New build and refurbishment
Berman Court, Newton Abbot
Berman Court is an affordable housing scheme brought to Newton Abbot by Westcountry Housing with Teignbridge District Council, and provides families with 15 new homes to rent.
The £1.6m development comprises 10 one-bed flats and 5 two-bed flats which have been allocated for rent through Devon Home Choice, the area's choice based lettings scheme which last year replaced district-specific waiting lists in favour of a Devon-wide approach. The project is a partnership between Westcountry Housing, a member of Westward Housing Group, and Teignbridge Council, with local firm Coyde Construction undertaking the build.
The £1.6M development was funded by a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency (£750,000) and Westcountry Housing (£850,000), and was completed in January 2010.
The finished result is high-quality affordable homes in a modern building, making use of traditional local materials. The building has been designed to complement the ongoing regeneration of the centre of Newton Abbot, which started with a supermarket just across the car park and more recently saw the pedestrianisation of the Clock Tower area and nationally-funded work to improve the main shopping street.
The Newton Abbot development is named in memory of late Teignbridge Councillor Brian Berman, who died unexpectedly in 2008. He was instrumental in the start of the scheme. as Teignbridge's Executive Member for Housing. Teignbridge Council owned the land which Berman Court was being built on, and negotiated with Westcountry Housing to sell it to them to help ensure the provision of new affordable homes.
Berman Court exemplifies the kind of high-quality, well-placed housing we are keen to see developed for local people. 15 more households are now enjoying a better standard of affordable living. This scheme is another example of our commitment to work in partnership with Teignbridge, developers and professional suppliers to bring about good quality homes. Berman Court, Newton Abbot
Berman Court is an affordable housing scheme brought to Newton Abbot by Westcountry Housing with Teignbridge District Council, and provides families with 15 new homes to rent.
The £1.6m development comprises 10 one-bed flats and 5 two-bed flats which have been allocated for rent through Devon Home Choice, the area's choice based lettings scheme which last year replaced district-specific waiting lists in favour of a Devon-wide approach. The project is a partnership between Westcountry Housing, a member of Westward Housing Group, and Teignbridge Council, with local firm Coyde Construction undertaking the build.
The £1.6M development was funded by a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency (£750,000) and Westcountry Housing (£850,000), and was completed in January 2010.
The finished result is high-quality affordable homes in a modern building, making use of traditional local materials. The building has been designed to complement the ongoing regeneration of the centre of Newton Abbot, which started with a supermarket just across the car park and more recently saw the pedestrianisation of the Clock Tower area and nationally-funded work to improve the main shopping street.
The Newton Abbot development is named in memory of late Teignbridge Councillor Brian Berman, who died unexpectedly in 2008. He was instrumental in the start of the scheme. as Teignbridge's Executive Member for Housing. Teignbridge Council owned the land which Berman Court was being built on, and negotiated with Westcountry Housing to sell it to them to help ensure the provision of new affordable homes.
Berman Court exemplifies the kind of high-quality, well-placed housing we are keen to see developed for local people. 15 more households are now enjoying a better standard of affordable living. This scheme is another example of our commitment to work in partnership with Teignbridge, developers and professional suppliers to bring about good quality homes.
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The Village, St Austell, Cornwall
Part of the St Austell regeneration programme, homes in The Village have been carefully designed to complement the local neighbourhood character. Designed by Alan Leather Associates and David Lock Associates.
The Village is a three hectare brownfield site of a former railyard at the heart of the town of St Austell near the South coast of Cornwall. The scheme provides a range of house types and tenures, as well as a supermarket, chemist and an Enterprise centre. A separate phase of the development on an adjacent site is a new business park and a leisure centre and doctors.
The site sits on a steep gradient and road layout is curved with key buildings at corners to naturally slow down traffic. The exterior design of the homes is traditional in keeping with local house types, with styles ranging from local terraced housing to those of a Cornish fishing village.
The scheme is an integral part of the St Austell Regeneration programme and was developed through a partnership and land agreement between local authority and RSL with units then built by Midas Homes. So that rather than selling the land to the highest bidder, the local authority has instead worked with both parties to develop the land and deliver a high quality mixed use town quarter.
The Building for Life judges pointed out, "It looks like it's grown organically. The variation in styles, the road lay-out, and the streets all fit together very well."
