Agenda item

Discuss Development update

Russel Trewartha, Discuss Project Manager and representatives from the developers, will tell how the redevelopment will bring new homes, affordable housing and new communities to the heart of Fishergate.

Ward Committee End of Year Report

News of the 2007/08 Ward Schemes and Fishergate Planning Panel.

Russell Trewartha (City of York Council) and Marie Lodge (Tees Valley Housing Group) displayed plans and drawings during the ward surgery and were available for questions and discussion with residents about the development.. During the main meeting it was remarked that the archeological history of the ward had been very interesting and now  the re-development of the Discus Bungalows would look to the future of two new communities for Fishergate. There are three sites - St Anns Court/Horsman Avenue and Regent Street in this ward and Richmond/Faber Street in Heworth. The following was also explained:

City of York Council presently own the 100 Discus bungalows for older people  across the three sites The bungalows were constructed during 1975/76 using non-traditional building methods and most of the fabric of the properties, except for the concrete base and the steel frame are made from products containing asbestos. The homes were only expected to last approximately 30 years and the Council has to ensure that all its homes meet the ‘Decent Homes Standard’ by 2010. In March 2006 the Council agreed to the demolition of the bungalows and redevelopment of the sites, giving an opportunity to build new homes that meet the housing needs and aspirations of current residents, and local people in the future. There is high housing need in the city and redevelopment provides an opportunity to develop additional housing at a time when development opportunities for affordable housing in the city are limited.           

There has been widespread consultation with residents through the Residents Development Association, which enabled representation on a Project Board, set up to oversee the selection of a developer. The resident representatives on the Board ensured that views of the committee and the wider residents group were considered throughout the process.  Following a tender evaluation process, in November 2007 the Council selected the partnership of Tees Valley Housing Group, York Housing Association and Southdale Homes Ltd, as the preferred development partner to purchase and develop the three Discus sites.

The development aims to provide a total of 198 properties. This will include a total 100 re-provision of 60 bungalows across all three sites and 40 extra care apartments for rent. The other housing will be 50% Affordable for rent and discount for sale and the remainder of housing will be market sale. The development will reflect a mixture of housing types and sizes and all dwellings will be visually indistinct regardless of tenure.The Council is now working closely with the development partner through a dedicated Project Steering Group involving resident members to move this project forward.

Thee following questions were put forward by residents:

Q. I’m a bit concerned about the levels of consideration for the density of houses in the area. The existing communities around Regent street will be swamped.

A. A large number of the properties on Regent Street will be 2-bed bungalows, but there will also be a number of3bed and2 bed houses and some 2 bed apartments. A lot of work has been carried out to consider the integrity of the area and to keep density levels at an acceptable level.

Q. Will the development increase the parking problem in the area?

A. The majority of the  bungalows and other housing will have a dedicated parking space.. and we continue to work with our Highways team to ensure that any increased use of parking will minimize the impact of parking issues in the wider area.

Q. Should we not be creating car-free zones rather than encouraging car use?

A. The car parking spaces were a specific request from  Discus Bunaglows residents  and we need to consider all options within this development so it meets the present and future needs of residents in York

Q. What sort of sustainable technologies are going to be used?

A. The development will include sustainable technology, such as renewable energy sources, solar-panels and loft-insulation, working to a very high sustainability specification. We have also considered the community safety of the sites to ensure the development meets ‘Secured by Design’ standard and will closely work with the Police Architectural Liaison Officer in these areas

Q. What exactly do you mean by affordable homes?

A. Affordable Housing is housing, whether for rent, sale or low cost home ownership in the form of Shared ownership or Discount for sale, that is provided at a cost considered affordable in relation to the general housing market.

Q. What stops people buying a house in this way and selling it immediately?

A. To apply for low cost home ownership you firstly need to apply to join the Council’s housing register. For example, in Discount for sale when you sell the home, you have to sell it at the same discount percentage at which you bought it. When you want to sell you must notify the housing association that manages your home and it must be sold to someone who is unable to afford a home on the open market.