The North Town housing estate in Aldershot, Hampshire was originally developed in 1950s and consists mainly of three storey red brick and concrete flats with tiled pitched roofs.   The estate also benefits from large green and leafy open spaces.

The Flats and Facilities

• The apartments vary between 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms and the estate is predominantly owned by Pavilion Housing Association, part of First Wessex Housing Group.  There are approximately  500 homes, 41 of these are leasehold properties.  The majority of the flats are 2 bedroom (345).  There are 53 one bedroom and 71 three bedroom.  In addition in the heart of the development is a sheltered housing scheme  Alma House and designated older people’s accommodation housing around 35 residents.
• There is a reasonable parade of shops with flats above which are also owned by Pavilion Housing which includes The Base.  Of the four shops, three are leased, the community base in one of the units is widely respected and cherished by local people. Connexions, Maple Vu Childrens Centre, CAB, the Police, North Town Youth and Rushmoor Healthy Living work from the community base.

The Population

• North Town is within the highest 20% of the most deprived areas in the county with people on low income, poor health and disability, lack of education, skills and training and this affects the children and old people on the estate.
• Contrary to this however it is within the second to lowest category in terms of crime and disorder.  It is generally thought to be a nice place to live and there is a strong sense of community here.
• It is thought that just over 1,700 people live on the estate.  There are approximately 500 properties in total.  Predominantly young families with single parents live on the estate but there is also a high number of elderly residents that have lived in North Town for a number of years.
• Historically there have been issues around letting some properties of certain types on North Town.  The introduction of Choice Based lettings some three years ago did help to alleviate the problem.  However there is a n element of high turnover on the estate which suggests that the properties do not meet the long term wishes and desires of some tenants.

My North Town Partners

Pavilion Housing Association is part of the First Wessex Housing Group which was formed in 2005.  The Group manages around 17000 affordable homes primarily in Hampshire and with some activity in Surrey.  It has recently completed a public consultation of a similar size project and has demonstrated it skills in the area of regeneration.

Pavilion Housing Association is the largest provider of housing association homes for rent in the Aldershot, Farnborough, Ash and Farnham areas. Pavilion Housing Association, in partnership with Rushmoor Borough Council, has the financial support, the planning, development and community consultation expertise to make this important renewal project a success – one to benefit the residents and community of North Town now and one that is sustainable for future generations.

First Wessex Housing Group comprises Atlantic Housing Limited, First Atlantic Housing, Pavilion Housing Association, Portsmouth Housing Association, Fernhill Care Limited and Wessex Property Limited.

Portsmouth Housing Association: provides homes in Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Havant. It also provides a wide range of community regeneration services across South East Hampshire.

Atlantic Housing and First Atlantic Housing: provide a full range of affordable housing including rented, supported, shared ownership and key worker housing. A large support portfolio includes housing for older people, extra-care housing, dementia care housing, housing for people with learning disabilities, people recovering from mental illness and some specialist accommodation. They cover a geographic area spanning Eastleigh, Southampton, Winchester and the New Forest.

Fernhill Care: provides care services for tenants of First Wessex Housing Group and other landlords and for individuals in the community with support needs. It specialises in domiciliary, extra- and dementia care.

Wessex Property Limited: the group’s in-house repairs and maintenance organisation.

www.firstwessexhg.co.uk
www.atlantichousing.co.uk
www.pavilionha.co.uk
www.phagroup.org.uk

Rushmoor Borough Council has worked for many years in partnership with Pavilion Housing Association, following the large scale voluntary transfer of the housing stock in 1995. PHA is a preferred development partner with the Council and has delivered many affordable homes for rent and shared ownership with funding from the local authority and the Homes and Communities Agency.

The Council has worked jointly with Pavilion Housing and the local community on successful community development projects and works closely with the housing management team to ensure that their residents receive a good quality service from their landlord.

Kenn Scaddan Associates based in Portsmouth is the appointed architect for the scheme and has worked with First Wessex Housing Group for many years on a wide variety of housing and mixed-use schemes.

The practice has been in existence for 25 years specialising in social housing and has developed an expertise in Urban Regeneration such as the My Town project together with a significant number of commissions in the Health and Special Needs sectors.

Gregory Gray Associates, Farnborough-based Town Planning Associates has led urban renewal and affordable housing projects on behalf of public authorities and Housing Associations.  The practice is working with the Architect and Rushmoor Borough Council Planning and Housing Departments to develop this important regeneration project.  The Practice will be responsible for the coordination and submission of the planning application and assistance on the community consultation.

Upton McCougan, Highways and Drainage Consultants will advise on technical design and engineering details including working with the Highways Authorities, Thames and South East Water Authorities and the Environment Agency.

The Project

Housing and Design Team

Pavilion Housing Association has appointed a professional Design Team of advisors and they have been reviewing previous ideas for the estate, looking at the options and have started to work up the details of the My North Town project. Over the next three months the team will be surveying the estate and finding out from residents what is good about the estate and what is not so good.

The Design Team and Pavilion Housing Association will be talking to residents to learn more about the improvements they would like to see. They will also be talking to community organisations and key stakeholders so that everyone’s views are recorded as accurately as possible. We want to involve everyone in the North Town neighbourhood – but we also want to do it quickly and efficiently. We are aware of the frustrations of the past where schemes have not been progressed.

Draft MasterPlan – April

After the community involvement events, The Design Team will then work on a draft MasterPlan for the estate. This will set out proposals for layout and building design so we can make improvements. The plans will aim to meet the housing needs of the residents and also to respond to their concerns.

