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CHAPTER 5 - INNER MIDDLESBROUGH OLDER HOUSING AND GROVE HILL

 

INTRODUCTION

5.1       The Council is actively pursuing housing market renewal activity to transform failing neighbourhoods in the inner older housing area and Grove Hill. New Vision for Older Housing provides a strategy for the regeneration of Middlesbrough’s inner older housing area for the next 15 years. The older housing vision study was completed in 2006 and will be followed up with more detailed Neighbourhood Action Plans for the key areas. These will provide a framework for progressing the development and regeneration of sustainable neighbourhoods in central Middlesbrough.

5.2       The inner older housing area of approximately 11,500 houses, situated immediately to the south of Middlesbrough town centre, is home to 25,000 residents in six communities: Parliament Road, Ayresome Street, Abingdon Road, Marton Road, North Ormesby and West Lane. This area is confronting an array of challenging and inter-related economic, social and physical issues.

5.3       The Grove Hill Regeneration Framework will provide a strategy for the regeneration of the Grove Hill neighbourhood comprising of approximately 2,000 properties. It will contain recommended preferred regeneration options to reflect economic, social and environmental issues raised through the neighbourhood analysis and community consultation.

 

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

5.4       The inner older housing and Grove Hill areas are well placed, as part of a wider range of major economic regeneration opportunities in the town, to deliver the aims and objectives of key strategies which set the regional, sub-regional and local context for regeneration. The changes proposed as part of New Vision for Older Housing and the Grove Hill Regeneration Framework will impact on the past, present and future trends for the north east, Middlesbrough and the older inner housing area.

LDF Core Strategy

5.5            Housing market renewal activity in the inner older housing area and in Grove Hill will seek to deliver the vision and spatial objectives of the Core Strategy, and relates to policies CS1 (Spatial Strategy) and CS9 (Housing Strategy).

Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)

5.6       The Regional Housing Strategy and the published RSS for the north east recognise the need to replace obsolete housing and restructure failing housing markets in order to provide a wider choice of better quality housing to meet future needs.

Middlesbrough Community Strategy

5.7       The Community Strategy establishes housing as a key element in promoting the economic vitality of the town, focusing on addressing housing market failure, and extending quality and choice in the town's housing market. Activity in the inner older housing and Grove Hill areas will contribute towards delivering the following key strategic priorities of:

• increasing the choice of quality housing available across all sectors;
• addressing over-supply of unsuitable, obsolete properties in both private and social sectors;
• supporting the development of sustainable neighbourhoods through improvement and development;
• creating a balanced portfolio of property to meet the needs of the community including higher quality, low density and special needs housing; and
• providing good-quality, readily available locations for new housing to meet the needs of a stable population.

 

Other relevant plans and strategies

5.8       Tees Valley Living (TVL) aims to apply a Tees Valley-wide perspective to the problem of low demand, encouraging intervention that will tackle the causes of low demand, with appropriate action being focused within those areas that, in housing, socio-economic and environmental terms, will bring lasting improvement and general benefit to the wider sub-region. As such in 2004, TVL commissioned a housing market assessment to identify housing markets within the sub-region, to determine how they inter-relate and to identify the key drivers in those markets.

5.9       Using the national ACORN (A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods) database, the report identified different types of households and their distribution across Tees Valley:

• A southern and western belt of affluence, particularly in rural locations;
• Urban prosperity groups in town centre locations such as Hartlepool Marina, Stockton Riverside and areas of Darlington and Redcar; and
• Town centre areas principally comprising moderate means and hard-pressed groups.

5.10            Migration information from the 2001 census and CORE lettings data (relating to RSLs) was used to identify the relative influence of mobility in defining market areas. Data suggested that across Tees Valley, there are largely self-contained core urban centres with established residents, coupled with mobility of higher-income households who are the main drivers in shaping the nature of housing markets within Tees Valley.

