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.
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.
