Tag: Homes and Communities Agency

Pictures bring Devon bridge-lift to life

Bridge lift in Exeter

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).

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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 homeless hold the key to shelter success story

Homeless accommodation in Battery Street, Plymouth

There is a huge range of positive work taking place in Plymouth, where parterns are investing significantly in some truly transformational projects.

I blogged about one of the agency’s most important and pressing schemes at North Prospect a few days ago and about the wider work ongoing in the city last month.

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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.

Don’t bet the house on an end to complex council finance

An aerial shot of housing in Bristol, with views of the cityscape and the River Avon

Councils who call for an end to the fiendishly complex system that takes money from their housing departments payments to fund them elsewhere are getting closer to their goal.

The Government today ‘fired the starting gun’ on its proposals to end the contentious Housing Revenue Account (HRA) system by publishing details of how it intends to do it.

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Plymouth puts its partners to work

Gun Wharf, Plymouth

I rose at the crack of dawn today to travel to Plymouth, where the city council hosted a day’s session with partners to set 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.

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