Tag: Affordable housing

Affordable homes blend into Exmoor beauty

Exmoor homes

I visited a site today in one of the most beautiful villages I have ever been to, where new affordable housing is happening.

Wheddon Cross in Exmoor is one of those picturesque villages many people would dream of living. Situated on top of the rolling hills of Exmoor National Park, with a smashing pub and hotels in the centre of the village and stunning scenery in every direction, it seems popular with visitors.

But with average house prices in Exmoor approaching an eye-watering £400,000 last year, many locals find it impossible to afford to live in villages like this.

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Four things taken from Torquay this year

Portillo at CIH in 2011

The Chartered Institute of Housing’s South West conference in Torquay seems to have been a success this year, in spite of the cutbacks that hit sponsorship budgets and delegate numbers.

The CIH is a key partner for the HCA and this is a really important event for us to be involved in, particularly at a time of reorganisation.

Even though our sponsorship of the event is a thing of the past, I am glad we maintained a delegate presence this year (NB: three of us were guests, including two speakers).

I found attending yesterday worthwhile, made some good contacts and found out a few nuggets of information which I would not have known if I had stayed in the office. Here are some noteworthy discoveries, along with some thoughts about the event itself.

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Forches funding underlines local comms challenges

Forches, Barnstaple

This week’s announcement that the HCA is investing almost £2.5m in a vital estate regeneration project in Devon is massive news.

The Forches estate in Barnstaple is not at the front of many people’s minds when they think about the lifestyle that Devon offers. 

But the area poses some very real issues of poor housing, deprivation and unemployment which exist in pockets across the county.

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‘Stunning’ image shows eco-scheme in vivid detail

Images of what Beechfield Avenue, Torquay, will look like (courtesy of Sovereign)

This new computer-generated image reveals in striking detail Sovereign South+West’s flagship environmentally sustainable housing development, which is currently being developed in Torbay.

It reveals for the first time how the homes in Beechfield Avenue, Torquay, are expected to look when complete. The new project will be the first in Torbay to be built to Levels 4 and 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. The HCA supported it last year with an investment of £7m.

The images have been rightly described as ‘stunning’ in the local media today. I am looking forward to seeing the real deal when the scheme is complete.

Looking at real life localism

Localism project in High Bickington, Devon

I spent yesterday in the village of High Bickginton, which hosts the best  example of localism in action I have seen.

Villagers are driving forward a fantastic development – by local people, for local people. It is set to deliver affordable housing, workspace, employment opportunities and community facilities.

I was there with a colleague, supporters of the project and a journalist from Planning magazine who is writing a feature on High Bickington. I hope this highlights how local action and partnership working can deliver the amenities communities are calling for.

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Plymouth’s first council estate hopes for bright future

North Prospect, Plymouth

I was delighted to hear today that one of the most important estate regeneration projects in the South West got the green light to begin large-scale improvements in earnest.

Plymouth Community Homes’ ambitious plans for North Prospect got planning permission from Plymouth City Council this afternoon.

The news is a welcome boost for the city’s first council estate, initially built for former soldiers returning from the first world war but became known as the ‘Cinderella of Plymouth’ by the 1960s.

Work to replace the homes is needed today because many of them have fallen into disrepair. Long-term, there are plans to replace 800 old homes with 1,200 new ones as part of the £80m, 10-year regeneration programme.

Today’s committee decision is about more than planning, as it also triggers an investment of almost £4m from the HCA to support the delivery of the first 80 affordable homes on the new estate.

It’s a story that has kept some of us at both organisations busy over the past week, but it’s great that things have hit a positive note.

Contrary to how it sometimes must feel when negative headlines are flying at you (unfairly), today’s result is well deserved good news for an impressive, young organisation which is leading a sizable and complex programme of improvements in a great city.

Hats off to them; here’s to seeing work start in North Prospect.