5.11     In terms of identifying the key drivers in the housing market, a range of
drivers were identified.

Structural

• Economic change
• Demographic change
• Migration
  
• B&ME Communities
  
• Social cohesion
  
• Student population
  
• Poor housing conditions

Location

• Environment
  
• Transport infrastructure
  
• Layout

Aspirations

• Home
• Neighbourhood
  
• Tenure
  
• Meeting aspirations

Policy

• Supply and demand for housing
  
• Planning policies
  
• Housing policies

 

SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL

5.12     The sustainability appraisal recognises that the proposals for neighbourhood and housing market renewal will have positive impacts on economic, social and environmental sustainability objectives. As part of the older housing area falls within a floodplain there is a recognised need that, if necessary, mitigation measures should be incorporated into redevelopment proposals where flooding is identified as a risk. There are also listed buildings within the older housing area, so it is necessary that the presence of such buildings is taken into consideration within the redevelopment proposals. The policy framework is in place to ensure that developments do not impact negatively on these sustainability objectives.

 

NEW VISION FOR OLDER HOUSING

5.13     New Vision for Older Housing is a strategy for combining refurbishment of remaining homes, and improvements to the local environment, with a supply of attractive, new, high-quality, mixed-tenure homes to:

• bring supply and demand of older housing back into balance thus restoring investment confidence;
• stabilise and enhance property values of housing that is retained;
• give more people a greater choice of attractive housing, including both owner-occupied and social home-buy schemes;
• protect and enhance the existing investment in the area by owners, residents, property agents and businesses;
• bring about a positive change in the image of the area;
• provide a better mix of socio-economic groups in the neighbourhoods; and
• build well-designed, attractive homes on previously developed land, thus combating sprawl and outward migration to surrounding suburbs and countryside.

 

5.14     This vision became Council policy in July 2005. It has since been taken forward as Middlesbrough’s contribution to a wider framework for housing market renewal across the Tees Valley in collaboration with neighbouring local authorities.

5.15            Proposals concerning physical development are:

• clearance and redevelopment in Gresham/Middlehaven, North Ormesby and West Lane;
• investment in improving retained existing housing;
• meeting business needs; and
• environmental improvements, including public realm and open spaces works.

5.16     These proposals will be complemented by enhanced management of neighbourhoods, through selective landlord licensing and improving the delivery of local services. This will have implications for the development and relocation of:

• local businesses;
• community facilities;
• primary education; and
• health care.

5.17     The proposals, as part of New Vision, will be taken forward to the stages of masterplanning and delivery through four inter-linked Neighbourhood Action Plans:

• Gresham/Jewels Street area;
• Ayresome;
• Abingdon; and
• North Ormesby.

 

GRESHAM/JEWELS STREET AREA

5.18     A phased programme of targeted clearance, redevelopment and refurbishment is proposed in the Gresham/Jewels Street area. This involves the phased programme of acquisition and clearance of the streets bounded by Borough Road to the north, Union Street to the west, Parliament Road to the south and Princes Road to the east over the period from 2006 – 2016. Implementation of this programme is dependent on resource availability. As such, the timescale may alter.

5.19     As part of redevelopment activity in Gresham/Jewels Street area, contingency arrangements for community facilities, schools, businesses and neighbourhood services will be provided through both new build within the area and relocation.

5.20     The enhancement of the successful Parliament Road neighbourhood shopping centre is a key issue to be addressed along with the relocation of existing businesses in the neighbourhood, particularly on Princes Road and Gresham Road. There is the potential to rationalise and concentrate convenience and specialist retail uses along Parliament Road and Borough Road to enhance their long-term viability.

 

 

Fig 5.1:OLDER HOUSING VISION PHASING PLAN - GRESHAM/JEWELS STREET AREA

5.21     Areas of low demand housing in Tennyson Street (North) and Pelham Street (South) have arisen because of the conflicts between commercial and residential activities. The area is proposed for clearance in the later stages of the project.

5.22     It is proposed that the more stable retained streets in the neighbourhood will undergo a phased programme of external facelifts, particularly along key frontages such as those remaining properties on Parliament Road, Finsbury Street and Portman Street. This will improve the external appearance of the properties and aim to protect and enhance the popularity and existing stability of the neighbourhood, extending the lifespan of the properties and ensuring that the area has a more stable and sustainable long-term future.

