MyMyatts Residents’ Newsletter No.1 • January 2008
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
“Our aim is to transform your estate into a great place to live – a safe, happy and vibrant community with modern homes,excellent facilities and the resources to sustain it.”
Between us, the three organisations that make up Partners For Improvement in Lambeth have all the necessary expertise, commitment and resources to regenerate your estate and maintain it…
United House Solutions Limited United House Solutions (UHS) is the finance arm of the United House Group – a specialist housing refurbishment and construction company. UHS is the Project leader and responsible for managing the project and its finances. UHS is already running three successful PFI housing projects – two in Islington and one in Camden.
Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland is not only a wellknown high street bank – it is also an expert in PFI and the leading finance provider for community housing projects. They are funding the project.
Servite Houses Servite Houses (Servite) is a major Housing Association responsible for over 18,000 homes across the country. These include not only properties for rent but also assisted housing for the elderly; short and long stay hostel accommodation; supported housing and student and key worker
accommodation. Servite has proven experience in dealing with severe anti-social behaviour – an expertise that is unfortunately required by this project. They are responsible for transforming the neighbouring Church Manor Estate which had similar problems. Servite will provide residents with a full housing service as specified by Lambeth including: • Estate, tenancy and leaseholder management • Maintaining all the homes and public spaces on the Estate • Repairs • Neighbourhood regeneration • Reducing Anti Social Behaviour • Rent collection. Partners have brought together a team of expert organisations to carry out the project. These include:
United House Limited (UHL) will lead the design and construction teams carrying out
all the building and refurbishment work. UHL is a specialist housing construction company and also part of the United House Group. Its work encompasses new build, refurbishment and major community regeneration. UHL is the UK’s leading housing contractor for both PFI (currently working on four projects in London and Kent) and Decent Homes (contracted to refurbish more than 50,000 homes by 2010). They have an excellent understanding of working with residents and their Resident Liaison Officers are both highly trained and regarded. The biggest housebuilder in the UK, Barratt Homes, will be responsible for the new homes being built for private sale – profits from the sale will help fund the scheme itself. The architects for the scheme is PRP Architects – an award-winning practice and outstanding in their field. They have an enviable reputation in major urban regeneration and community housing.
A general view of the new estate
MyNew... ...Housing We will be providing a wide variety of housing to meet the needs of singles, couples and families, all with a contemporary appearance based sympathetically on the area’s historical context. High quality, durable and traditional materials will be used throughout and all the new homes will be designed to meet or exceed the most vigorous benchmarks for quality, sustainability and security. Properties for rent and part or full ownership will be intermingled across the estate and 10% of all new homes will be designed to full accessible housing standards. All refurbished homes will meet the UK government’s Decent Homes Standard.
Accessible (wheelchair) housing
Maisonettes terrace
...Mostyn Park A typical block of flats
Part street view facing south west alongside the new park
...Heating
...Community Centre The brand new, two-storey Community Centre will be the heart of your new community. The Centre has been designed to meet the needs and aspirations of residents. It will host a wide variety of social and educational activities. For example, it will offer courses in IT for all abilities, construction, catering and horticulture. Other facilities will include a multi-media
The new Mostyn Park will provide open spaces to compliment the new and refurbished homes on the estate. The park will host both traditional facilities such as a football pitch and games area and more rural elements including gardens, woodland areas and walks. The natural habitats will be enhanced and provide residents with a unique – and secure – educational and recreational facility.
centre offering radio and TV courses through the Clapham Park Project and ITV. The Oval Theatre and Live Magazine will use the centre as a base for a variety of activities for residents. The centre will be fully staffed, open from early morning to late evening and provide a créche, so all residents will be able to take advantage of its facilities regardless of time commitments. Architect’s drawing of the proposed Community Centre
We will be installing a brand new heating and hot water system in your home… Underground pipes will carry hot water from a heating plant on the estate straight to your home where a heat exchange unit (similar in size and appearance to a modern gas boiler) takes the heat out of that water and uses it to heat water for use in your home. It’s efficient, simple, neat and makes excellent financial sense. • Because your water will be heated instantly on demand, there is no need for a hot water storage cylinder • While we can’t predict future energy prices, we can promise the cost of energy provision to your new home will be competitive. Additionally, our energy conservation measures should assist in keeping bills affordable • Your heating and hot water systems will look the same as if a gas boiler had been installed • Every radiator will have a thermostat to keep the room at the temperature you set • The system is more environmentally friendly than having a boiler in every home • You can program the system to come on and off at times to suit you • The new system is not complicated and the people who will install it in your home, our Resident Liaison Officers or site staff can all show you how it works.
