Council-led Estate Regeneration and Housing Delivery, 19 th March 2014

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1 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 1 Council-led Estate Regeneration and Housing Delivery, 19 th March 2014 This session on Council-led estate regeneration and housing delivery focused on how Councils are themselves promoting regeneration and housing delivery. Presenters discussed exemplary schemes, procurement processes, approaches to funding, and managing regeneration to secure good quality design. The event was an opportunity for different local authorities to compare experiences. We also announced the preparation of a UDL Case Study Handbook of Estate Regeneration and invited delegates to suggest schemes for inclusion. 1. Hackney John Lumley, Assistant Director, Housing Regeneration John explained that Hackney now use a range of different frameworks to procure developer partners including OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union). Going forward, they hope to use the GLA procurement framework wherever possible. Hackney try to give all stakeholders and development partners confidence that regeneration will be financially robust and deliverable. John emphasized that internally, it is essential to make sure approvals and buy-in are strong enough to help schemes move forward quickly once they have been agreed. For most of their major schemes, Hackney obtains planning permission in advance. This gives certainty to the private sector when schemes go out to tender. Surveys, utilities appraisals and some initial costings are carried out to de-risk the opportunity offered out to the market and make it as easy as possible for development partners to get involved. A key piece of advice John gave to delegates was that if they wish to pursue a largescale programme of housing delivery across their borough on a number of different sites, it is best to secure cabinet approval or equivalent for the programme as a whole beforehand to allow for flexibility when original proposals inevitably change during procurement and implementation. 2. Lambeth Neil Vokes, Programme Manager, Neighbourhood Regeneration

2 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 2 Neil focused on a relatively unique case - Lambeth's regeneration at Somerleyton Road (see previous picture), a partnership with the Ovalhouse Theatre and Brixton Green, a non-profit mutual homeownership society. Ovalhouse Theatre will move to the scheme, freeing up space to build homes on the site they currently occupy in Kennington. Lambeth Council is acting as developer and employing specialists to manage the design and build. A steering group chaired by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration acts as the client, a community vehicle will own and manage the new homes, and a community development trust will own and manage the commercial and community spaces. This fits well with Lambeth's mission to become a co-operative council as they will preserve control over tenure and rent levels enabling them to provide more genuinely affordable accommodation. Crucially, the Council will retain ownership of the land, which will be leased. The plan is for the scheme to be 100% rented with all costs paid back over 35 years. A bespoke financial model has been developed to compare this against a traditional private sale, cross-subsidy model. It is available to the public online ( Somerleyton Road: Understanding the Money webpage). The scheme will also provide 5 year tenancies, which has been promoted by the housing charity Shelter (press release on Shelter website). Another innovative aspect of the scheme is that consultation minutes are done by an artist. Overall, the Council is aiming to be open and inclusive about the whole regeneration process in the belief that local people will accept densification and the introduction of private renters provided they understand the financial trade-offs involved. Some of those trade-offs are depicted in the illustration below.

3 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 3 3. Camden Jed Young, Regeneration Team Leader Jed gave an update on Camden's new council homes Community Investment Programme, which will build 3000 new or replacement homes by For this, the Council is using 3 delivery models: Direct development fully funded, Council as the client working with residents and consultant team to design scheme to planning consent & procure a contractor with full risk Joint Venture partnering 50/50 basis, with the Council funding early scheme development then seeking JV partners to manage implementation with shared risk/values Disposals some sites are sold on open market or to specialist affordable providers To ensure high standards of design quality, Jed and his team prioritize: Managing roles inside the LA/LPA Sponsoring departments / development clients Collaborating with the LPA for place making & urban design support Firewalled and robust Development Management process Working with stakeholders throughout the process Jed stressed that working with a portfolio of land and properties across Camden gives him flexibility to achieve the goals of the full programme. He also highlighted smaller infill opportunities available in Camden (and many inner London boroughs). Camden and Hackney benefit from the majority of their stock being in good condition. Advantageously, this means they have experience of a two-tier system of housing management due to the large number of leaseholders in their estates who have exercised the Right to Buy. In Hackney, new owners and private renters in regeneration schemes that are currently under construction will be serviced by a new division created within the existing ALMO, Hackney Homes. In Camden, responsibility for private housing management transfers to development partners after regeneration is completed. Jed urged delegates to be mindful of function and governance, and use stakeholders as a resource to push schemes forward. He believes that the best way to deliver new homes in the current climate is a wide spectrum of public/private delivery. 4. Ealing David Baptiste, Head of Housing Development In Ealing, the Council has set up a COCo (Council Owned Company) as a delivery vehicle for new housing. It plans to provide 5300 new homes over the next 15 years. David gave a detailed presentation on the Copley Close regeneration scheme. Here though, we'll share his essential requirements for any small or large regeneration programme: Acquire in-house skills to devise & manage the programme, appraise schemes and project manage on site to ensure value for money

4 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 4 Engage directly with key Council departments: Planning & Sustainability, Procurement, Legal, Highways, Building Control & Environmental Health, Estate & Asset Management, and others from Education to Cleansing Agree the Procurement Options & Building Contract before commencement Factor in realistic timescales for internal approvals Use a comprehensive set of Employer s Requirements (ERs) - either a design brief or planning standards Site checks before going out to tender: 1.Boundaries & title correct 2.Services correct don t assume either just because you own it! 3.Capacity study or massing exercise upon which to obtain quotes or tenders 4.A Design Brief for each site, or programme agreement with Planning Realistically package sites in multi-site programmes (are they adjacent or at opposite ends of the Borough?) Ensure contractors and consultants are the right ones for the job whatever procurement framework you use, make sure there has been robust qualitative and financial assessment beforehand Spend time ensuring your ERs/Design Brief are watertight Be precise about what you want with each scheme 5. Haringey Paul Munday, Housing Regeneration Consultant New housing development above Tottenham Hale station

