Going the extra mile

There is no getting away from the fact that the number of over 55s is increasing and the provision of suitable housing for this older population looks set to create something of a headache for many housing providers

But not for Dudley Council, the local authority is well ahead of the game with plans to provide five Extra Care facilities, housing 600 to 700 people, by 2015.

Work is well underway on the first two schemes, Russells Hall and Coseley, and the council is exploring the feasibility of additional sites for redevelopment.

“The plans are ambitious and we have held a steady course with a fantastic partner Midland Heart despite the recession,” says Sanders.

Russells Hall is a £16 million, 132-bedroom scheme, while the £8 million Coseley development will comprise of 72 apartments. Both will be run by social landlord Midland Heart and will boast one and two-bedroom apartments available for rent, sale or shared ownership. Residents will also have access to community facilities such as a hair and beauty salon, gym and library and both schemes are expected to be completed by 2011.

Councillor Lesley Faulkner, cabinet member for adult and community services at Dudley Council described the schemes as a modern alternative to residential care. “Around a third of residents will be fit and active older people, around a third will need a little bit of support and about a third will probably need quite a lot in terms of care packages,” she said.

“The aim is to develop a thriving, active community where people are encouraged to lead independent lives, try new things, explore new interests and make new friends. It is about creating a vibrant environment rather than an institution and it is very different from the feel of a residential or nursing home. Unlike residential care it also enables people to keep hold of equity, which is really important for older people.”

Community consultation has played a key role in the developments and one of the main requests was for as many apartments as possible to have two bedrooms, providing space for relatives or carers to stay, or for storage. An open day held before work started attracted plenty of attention from locals with some people asking to put down deposits to secure their place there and then.

Dozens of people, who had expressed an interest in moving to the complex, also joined Sanders, Tom Murtha, chief executive officer at Midland Heart, and Guy Higgins, managing director at William Davis Limited, to perform the ‘first turning of the turf’ at the Russells Hall site. Openness, a willingness to work through tough issues, a good dialogue and determination to steer a course together despite tough economic conditions are the council’s key requirements for a development partner and Midland Heart has ticked all of the boxes.

“Midland Heart had a very enthusiastic bidding team with a very high quality bid, which matched all of the criteria that we set in the evaluation process,” says Sanders. “We certainly haven’t been disappointed and our confidence in them has been justified.” “I think the solidity of the partnership has been cemented really. Midland Heart have had confidence in us and our partnership and have continued to be very solid in their commitment to the project.”

It is not just Dudley’s older residents that the council is investing in, ithas also submitted a bid to build over 110 council houses in the borough. If given the go ahead the homes, which will include 36 apartments for people with learning disabilities, will be the first council built houses in 30 years.

The new homes will be built on old garage sites and other infill sites, which had been up for sale but had not attracted any interest, and were becoming a magnet for anti-social behaviour.

“This is a great scheme that will help utilise this land, going some way to deal with issues such as anti-social behaviour, while providing muchneeded housing,” says Councillor David Simms, cabinet member for housing, libraries and adult learning.

Of course, housing provision is just as much about giving existing communities a new lease of life as it is about building new communities, as is the case at the North Priory estate, where large areas are being demolished and replaced with new, higher quality housing. Simms said: “North Priory was a council estate that for one reason or another developed a reputation which meant that it was difficult to let properties.”

A plan was put together to regenerate the estate and it was decided to demolish 270 properties and replace them with 314 new build homes, working with the council’s RSL partner Bromford Housing Group and developer Keepmoat.

No matter how well-planned a development is, clearing an occupied area to make way for new homes is always going to be difficult but the council has worked closely with tenants to make sure that their views are heard.

Prior to going into development there were a number of open days where the plans were on display and consultation was carried out through the Dudley Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations
(DFTRA).

The council hasn’t had to use CPOs, providing fair deals for owneroccupiers to move out of their homes and tenants have been given options for where they would like to move to with some residents having expressed an interest in returning to the estate once work is complete.

“We are so lucky that we have a fantastic chairman of the federation called Allan Miles, who works with a large network of tenants,” says Sanders. “We have very open and constructive relationships and ongoing dialogue and work very closely with Allan and others within DFTRA. We work hard at that, not that we have to work hard because the foundations are so strong, but we take that job seriously.”
As Sanders explains Dudley Council takes the opinion of its tenants very seriously and has taken every opportunity to involve the local community as much as possible in its plans to provide new homes for the borough.

Looking to the future the council will push ahead with plans to build more properties for its residents – young and old – and those residents will continue to be at the heart of those developments.