#ViewsOnComms: public relations, places and life in the South West
I’ve blogged recently about a fantastic community-led project in High Bickington, Devon, where local people have come together and worked with partners to deliver the homes their village needs.
This video which has been produced by funding partners shows the progress being made by members of the High Bickington Community Property Trust, who will manage the sale of some of the homes and own the others to rent to people with a connection to the village.
It’s great to see the project going well.
I blogged last month about an inspiring community-led scheme in High Bickington, Devon, which has brought villagers together to deliver badly needed housing and workspace for local people.
I was delighted this morning to read the two-page write-up Planning magazine had devoted to the project, following a visit and some interviews organised at the site a few weeks ago.
The link is not yet up on the website, so I can not provide this. But the coverage highlighted the project’s ‘local’ credentials, which predate the Government’s localism and Big Society agendas by the best part of a decade.
It’s great to see the project, and the role of the HCA in its delivery, recognised by the industry. I will try to provide links to the coverage when they are available!
This week’s announcement that the HCA is investing almost £2.5m in a vital estate regeneration project in Devon was particularly welcome.
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 substandard housing, deprivation and unemployment which exist in pockets across the county.
Continue reading “Funding news underlines local comms challenges”
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.
I’ve been sent some pictures of the recent successful installation of a new bridge over the M5 near Exeter, which show the scale and complexity of the job in fantastic detail.
The motorway was closed overnight to allow the new 230 tonne structure to be craned over the motorway near Junction 29, with only a few select people and camera crews looking on.
The cycle and pedestrian bridge at Redhayes was one of a handful of network improvements funded with £5.5m from the Community Infrastructure Fund, which is administered by the Homes and Communities Agency.
It is part of a new package of infrastructure to support the major growth and development planned for the area east of Exeter.
The pictures below are courtesy of Matthew Davison Photography, who also retains the copyright (please credit him if you download them from the site).
I was up at the crack of dawn today to travel to Plymouth, where the city council hosted a day’s session with partners to help it map out its housing strategy.
Having witnessed the scores of partners in attendance, listened to intelligent, high-profile speakers and seen some amazing regeneration taking place, I left feeling impressed and energised by the the city’s ambition.
Attendees included some of the South West’s leading housing figures and the city’s two MPs, Alison Seabeck and Oliver Colvile. They heard from Grant Shapps’ parliamentary aid Jake Berry MP, Chartered Institute of Housing’s deputy chief executive Richard Capie and my colleague Colin Molton about the challenges and opportunities facing local communities.