Mission to regenerate estates
East Staffordshire’s largest, affordable housing provider Trent & Dove Housing has seen some major projects come to fruition in 2008/09 and has made considerable progress in achieving its mission to transform homes, lives and neighbourhoods
Having delivered its promises, made to tenants at the time of stock transfer in 2001, 12-months ahead of schedule it turned its attention to transforming and regenerating rural communities in Uttoxeter and Rocester.
The former St John’s Square estate, in Uttoxeter, previously beset by problems including crime, drug addiction and anti-social behaviour has been transformed to create The Willows, an 88-home development.
Concrete deck access flats and maisonettes have been replaced with eco-friendly family homes, bungalows and apartments, with Safer by Design features aimed at reducing crime. The estate has been landscaped to encourage bio-diversity and bat and bird boxes installed.
The majority of the properties, which include a mix of affordable rent and shared ownership, were built using Trent & Dove’s own resources with some Housing Corporation grant funding.
Last year the organisation won a “Transformation of the Environment Award” from Southern Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership for its £8 million regeneration of the area.
Ron Dougan, chief executive of Trent & Dove, said: “Our regeneration project at the Willows has transformed an area of Uttoxeter which, it’s fair to say, was once a blight on the town. Where once there was an eyesore, beset by crime and anti-social behaviour, now there is a sustainable community which local people can feel proud of.”
In its original transfer business plan the organisation had only budgeted to bring the properties up to the Decent Homes Standard but following consultation with residents it was decided to demolish the estate and start again.
Plans were drawn up by appointed architects Supporta RPD, in close consultation with residents who were able to feed into the process from design to construction. Progress meetings were held with contractors Bullock Construction to keep residents up to date and a panel was set up to allow residents to raise any concerns.
A similar challenge existed in nearby Rocester, where flats built in the 1960s to house workers from the local JCB site had become run down and blighted by anti-social behaviour. The fabric of the building was deteriorating to the extent that improvement works would not be sustainable and following extensive resident consultation it was felt that the only solution was to demolish the properties to make way for new housing.
The business model that was successfully used for the Willows development was followed and resident involvement was once again an integral part of the project.
Plans were drawn up by architects Roger Dudley Associates and William Davis was selected as contractor for the project which comprises 29 apartments, 30 two-and three-bedroom houses and three twobedroom bungalows available for affordable rent and shared ownership. As was the case at the Willows, ‘Secure by Design’ principles were used.
As part of the re-development of the area a gas supply was connected to the village, allowing energy efficient, gas central heating to be installed in the new properties and existing coal systems to be replaced, reducing carbon emissions.
Resident Kate Yorke, praised Trent & Dove for keeping the community well-informed throughout the development and said The Rocester Residents Panel that it initiated was “an ideal forum for exchanging information and resolving any local issues.”
While these schemes are among the larger projects carried out by Trent & Dove Housing, the organisation has transformed many more communities through smaller projects, such as a development in the Horninglow area of Burton with contractors Harvey & Clark, which utilised modern methods of construction, solar energy, high efficiency gas boilers and high levels of insulation, to create properties that will be economical to run.
Other new properties are currently under development throughout East Staffordshire and some of the organisation’s existing properties are being considered for the installation of ground source heat pumps.
Dougan said: “It has been a busy year for us. We have been reaccredited as an Investor in People, and in addition to our Investors in Excellence re-accreditation, we were a ‘Highly Commended’ award winner at the recent Midlands Excellence awards. Our commitment to resident involvement was recognised by TPAS in its Resident Involvement Pinpoint accreditation and we have also received a ROSPA silver award for Health and Safety. These recent successes only inspire us to go even further.”
He congratulated partners J & S Seddon (Painting) Limited on its Business Excellence award and Inspace Partnerships who achieved the contractors’ version of the TPAS resident involvement accreditation, which he said “proved that we always look to work with the best.”
Summing up Dougan added: “We are grateful to all our strategic and operational partners, individuals and staff who have helped us to achieve so much, and look forward to continuing to work with them in the future as we continue to transform homes, lives and neighbourhoods.”