5.23          Housing to the north of Union Street in the St Paul's Road area is owned by Erimus. They are looking to improve the housing stock, which will be achieved through clearance and redevelopment. This clearance and redevelopment programme should be completed by 2011.

 

ABINGDON

5.24            Building on completed and ongoing activities delivered through the Clarendon and Westbourne Renewal Areas, investment in the Abingdon Road area will mainly concentrate on the focused refurbishment of existing poorer quality housing stock in the area. This potentially includes the enhancement of key frontages along Southfield Road and Woodlands Road.

5.25            Reinforcing the stability of the Abingdon Road area as a successful neighbourhood of popular housing market choice is critical to providing a supply of accommodation for residents and tenants relocating from the Parliament Road area, as well as students of the University.

5.26     As part of the Abingdon Neighbourhood Action Plan activity a review of existing infrastructure, layout and provision of facilities may be undertaken. Lower-key general environmental and street scene improvement activity is proposed for the Marton Road area. The completed Central Middlesbrough Renewal Area has delivered refurbishment of properties, including those on Marton Road (north) and Borough Road (east) and the St. John’s Gate redevelopment. It is envisaged that proposed activity focused on improving the external environment will complement this existing area.

 

NORTH ORMESBY

5.27     A range of internal renovation and external enhancement to properties east of King’s Road is proposed in North Ormesby. Activity to improve the external environment of the neighbourhood to the west of Westbourne Grove and King’s Road (south) is proposed. These proposed activities could combine to complement existing and planned regeneration initiatives in the area, including the masterplanning of the high-profile Trinity Crescent redevelopment. This has incorporated the existing King’s Road shopping, community facilities and associated car parking and infrastructure.

 

GROVE HILL

5.28     The Grove Hill regeneration framework will put forward a strategy for housing market renewal in the area, which will include:

• selective clearance of areas where there is a significant level of abandoned housing;
• improvements to retained housing stock; and
• replacement of cleared properties with new-build and redevelopment, including appropriate house types, density, tenure mix and associated environmental improvements.

 

The strategy for housing market renewal will be complemented by a framework that maximises opportunities to:

• improve the neighbourhood retail centre at Eastbourne Road/ Palladium buildings; and
• enhance the use of public realm and open space.

 

IMPLEMENTATION AND DELIVERY

5.29     Table 5.1 below sets out the issues and delivery mechanisms for bringing the developments identified above forward.

Area	Body responsible for delivery	Delivery mechanisms	Delivery funding	Delivery Land Issues	Phasing Issues
Gresham/ Jewels Street Area	Developer in partnership with MBC	Master plan and planning application procedure	A combination of sources including Housing Corporation, English Partnerships, Housing Market Renewal and MBC. The possibilty of using an Asset Based Delivery Vehicle (ABDV) is also being explored	Land in multiple ownership. Developments will be delivered through negotiations between MBC and existing landowners where appropriate. CPO process will be used as a last resort	Will be developed in three broad phases
St Paul’s	Developer in partnership with Erimus	Master plan and planning application procedure	Developer in partnership with Erimus	Land in Erimus ownership	Will be developed in one phase, 2004-11
Grove Hill	Developer in partnership with Erimus and MBC.	Master plan and planning application procedure	Developer in partnership with Erimus	Land in multiple ownership. Development will be delivered through negotiation between Erimus, MBC and with existing landowners where appropriate. CPO process will be used as a last resort	Will be developed in two phases.

Table 5.1 Implementation and delivery mechanisms for THE INNER MIDDLESBROUGH OLDER HOUSING AND GROVE HILL AREAS

MBC = Middlesborough Borough Council

 

2

PROPOSAL REFERENCE	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Gresham/ Jewels Street
Phase 1
Phase
Phase 3
St Pauls
Grove Hill
Phase 1
Phase 2

Table 5.2  Implementation  TIMEFRAME FOR THE INNER MIDDLESBROUGH OLDER HOUSING AND GROVE HILL AREAS

Feasibility studies, site assembly, demolition, planning approvals and other consents

Construction and completion

Middlesbrough Council Regeneration Development Plan Document (DPD) - Adopted February 2009