The Design Team’s plans will build on good practice and lessons learnt from redevelopments in other areas as well as meet the expectations of Rushmoor Borough Council.

In producing this draft MasterPlan they will also need to work within the funding that is available. This means that while the budget is substantial, it will assume certain standards and levels of provision.  We recognise that unfortunately some residents and other groups may have aspirations that just cannot be afforded.

We will present the first draft of the MasterPlan at a series of meetings and public exhibitions in April. Exhibitions will be held in the North Town Base, at Pavilion Housing Association offices and at other sites, such as the Rushmoor Borough Council offices at Princes Gardens.

All local residents and other interested parties will be invited to come and comment on these proposals, suggesting things that could be improved or which may not work. Further details will be in the next edition of this newsletter which will be distributed to all residents.

MasterPlan – Spring

The Design Team will then do more work to revise the plans in the light of the comments received from this consultation. The final version of the MasterPlan will be published in May together with more detailed proposals for the first phase of works.

This will be an opportunity for residents and others to comment further and identify any further issues that could improve the scheme before we submit it to Rushmoor Borough Council as a planning application.

Planning application – Summer/Autumn

Pavilion Housing Association hopes that Rushmoor Borough Council will be able to decide the planning application by the Autumn/Winter of 2009 so that we can start building works on site in the Spring of 2010.

My North Town timetable

9 March–14 March: My North Town community involvement Week

April: Draft MasterPlan consultation

May: Final MasterPlan consultation

Summer/Autumn: Planning submission on Final MasterPlan

Autumn/Winter: Planning decision by Rushmoor Borough Council

Spring 2010: Start of My North Town new build in phases

The Draft Masterplan

To see a larger version of this plan, please click here Draft Masterplan

The Draft Masterplan for the North Town estate draws upon the ideas that were shown at the Vision Consultation and incorporates the feedback and information received from the residents and the wider community during the week long event.

We have worked hard to create a scheme which meets the needs of the existing residents but also creates a sustainable estate for generations to come. A wide range of house types and sizes distributed across the scheme, means that we have a greater possibility of meeting these needs and aspirations in a well structured and strong community.

By focusing on the Courtyard layout shown at the Vision Consultation, we aim to reinforce the sense of community which is already strong on the estate. Communal Gardens within these Courtyards creates a safe neighbourhood for children and residents, which is well overlooked and secure. All properties now have either private gardens or access to secure shared areas which help retain the sense of openness and greenery on the estate. This is reinforced with well positioned and high levels of parking within each Community.

One of our priorities with this scheme is to ensure that the Older Persons on the estate are considered first, so that worry and disruption for them is kept to an absolute minimum. To this end, we plan to make this the first phase of the scheme and the new replacement for Alma House/Close can be seen on the corner of Denmark Street and Denmark Square, giving them direct and safe access to the shops and facilities on North Lane.

The aim of this Draft Masterplan is to provide residents of the estate and North Town as a whole, with a suggestion for how the regeneration may look and give them a chance to comment. We encourage everyone to give us feedback on both the things that they like and think work well, along with any elements and decisions that may concern them. We will then take these comments on board and come back to you again with a Final Masterplan.

More information on our strategy and approach to the Masterplan can be found on the Consultation page here.

The Final Masterplan

The MasterPlan events follow on from the Draft MasterPlan consultation in April.  The Design Team has made further refinements to the detail and the MasterPlan forms the basis in going forward with the planning application submission planned for mid July.

The changes made have been subtle but very important. Pavilion Housing Association has listened closely to resident views and progress has been made on the traffic calming measure proposal for Pegasus Avenue.  Residents will be able to see the proposal being put forward at the exhibition.  This will be part of the planning application and will be agreed with the Highways Authorities.

In addition to this, the topographical survey of the area has been completed and the architects have now pinpointed all the mature trees on the estate.  Our aim is to retain as many of these as possible and combine them with extensive new tree planting throughout the estate.  The new public open spaces are being created for all the community not just residents of the estate to enjoy.

To see a larger version of the Masterplan please click here Final Masterplan

As part of Pavilion’s ongoing housing needs survey, clearly there is a need for specially adapted bungalows for assisted living.  We have been able to include three into the scheme but we have not yet made any decisions about how they are to be allocated. These will be for people who require extra access and adaptations for their needs.  Pavilion Housing has also insisted that there is lift access to all blocks of flats not just for those with four storeys.

The Design Team have also met with the Secure by Design officer for the area and in consultation, the architects have ensured that there aren’t any areas where people can gather without being overlooked by the community.  Also the squares have been opened with access through the main court areas - again primarily for security.

The community facilities which were originally planned within Phase One are no longer planned for the early phase and will be built later on North Lane as this was a more popular location.

 Hazel Warwick, Group Development Director for First Wessex says:

“We have listened intently to what the residents, councillors and community groups have been saying to us during our public consultations and we have responded positively.  I hope that the residents and the community will continue to be involved and provide valuable feedback.  Any concerns should be directed to our Enquiry Line or via email on the North Town website”.

Our proposed timing for the first three phases of the regeneration project is as follows:

Outline Planning Application Submission:  Mid July 09

Outline Planning Application Decision: End of October 09

Exhibition of what houses will look like: October 09

Work on site for Phase One: April/May 2010

Phase Two: April 2011

Phase Three: October 2012