RENEW North Staffordshire
Civic Centre
Glebe Street
Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire
ST4 1RJ
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Coalville

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Programme and Project Details

RENEW’s regeneration programme in Coalville aims to offer a range of quality homes and environmental improvements that will be developed in four phases.

Some of the original properties that are in the worst condition will be cleared. Others will be repaired and improved will the help of financial schemes for residents. Some residents will be offered support to move into a new home, and a five-year new-build scheme – Weston Heights - will see almost 300 homes built for rent, shared ownership and sale to both current and new residents.

Weston Heights

Weston Heights is a five-year, new build scheme that is being developed through a collaborative project involving partner organisations that form a Coalville Partnership Board. The Board is made up a representatives from RENEW, the city council, Compendium, Coalville Residents’ Association and the social housing partner, Riverside Housing Association.

RENEW has a development agreement with the Compendium Group, who will remodel the estate through an innovative and sustainable regeneration programme. As well as ensuring improved housing and environmental conditions for residents, the agreement encourages Compendium to make the most of local employment and training opportunities during the development programme, and sources local materials and suppliers where possible. For example:

• 50% of employees must live in areas with Stoke-on-Trent post codes, and 90% must live in areas with Staffordshire post codes
• eight locally sourced apprentices will be employed during the course of the development
• 25% of its sub-contracts will be placed with businesses with a Stoke-on-Trent post code, while 90% of its sub-contracts will be placed with businesses with a Staffordshire post code
• 35% of all materials used in the development will be sourced from suppliers in an area with a Stoke-on-Trent post code, with 60% of materials sourced from suppliers within the Staffordshire area
• residents of new homes will be asked to complete satisfaction, with the aim of demonstrating overall satisfaction of 95% or more

The Partnership has also responded to community concerns about access to information by taking the step of establishing a full-time project office within the community, which provides a key point of contact for local residents. This has now evolved into the Compendium Information Centre, providing a base on the estate for both the developer Compendium and the social housing partner, Riverside Housing. A community development sub group has been established to deal with neighbourhood issues, also reports to the Board.

Phase 1 of the new development, 52 homes, is complete and all the homes have been sold. Phase 2, 57 new homes, is almost complete.

A community engagement survey conducted in 2007 revealed that 96% of respondents were satisfied with the changes in the area so far, and 96% were satisfied with the quality of work.

The Coalville Partnership has created strong working relationships between the agencies involved and is an excellent example of real, effective, collaborative working.

Repair assistance scheme

There are a number of properties on the Coalville estate that remain unimproved because they are outside the main clearance area. RENEW North Staffordshire recognised the potential negative impact that the unimproved properties could have on the overall plans to make Coalville a better place for its residents, and devised a scheme that will offer assistance to provide external improvements - new brick ‘skins’, new windows and doors - and any internal improvements to bring the homes up to the Government’s Decent Home Standard.

The scheme involves equity loans to bridge the gap between the value before improvements and the value after improvement, and non-means tested grants for the difference between the increase in value and the works costs. The works would be carried out by an approved contractor.

For home owners who are considering moving to another property on the estate, RENEW may be able to help by buying the original property. Equity share loans may be available to fund the difference between the value of the resident’s existing home and the cost of a new home on the estate.

Helping residents get a foot on the housing ladder

Interest in new homes for sale and rent at Weston Heights has continued despite the recession - thanks to an innovative scheme that helps first time buyers get a foot on the home ownership ladder.

A number of homes have recently been sold on a shared-ownership basis on the mixed-tenure scheme, which is being funded and delivered by a partnership of RENEW North Staffordshire, the Compendium Group, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Riverside Housing, RENEW's housing association partner in the area.

The Weston Heights development programme is in its second phase and the entire scheme is expected to be complete in 2012. Although interest in buying homes on the development has continued during the credit crunch, potential buyers are often finding that they can no longer get big enough mortgages from lenders to purchase a new home outright.

So RENEW is working with Compendium and Riverside Housing to provide an innovative solution, by offering 'multiple-choice' tenure on some sales plots.

Until now, like all new developments, the tenure of each plot has been pre-determined, with most being for outright sale by Compendium, and a more limited number pre-allocated to Riverside Housing for shared ownership or other social housing options.

At Weston Heights, an new, flexible approach is being piloted that will allow certain plots to have flexible or ‘multiple-choice' tenure, which will enable the home to be sold to an interested buyer at a mortgage level that they can afford.

This approach could have the double benefit of supporting continued sales on the scheme and helping new buyers to get a foot on the property ladder at a level they can comfortably afford.

New green space for Weston Heights

Consultation is now underway with the community and other stakeholders about new public open space for Weston Heights.

Environmental charity Groundwork, appointed by developers Compendium, has started consulting people about possible designs and facilities for a new park and the wildlife area, which will have something for all age groups. The Coalville Partnership Board – RENEW, Compendium, Coalville Residents’ Association, Riverside Housing and the city council – is overseeing the development of the public open space.

So far, the community consultation has included design workshops with residents and Weston Coyney Infant School, study visits to other parks in Stoke-on-Trent, and meetings with existing community groups, such as Coalville Youth Club.

There was also an open event at the Compendium Information Centre, where local people we able to comment on the ideas that have come out of the consultation process so far. The display at the event will include a model of the new park, made by members of the community, showing some of the suggestions that have been put forward.

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