Acknowledgments: Westco, Devon and Cornwall Housing Association, Restormel Borough Council, Midas Homes, David Lock Associates, Alan Leather Associates
Taken from: Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
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Waters Edge, Shaldon, Devon
Located in a charming resort village on the south bank of the River Teign, this development on the edge of a conservation area offers for sale and rent a range of flats and houses built on brownfield land, formerly the Teignhaven caravan park.
The scheme successfully reflects local building style in design, materials and density, and has been almost seamlessly integrated into the older village fabric.
Its success was achieved after initial local opposition to the development was converted to support through a careful process of participation, which included a detailed study of the character of the village which informed the design as finally realised. The scheme has notably improved the appearance of the waterside village and the river frontage, and has contributed to local amenity through the provision of a new protected pavement alongside a busy road and a new public car park.
Acknowledgments: Harrison Sutton Partnership, Midas Homes, Teinbridge District Council, South West Landscapes, The Willocks Practice
Taken from: Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
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Trinity Watch, St Ives
An edge of town development which exploits a sloping site to give spectacular views of the sea and the harbour of St Ives.
It is unusual for houses costing half a million pounds to face socially rented homes across a twenty metre wide street. Trinity Watch is in an area where the demand for second homes is high and provides eleven houses for sale alongside two houses and two apartments for social rent.
Fifteen different house plans have been used in this tightly grained scheme which is inspired by the urban form of the historic town centre of St Ives. The buildings are carefully detailed with high quality materials which reference the local vernacular while avoiding pastiche.
Acknowledgments: Tyack Architects, Bespoke Design Co, Rosemullion Homes, Penwith District Council (Since 1 April '09 Cornwall Council), Regional Office of Arbuthnot Latham Private Bank
Taken from: Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
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Gun Wharf, Plymouth
The Cannon and Cornwall Street housing project at Gun Wharf, Plymouth has fulfilled the need to replace a run down post-war estate with a mixed occupancy development that reflects the current needs of the area. The mixed-use units vary from 1-bedroom flats to 3-4 bedroom town houses, and sit on a stepped terrace overlooking the river Tamar.
Public meetings were held to hear local residents' views on the scheme, also involving Plymouth County Council, Devon and Cornwall Housing Association and the Regional Development Association. Existing residents were temporarily re-housed during the phased construction.
The scheme manages to integrate a variety of housing types with mixed occupancy whilst satisfying the needs of the Devon and Cornwall Housing Association and private sale by Midas Homes. The innovative design uses a mixture of local materials and overall, the development has been hugely successful in completely redefining the nature of the built environment in the local community.
Acknowledgments: Lacey Hickie Caley, Plymouth City Council, Devon and Cornwall Housing Association, Randall and Simmonds, Scott Wilson, Midas Homes, Claire Foxford
Taken from: Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
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Icon - Lime Tree Square, Street, Somerset
A great scheme which uses an innovative approach to highways design to put the pedestrian first, redefine the idea of the square and create a series of social spaces.
Icon - Lime Tree Square is built on the site of the original Clarks shoe factory in Street, a Victorian industrial market town. The first phase of a larger development, ICON, which comprises housing from apartment blocks to mews and terraced housing.
Whilst shoes are no longer made there, the Clarks family has been there since 1825 and the project started with their vision for a new development of outstanding quality as a lasting legacy for the town: "It will be viewed as an exemplar of sustainable housing development in a market town location that will not only become a model of best practice in the short term, but will stand the test of time and remain as a living exemplar in 50 years from now".
Icon - Lime Tree Square contributes to the quality of life enjoyed by residents both within the scheme and the town because it aims to create a distinct sense of community. Taking an innovative approach to highways design, the development redefines the idea of the square and the street, to create a series of social spaces. It develops routes to other parts of the town using cycle paths and footpaths, to create new desire lines and links.
Acknowledgments: Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios, Homes and Communities Agency, Crest Nicholson, Knightstone Housing Association, Mendip District Council, Ove Arup and Partners
Taken from: Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
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Port Marine, Portishead, Bristol
Described as an urban village, the first phase of this development comprises 920 dwellings on a 14 hectare (45 acre) site.
Port Marine is situated northwest of Bristol where the River Avon meets the Severn Estuary, with superb views over the Portishead Marina. Previously the site of two power stations, this development illustrates how brownfield sites can be used advantageously.
