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Working together to create communities where people want to live

North Devon Homes

Woodville Estate, Barnstaple Working with communities to deliver an

effective regeneration project


North Devon Homes

Presentation Overview • Introduction

• Project Overview

• Scheme Overview

• Five rules of an effective regeneration

project


North Devon Homes

Introduction • NDH formed in 1998 to receive

housing stock from North Devon

Council in a LSVT.

• In 2000 all 3,281 homes were

transferred to the company in a

transaction worth over £44 million.

• This included nearly 400 Pre-cast

Reinforced Concrete (PRC) houses

across a number of estates.


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Project Overview

• From the date of the transfer until 2009,

161 of the PRC homes had been subject

to major refurbishment or in some cases

demolished.

• With these practices being costly and with

the largest concentrations of PRC houses

still left to be developed, the company

developed a strategy to carry out

regeneration projects on the 7 remaining

estates consisting of 227 houses.


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Project Overview

Scheme Existing PRC Housing

New Affordable Rented Homes

New Shared Ownership Homes

New Market Sale Homes

Refurbished Homes

Forches Estate, Barnstaple

108 114 33

Woodville Estate, Barnstaple

73 57 9 35

Pill Gardens, Braunton

32 32 32

Rural Schemes

14 18

Totals 227 221 42 32 35


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Scheme Overview • Woodville Estate, is located in

Barnstaple, North Devon.

• Challenging scheme as a number

of the 71 units were semi-

detached houses located next to

owner-occupied properties.

• This led to the development of a

refurbishment scheme of 35 units

alongside the main development.

• The remaining 38 units were

demolished, with an even mix of

assured and assured shorthold

tenants.


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Five rules of an effective

regeneration project

Forward Planning

Resources Consultation

Communication Partnership

Working


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Forward Planning

• Consultation, decanting and void

clearance takes a lot of time.

• It can also be very costly.

• Use forward planning to investigate

and create opportunities for decanting, such as enabling moves

to deal with other neighbourhood

management issues.

• Recycle void properties with shorthold tenancies; mitigates void

costs and reduces risk on decanting

programmes.


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Resources

• Don’t underestimate – regeneration is

a resource hungry, time consuming

and costly endeavour.

• Setup a team with a holistic

approach – a one stop shop to deal

with all facets of the project, rather

than reliance on other internal teams.

• Having control of all the necessary

functions required to deliver a project will enable greater programme

management and cost control.

• Ensure there is adequate project

finance to enable relocation across all tenures.


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Consultation

• Ensure that consultation is meaningful

and not tokenistic.

• Consult with and involve the local

community at the earliest possible

opportunity.

• There will always be concerns about

causing undue worry at too early an

stage – however, the impact of

residents finding things out on their own is more detrimental.

• Involvement in design, street naming,

choices in finishes are all useful

methods of engaging residents.


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Communication

• Communication is critical.

• Not just with tenants, but with

residents, local councillors, staff and

other key stakeholders.

• Communication on the smallest of

matters can build bridges – ensure

that residents are informed of all

activity on site, and send a regular

newsletter.

• Build a detailed customer database

and meet regularly with residents –

the smallest piece of information can

open other opportunities for decanting.


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Partnership Working

• Think outside of the box.

• Energy companies can help make

meter removals easier, charities can

help with residents who need furniture

and clear left items and community

groups can help get a positive

message across.

• Don’t neglect internal teams – keep

them informed at all stages as they will manage properties going

forward.

• Work with the local authority housing

team – early void properties can be used for temporary accommodation.


North Devon Homes

Any questions?


North Devon Homes

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