MyConcerns... Thank you to all the residents who’ve shared their views with us so far at discussion groups, an open meeting and estate tour. Here’s how we think we can solve your biggest concerns: Make Us Safe It is no surprise that you all want to live on a safer estate without the threat of antisocial behaviour. Our regeneration scheme has been designed to address these problems. The design of the estate will get rid of rat runs and back alleys and will greatly improve the lighting. Servite’s full-time and proven Anti-Social Behaviour Team will be there to deal with problem behaviour, backed up by its own legal team to fast track the prosecution of offenders. We’ve all ready spoken to the local Police (and other anti-crime organisations) about our plans and have written assurance they will actively support us with an increased and sympathetic presence including night patrols. Finally, Servite is one of only five housing associations selected to pilot a Family Intervention Project (FIP) aimed at helping anti-social behaviour offenders to change their behaviour. The FIP team will be available from day one. Youth and Community Provision Like you, we recognise the estate offers few opportunities for young people. To improve this we will not only keep and improve existing facilities, we will also introduce new ones. The Community Centre is the main focus for this and because it will be properly resourced and managed, it will remain part of the solution and will not be allowed to become a noisy new problem. Educational Opportunities Partners will work with Lambeth College and local schools to support children and young people in their education through new training and development opportunities. We hope that by encouraging them to value and remain in education they will have more success finding meaningful work rather than resorting to state support. We Want to Participate As a Resident, we will consult you regularly and keep you fully informed through regular
meetings and newsletters and you will be able to contact members of staff with any questions. Our Resident Liaison Officers will make appointments with you to keep you up to date with progress on the scheme and to discuss your choices and rights when it’s your time to move or have your home refurbished. We’ll always be working with members of your community because one third of the members of our proposed Myatts Community Trust will be residents. The Trust will be a focus for resident involvement in housing management and in the management and running of the Community Centre and park.
that many of you would like to see the estate renamed to signal the new start and while it is not in our power to grant this, we will do all we can to help. Keep the Trees! Our scheme is designed to enhance the natural green spaces in the area, including Mostyn Park. We are working closely with two specialist organisations to make your green spaces attractive and welcoming: the landscape design specialist ACER and Trees For Cities who encourage tree planting in London.
Better Estate Management and Maintenance Servite has a lot of experience and expertise in this area and has successfully transformed estates with similar problems including the neighbouring Church Manor Estate. Servite’s plan to manage the estate includes monthly estate inspections accompanied by residents to ensure that maintenance, cleaning and communal repairs are being carried out effectively. By managing the estate and tenancies effectively we will ensure fewer homes are empty for shorter periods of time. The maintenance backlog will be dealt with as quickly and effectively as possible and signs replaced as a matter of urgency.
Traffic and Parking Our scheme includes traffic calming, well defined pedestrian areas and underground parking that is safe and secure.
Better Waste Management Our scheme will solve the current problems with bin stores and their location. Recycling areas will be repositioned and new ones installed. We believe this will reduce the impact of littering by non estate residents.
Mobile Phone and Satellite Reception We are investigating how mobile phone reception can be improved and we will do what we can to help. A communal satellite TV system will be installed which will improve television reception.
Stop Rats & Pigeons infestation The project will end the problems of infestation and special measures will be taken during demolition to prevent rats migrating to other areas.
Home Layouts Our scheme will offer residents privacy without isolation and community without intrusion – a balance that is everyone’s right. The new homes being built will have the feel of a traditional home and have been designed to provide the best outlook the immediate area can give.
A Sense of Community? We want to help you rekindle the traditional feel of a real community – with the new Community Centre at its heart. We appreciate
It’s Costing too Much to Keep Warm The new heating system will help keep bills down as will insulating all existing and new properties (See “heating” page 3). Sewage, Flooding and Puddles Major infrastructure work will put a permanent end to these problems. Many of the persistent problems, particularly sewage and flooding, will be addressed in the first three months of work starting.
Please contact us with any questions or comments via myattsfieldnorth@servitehouses.org.uk For further information please visit www.servitehouses.org.uk/myatts If you do not have your own PC, there is free internet access at The Community Learning Centre (CLC), Vassall Road SW9. For copies of this document in other forms and/or languages, please contact us on the myattsfieldnorth email address above. Please remember to recycle this leaflet when you no longer need it.