Phase One of the development provides a series of terraces, crescents, individual houses and apartment blocks, set around communal, and more private open spaces. Different architects were responsible for the various neighbourhoods. Vernacular styles reflect a variety of historic periods, including the Bristol seafaring community's Netherlands connection.
A large number of house types provide layouts that accurately reflect the period elevational treatments. Living areas are generous, bedrooms are often provided with en-suite bathrooms, and finishes and fittings are all to a high standard.
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Acknowledgments: Crest Nicholson, Llewelyn Davies, BBA Architects and Planners, Austin-Smith:Lord, APG Architects, Derek Lovejoy Partnership, Charter Consultant Architects, North Somerset Council
Taken from: Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
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Great Bow Yard, Langport, Somerset
Great Bow Yard is an exemplary sustainable development of 12 homes, described by the Building for Life judges as "a healthy place with healthy materials".
Built on the 0.34 hectare brownfield site of an old oil depot, the riverside plot is at the southern edge of the small town of Langport in Somerset, at the corner of Bow Street (part of the A378) and the river Parrett.
The development provides an impressive mix of uses for such a small site: eight houses and four flats are set around a communal garden, with phase 2 providing office space and a restaurant/cafe built into a grade 2 listed warehouse at the site entrance. The scheme achieved an Eco Homes rating of 'Excellent' through elements such as passive-solar thermally-massive design and lightweight timber frame construction, the use of a sustainable drainage system (SUDS), the creation of a wildlife habitat, materials specified to create a low toxic environment and 'A' rated appliances.
Acknowledgments: Ecos Homes (formerly South West Eco Homes), Stride Treglown Architects, South Somerset District Council
Taken from: Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies. It is led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation.
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Cornwall in the 'fast track' for house building
An affordable housing scheme in Cornwall has been hailed a 'fast track homes' flagship development after it was completed by builders months ahead of time.
Truro builders Rok shaved eight weeks off a typical construction programme by completing eight brand new homes and the road leading to them, in the village of St Newlyn East, near Newquay, in just 15 weeks.
The two-bedroom timber framed properties were part of an innovative 'fast track' pilot project undertaken by Rok in partnership with Devon and Cornwall Housing Association (DCHA) and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
It is hoped the lessons learned can be rolled out to other developments across the country, helping to improve the delivery of affordable housing by reducing the time spent on the construction phase.
One of the residents, who has already moved in, is Vicki Clatworthy. She said she and her partner were very surprised by how quickly the properties had gone up.
"We have moved from a one bedroom house and as a growing family with one child and one on the way, this is exactly what we need. It is a really nice property, spacious inside and out with lovely views," she said.
A major focus of the pilot project was reducing inefficiency and waste through an intensive planning phase involving all partners. This meant arrangements with suppliers were all in place before work started and because these will extend to further projects, significant time and cost savings were possible.
Another key to success was breaking the programme down to concentrate on each half day and ensuring something was happening in each property all the time.
The project was supported by an investment of more than £570,000 from the HCA and a further £20,000 from Cornwall Council.
Despite working to a tight programme, Rok Site Manager Paul Nicholls still found time for several visits to the local school to talk to children about the dangers of building sites and give and them an idea of the work that was taking place. His team also produced a weekly newsletter providing all parties involved with updates and progress reports.
Operations leader, Paul Postlethwaite, said;"It is a fantastic achievement made possible through a strong partnership with DCHA, Rok's previous experience of fast track and the dedication and sheer hard work on site led by Paul Nicholls."
Colin Molton, HCA Director with responsibility for investment in the South West, said: This project is particularly innovative, because it was not delivered by people working round the clock to complete it on time. It was achieved by looking at the construction process to see what time could be saved on the project.
This doesn't just mean that Cornwall has more housing for local people in double quick time, although that is great news for the area. It could also point the way to the development of more homes, more quickly and efficiently, up and down the country. That has to be good news for communities who need extra housing.
Lucie Sominka, Business Development Manager, DCHA added: It is great for the partnership to be able to achieve something like this but the real winners are the residents who are moving into these brand new homes. They will be living in a warm, damp free home before winter sets in and saving money into the bargain.
Acknowledgments: Rok, Devon and Cornwall Housing Association and the Homes and Communities Agency
For more information contact Ben Lowndes at the HCA press office on 0117 937 7209, 07795 013 081 or
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, or Vicky Banham, Rok Group Communications Manager, on 01823 446 024
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