Planning permission gained for NDC homes
The green light has been granted for 622 new homes in north east Coventry. Planners from Coventry City Council have now approved the detailed plans, which were submitted by Bovis Homes, Keepmoat Homes and Westbury Partnerships, meaning the first wave of building to transform Wood End, Henley Green, Deedmore and Manor Farm can begin this May.
The first of the 154 homes, a mix of two and three storey properties, including 39 Whitefriars homes for affordable rent, are expected to be completed in October. They will be built in the area around the former Deedmore School and Monkswood Crescent. Work has already started to prepare for ground works including roads and sewers.
In total, the regeneration of the Coventry New Deal for Communities (NDC) area will see more than 3,000 new homes built over 15 years. Due to the scale of the £360m programme, the scheme has seen the area divided into a number of phases.
Martin Smith, NDC's Resident Chair said: "We are very pleased that the redevelopment of our neighbourhood is now underway. These new homes will build on the foundations NDC has put in place in the last nine years through the continued support and involvement of local residents."
Lynn Wassell, Project Director at Whitefriars Housing Group, who is leading the work on behalf of Whitefriars, Coventry City Council and NDC, said: “Now detailed planning permission is in place, we can transform the work on paper into reality. The first construction workers should be on site in May, with the intention of the first homes being occupied in the autumn.
"It’s now a case of delivering on what we promised at the start of this project – good quality, affordable homes and an environment which meet the needs of local people.”
The regeneration project is supported by the Homes and Communities Agency and Advantage West Midlands.
Notes to Editors
Coventry New Deal for Communities (NDC)New Deal for Communities is a government funded community-led initiative aimed at improving neglected and disadvantaged local communities.
In April 2000 central government awarded the Coventry New Deal for Communities area of Wood End, Henley Green, Manor Farm and Deedmore, £54million for a ten year regeneration programme.
Since 2001, local residents, NDC officers, communities and agencies have been workingtogether to decide how this money will be best used to regenerate the community by creating real employment and training opportunities, better housing, a healthier quality of life, safer communities, a cleaner environment and improvements in educational achievement over the next ten years.
NDC key achievements to date have included the development of two new schools and community facilities in the area, the contribution of more than £5million to prepare the master plan, fund acquisitions, demolishment of vacant properties, £1m on environmental improvements and £10 million for a Leisure and Neighbourhood Centre. Statistically, since 2002, NDC has supported more than 500 local residents into jobs, the proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs with grades A*-C in the NDC area has risen from 4.7% to 34%, the level of reported crime in the area has dropped 23% and there has been a 65% reduction in the rate of anti-social behaviour.
NDC has also developed its successor vehicle, Moat House Community Trust, which will continue to work in the NDC area, post 2011 when the NDC programme ends.
Part of the New Deal for Communities scheme also involves the redevelopment of the area in partnership with Whitefriars Housing Group, Coventry City Council and developers. Coventry NDC is the prime funder of the Moat House Leisure and Community Centre and a partner in the redevelopment of the area.
Whitefriars Housing Group
Whitefriars Housing Group was formed in 2000 to take responsibility for former council homes in Coventry. It is the lead partner in the redevelopment of Wood End, Henley Green and Manor Farm and main landowner. Around 2,100 of its 17,000 homes are in the Wood End, Henley Green and Manor Farm area of the city. The project will see more than 1,700 properties in the area demolished and replaced with new ones. . It will receive around 1,000 new houses and will refurbish its remaining homes.
One hundred and thirtyof the 1000 new homes have been allocated for existing home owners who wish to stay in the area (at 50 per cent subsidy).
Coventry City Council
Coventry City Council is a land owner in the initiative (c20%) and is making that land available to help deliver the scheme. The Council will also use its power to support delivery and on employment issues. It is a partner in the redevelopment of the area and the owner, a funder and manager of the leisure and community centre.
Development consortium
Keepmoat Homes
Keepmoat Homes is part of Keepmoat Ltd. - a leader in community regeneration across the north and midlands of England. Playing a major role in the government’s agenda to deliver sustainable communities, it is committed to delivering housing partnerships. Keepmoat Homes is a specialist in providing affordable, yet highly desirable one, two, three and four bedroom homes, predominantly aimed at the first and second time buyer market. Of the 1100 of properties it built last year, 60 per cent were constructed through partnership schemes with local authorities and 40 per cent of these were on private development land.
Creating sustainable communities where people choose to work and live and in which they can take pride is at the heart of everything that Keepmoat Homes does. The company understands that there is more to regeneration than bricks and mortar, champions and supports community projects and provides jobs and training opportunities for local people.
Bovis Homes
Bovis Homes is one of Britain's leading house builders, providing quality homes in attractive locations throughout England and South Wales. Bovis Homes Central Region builds a wide selection of properties across the midlands and the south with an extensive portfolio of property designs including modern apartments, terraced cottages, stylish three storey town houses, and imposing four, five and six bedroom family homes.
Each development offers a carefully chosen location with easy access to local amenities and good commuting links.
Persimmon Homes
Persimmon Homes has been trading since 1972 and operates under three main brands,
Persimmon Homes, Charles Church and Westbury Partnerships. There are 25 regional companies from Exeter to Edinburgh, building quality homes which provide the very best in design, construction and service. The wide range of property types includes three, four and five-bed detached properties; two and three-bed terraced and semidetached houses; bungalows and apartments.
The Westbury Partnerships business focuses on social housing, in conjunction with Space 4, their timber frame manufacturing operation. By working closely with housing associations, this business aims to offer solutions to some of the affordable housing problems the Government wishes to resolve. For more information visit the website at www.persimmonhomes.com
The Homes and Communities Agency
The Homes and Communities Agency is the single, national housing and regeneration agency for England. Our vision is about creating opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford, in places they want to live and for local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas.
This will be achieved by:
- Acting as the bridge between national targets and local ambitions, with a strong regional presence
- Through a process of 'single conversations' with local authorities, RDAs and sub regional partnerships
- Working effectively with the market, housebuilders, investors and other stakeholders
- Understanding the needs and aspirations of people and communities.
The HCA brings together English Partnerships, investment functions of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities, with major delivery programmes of Communities and Local Government.
Advantage West Midlands
Advantage West Midlands is the Regional Development Agency (RDA) for the West Midlands. It is one of nine RDAs in England that were established to transform the English regions through sustainable economic development.
Its role is to lead the economic development of the West Midlands, working alongside a wide range of public, private and voluntary sectors partners to help the region to prosper - building upon its many strengths and addressing its unique challenges.
Advantage West Midlands has an annual budget of more than £300 million to invest in the economic development of the West Midlands and, at any one time, is managing around 2,500 projects which are changing the lives of people right across our region.
It drives economic development by identifying where the greatest impact can be made either by targeting need or investing in success. Its key task is to provide leadership for the development and delivery of the West Midlands Economic Strategy – the framework for the region’s growth. This enables AWM to leverage and maximise investment into the region and thereby create a far greater impact than could be done by acting in isolation.
For further information please contact Val Hunt or Nikki Cheung at The Bridge Group on 024 7656 0440 or v.hunt@bridge-group.co.uk