5 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 5 Paul outlined Haringey s borough-wide strategy for regeneration, which is being backed strongly by the GLA following the riots of August Haringey Council is pushing regeneration in Tottenham in particular, where 60% of the borough s council housing is located. This will be helped by 140m of TfL investment in the transport interchange and Tottenham will benefit from Crossrail 2 if it goes ahead. The aim is to create 5000 new jobs and add 1m sq ft of commercial space as well as provide new housing. Haringey has more available land than other inner London boroughs, much of it located in the Lee Valley, and values remain comparably low. The GLA wants to capitalize on this to contribute to the Mayor s ambitious housing targets. However, extensive improvement of social infrastructure and the public realm will also be necessary. Paul showed delegates various projects currently in progress, including improvements to Tottenham Hale station (previous photo). Similarly to Jed Young, he demonstrated the potential of smaller sites and infill building to hold additional housing. Paul suggested that a good way to get regeneration going is to start small and go for quick wins. In Haringey, the hope is that more modest projects happening now will act as a stimulus and precursor to more ambitious ones in the near future. For example, a scheme that would involve moving White Hart Lane tube station (left) is stalled at the moment due to a budget shortfall of 300m. However, the scheme would become viable with just a small percentage rise in local house prices. 6. Waltham Forest Lucy Shomali, Divisional Director of Housing and Development Lucy gave details of a town centre scheme - The Scene in Walthamstow which will consist of a 9 Screen cinema, 5 restaurants and 121 residential units (including

6 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 6 affordable houses and private sale). The site, a former 1960s shopping arcade in Council ownership, was demolished with EU funding in 2006 as a development had received planning permission, but went on to lie empty for over 7 years. 2 failed schemes were attempted in which the Council was selling the land to the developer. The first received planning permission but the cinema use required was unviable. The second failed due to the financial crash of 2008, denying Walthamstow a vital catalyst for regeneration of the town centre and the borough s evening economy. The empty site was temporarily opened up as public space (see top right of before image below) in BEFORE AFTER Adopting a new approach, the Council has now procured Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) using a new Investment Partner Framework. The framework was put through the OJEU process, so changes to the design brief caused by unforeseen circumstances can be accommodated. Previously, this repeatedly stalled the scheme. ISHA selected Hill Partnerships as the developer. To further increase the certainty for the commercial units, the Council now plans to retain the freehold and take the head lease of all the commercial space. This will help to ensure the quality of offer and duration of tenancies available to businesses The Scene is due for completion in Close partnership working has been prioritized with weekly meetings between project managers from Hill and Council regeneration staff. There are also monthly meetings of representatives from all the involved partners, and a PR company hired jointly to promote the scheme in London and the local community. 7. Newham James Collier, Regeneration Manager James focused on Canning Town, a unique regeneration context given that 85% of housing was destroyed by bombing in World War 2. The area suffers from a shortage of employment opportunities and extremely high population churn. It is estimated that around 25% of people in Canning Town have arrived or will move on within a year. A Master Plan was drawn up in 2008 that very much reflected its era, a time when grants were readily available and local authorities could be more ambitious. At Hallsville Quarter, which will replace a run down estate and also try to create a new town centre (see next page, left), the challenge for Newham Council is to attract development that will establish a lively and popular public realm with jobs for local residents. Currently

7 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 7 BEFORE AFTER there are almost no businesses in the area, which has high levels of unemployment, crime and deprivation. Transport connectivity seems to have hindered Canning Town as much as it has helped; a great deal of money travels out of the area with public transport passengers! To remedy this, the main feature of the new town centre will be a Morrisons superstore with a communal garden above (see below). This will be supplemented by other residential schemes nearby and commercial space including restaurants and retail. James explained that because employment is a key focus of the regeneration efforts, all construction vacancies at the site are made available to local applicants for 3 days before they are circulated more widely. In the time before construction begins, derelict sites have been turned into community gardens and other meanwhile uses to encourage community buy-in for the regeneration.

8 C o u n c i l - l e d E s t a t e R e g e n e r a t i o n U r b a n D e s i g n L o n d o n 8 8. Hounslow Brendon Walsh, Director of Regeneration Speaking without slides due to technical problems, Brendon Walsh emphasized the importance of building relationships with developers and investors to maximise the chance of bringing regeneration opportunities to a borough. He shared several anecdotes about times this has paid off for him in Hounslow and in his previous role at Ealing, successfully attracting inward investment. He encouraged delegates to maintain good relationships with all political parties on their Councils, especially in advance of the local elections in May. This can prevent delays affecting projects in the immediate aftermath of regime change, which are frustrating for private sector partners. Brendon prides himself on maintaining a good relationship with both the opposition and majority parties at Hounslow. He also incentivises Hounslow s Planners with approval targets and upholds strict standards for design. Questioned by Tom Rumble from Enfield about this, he explained that financials submitted by developers are used to judge whether there will be enough room in a scheme's budget to ensure high quality materials are used. Above all, Brendon stressed the need for Councils to make themselves as attractive as possible to the private sector because partnership working is the most effective way of delivering affordable homes quickly. Hounslow has created 2547 affordable homes in the last 4 years.