge part in that,” says Jacqui Page housing strategy manager at Corby Borough Council.

Corby falls under the Milton Keynes growth area which has targets to provide 225,000 new homes across three regions and four local authorities between 2001 and 2021 and Corby will deliver the largest share of North Northamptonshire’s new homes.

“Corby has continued, even through the recession, with our partners and the help of the HCA, to be able to continue to deliver new homes for completion,” says Angela Warburton assistant chief executive of Corby Borough Council.

The council, which has a housing stock of 4,800 properties including 300 sheltered properties, has started work on the first council homes to be built in Corby since 1972.

It is working with two developers to build 82 new council homes on four sites within the borough over the next two years.

“It is a big achievement for the council to be able to build these homes not having the expertise in doing so since 1972 and we are really pleased that we are able to deliver them,” says Warburton.

“The skills weren’t there and we had to learn how to bid and to be able to deliver information that is not normally the type of information that we work with but had to overcome that and as a council we have to overcome a lot of things that we are not used to in order to deliver a good service to the community.

“It is about how we work as a team and the team at Corby Borough Council is open to new ideas, up to the challenge, and works hard. That is a mark of the council, it is not afraid of hard work to achieve its goals for tenants.”

The new properties will include two, three and four-bedroom houses and two-bedroom bungalows and will be built on council-owned land.

“We demolished houses that weren’t fit for purpose and had the sites available and ready for development so that when the initiative came from the Government we were able to take that opportunity,” says Warburton.

Work is underway on all but one of the sites which will start later on in the year and the vast majority will be finished by March 2011. Warburton hopes that these homes will be just the start for Corby Council and would like to see the Government continue to support council new-build programmes.

“I would like to see more of that,” she says. “Although the timescale was tight, at the end of the day we have secured 82 new homes for the borough and I think if we can continue to build in line with identified need with our partners that would be great.”

The council has also been working with private developers to ensure a steady supply of affordable homes.

It has secured Kickstart funding for four sites as a result of a joint bid and initiative named ‘Partnership Villages’ put together with the local delivery vehicle North Northants Development Company (NNDC) and the developer and landowner Bela Partnership.

Keepmoat is building 364 affordable homes at Priors Hall, the first sustainable urban extension (SUE) to be created in North Northamptonshire by Bee Bee Developments. It will comprise 5,100 dwellings on the eastern edge of Corby.

A further 116 homes will be built on the Kingswood estate as part of a wider Corby Borough Council-led regeneration project named Creative Corby, which aims to improve social housing estates in the town. Two further sites of 67 and 50 affordable units have also received funding from Phase 2 of the Kickstart programme.

Growth and regeneration is about more than just homes and Corby Borough Council recognises that it has a wider responsibility to back up the provision of new homes with additional services.

“It is not just about housing it is about jobs and skills and complimentary services and rounding your communities and neighbourhoods.” says Warburton. “I don’t think you can look at individual issues when you are delivering something like this.

“North Northants Development Company has played a huge role in the development of the regeneration plans and access and infrastructure because without all of that you can’t deliver the housing, jobs and complimentary services that you need to thrive.”

Partnership working has played a strong role in the regeneration of Corby as Warburton explains: “The agencies in Corby come together and work together to make a difference and that has been a really solid starting place for all of this regeneration and growth to be able to be delivered because I think unless you have the co-operation of partners, it matters not, whether it is the police or fire service or health authority, without that co-operation and one goal it doesn’t happen.”

Regeneration is key to Corby’s future but the council also recognises that it has a duty to existing tenants and in recent years there have been a number of changes to housing services, which has seen satisfaction levels rise.

“We started from a very low base five years ago,” says Warburton, “but we implemented neighbourhood management about five years ago and have developed and refined the framework since that time, doing quite a lot of work with the local strategic partnership and the rest of the partners in the borough, looking at targeting resources and supporting our staff in dealing with things like anti-social behaviour.” The council is also moving towards more of a tenant-focused approach with regards to homes and a resident-focused approach with regards to neighbourhoods.

Feedback has been positive and a recent survey showed that tenant satisfaction in Corby has risen by 10 per cent in the last year, which Warburton describes as a “huge increase for a small district council”. Corby has come a long way over the past 20 years or so and the council was recently awarded a Green Flag by the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) in recognition of the recovery and rejuvenation of the town – high praise indeed for a once struggling borough.

There is, of course, still much more to be done before Corby’s regeneration is complete but whatever happens the council will continue to be at the forefront, providing not only homes for the future but services that residents can be proud of.