Decision details

Councillor Damian White, Cabinet Member for Housing, introduced the report

Cabinet was informed that it was proposed to make a set of improvements to the Highfield Road estate and the report before it was to provide details of those improvements which would be delivered in the course of the next financial year.  The aim was that the improvements would enable a regeneration of the estate to be completed in time to be associated with the date on which the Queen became the longest serving monarch – 9^th September 2015.  It was proposed that this should be associated with a renaming of the estate and its blocks of flats, as part of those celebrations.

Members were reminded that the estate in Collier Row - owned and managed by the Homes and Housing service of the Council - consisted of 339 units of accommodation.  These were comprised of one high rise block of 76 flats (Highfield Towers) and 33 other blocks of low and medium rise flats.  There were also 16 houses of the Cornish type, which had been built of non-traditional materials and therefore required extensive recladding work to bring them up to a mortgageable standard.

The estate had never had a coherent identity or name, or a community association.  The properties had been brought up to Decent Homes standard as part of the Council’s overall programme of Decent Homes work, but there had not been a great deal of expenditure on the environment, or communal areas which did not form part of the Government’s Decent Homes standard.

The proposals as set out should make a significant impact on the identity and appearance of the estate.  It would bring much needed investment to an area which was on the edge of the borough, and felt itself neglected.  The improvement programme would provide a focus for engaging with the residents and engender a feeling of pride in the community, the estate and the borough.

Reasons for the decision:

The proposals within the report had been brought forward as the estate based on the Highfield Road, was considered to have a poor environment and lacked a coherent identity.  The investment proposed would give the estate a new lease of life and improve the quality of life for the local residents.

Other options considered:

Option 1

Do nothing, apart from essential maintenance.  This option was rejected, as it was likely over time that the estate may become unpopular and difficult to let.

Option 2

Demolish and rebuild.  This option was rejected as too expensive. There was an established community which would have to be rehoused during any demolition phase.  There were also 83 leaseholders who would have to be bought out.  This option therefore was not feasible financially.

The proposal was therefore considered the best way forward for this estate.

It was noted that the appendix referred to in the report was not attached to the agenda and would be appended to these Minutes

Cabinet:

1.            Agreed to establish a Residents’ Steering Group to oversee the improvement delivery programme, and commented on the proposals

2.            Agreed to consult the residents on the possibility of renaming the Highfield Road estate and the individual blocks to names which reflected the celebrations due to take place on 9^th September 2015.

3.            Approved the expenditure of £1.853m from the HRA capital programme of 2015/16 to carry out the improvements detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.  This approval would be subject to Council ratification as set out in the financial implications to the report.

4.            Authorised officers to invite tenders from appropriate building firms to carry out the proposed works.