PRC redevelopment project moves forward with latest planning
application
4th August 2008
A second planning application has been submitted
as part of Somer Community Housing Trust’s major redevelopment
project to replace many of its pre-cast reinforced concrete (PRC)
homes.
The application for redevelopment at Amberley Close and Lulworth
Road in Keynsham is part of a £37 million pound project that will
deliver around 300 homes in Bath and Keynsham. Building work has
already begun at Caernarvon Road in Keynsham, the first estate to
go ahead.
The application follows extensive consultation with existing
residents and the wider community. The Trust also worked closely
with Bath & North East Somerset Council to finalise the
designs, before they were formally submitted.
There will be 32 homes available for rent to residents from the
existing homes who move out temporarily, or people registered with
Homesearch, which administers Bath and North East Somerset
Council’s waiting list for affordable housing. There will also be
10 homes sold through New Build HomeBuy – where people can buy part
of their home and rent the rest, purchasing further shares in the
future if they wish. 18 will be sold on the open market by housing
developer Lovell.
The next planning application to be submitted will be for
Holcombe Green in Weston. An information event for residents and
the wider community will be held in the autumn to explain the
proposed plans. Meanwhile, work on the 80 PRC homes in Bath and
Keynsham that are due to be refurbished will start in the
autumn.
After a great deal of consideration, the Trust has also decided
that the planning applications for Southlands in Weston and the
Twerton areas will not include the original proposals to build on
the green areas.
Angela Gascoigne, the Trust’s Managing Director, said:
‘We have listened to the wide range of views
on this issue since we held the consultation events and recognise
that the green spaces are important amenities in those
neighbourhoods. The decision not to build on them does mean that we
have to look again at the proposals, as we still need to replace
the existing PRC homes and generate sufficient funding through the
sale of open market homes to pay for the redevelopment.
‘We would like to thank all of the PRC
residents who have been so patient, especially those who are still
waiting to hear about their homes. This is a huge, challenging
project, and it is taking a long time to work out the detail for
each area. We’ve listened closely to what residents had to tell us
in our consultations and taken as many points on board as we can.
It is absolutely essential that we create the right homes, both for
the residents directly affected and for the wider area.’
The homes will be developed by housing regeneration specialist
Lovell. All of the Trust’s remaining PRC properties will be dealt
with – 193 are set to be demolished and 80 will be refurbished in
Bath and Keynsham. Joint funding for the developments is from Bath
and North East Somerset Council, the Housing Corporation and Somer
Community Housing Trust, which will own the properties.
To find out more about New Build HomeBuy, call
Natalie Fowler on 01225 366307 or email sales@somer.org.uk.