Dave Sheridan, CEO at Keepmoat said: “Estate regeneration is not just about increasing density and building more homes. Large scale regeneration projects bring improvements to existing homes and infrastructure; maximising the volume of housing available and making the government’s housing targets significantly more achievable.
“To that end, we are pleased to see the Government’s National Estate Regeneration Strategy published and we welcome the solutions it proposes to long standing issues, not least the funding prospectus, which supports our operational procedures such as decanting residents, demolition and community engagement activity.
“We agree that local authorities should be the natural leaders of estate regeneration projects but crucial to the success of the whole strategy is the ability for contractors to work more collaboratively with local authorities and communities, in true, long term partnerships that look forward to outcomes and rewards, where costs are transparent and financial gains are shared with the council. Current barriers to collaborative working need to be removed and organisations have to be prepared to work to long term goals and eradicate over-negotiation of contracts and negativity at early stages. Ultimately, a ‘one team’ approach delivers place-shaping at speed and to outstanding quality standards – just what local residents are looking for.
“Any good contractor, should be prepared to deliver large-scale regeneration projects, at speed, but should understand that a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t stand a chance of suiting the varying sizes, shapes and needs of communities, nationwide. We need to build and refurbish homes for a variety of tenures including shared ownership, sale and rent and ensure community consultation is at the heart of any project.
“With regeneration projects currently accounting for 75% of the work undertaken annually by Keepmoat, community investment has become more important now than ever before and we welcome the focus on this in the Government’s strategy. As the document suggests, estate regeneration begins right within the preliminary stages and should have a social value element included within the tender for work.
“Contractors should take the time to understand the cultural and historical issues of the estates by immersing themselves in the communities they work in and learn how individuals feel about both their area and the proposed working schedule. This can include understanding employment opportunities, listed or socially important buildings, social activities, design preferences and digital inclusion. Keepmoat does this by working with and creating local steering groups, employing extensive resident liaison teams at the earliest stage and creating employment opportunities and apprenticeships, on site for local people, who understand the areas well.”
For more information about Keepmoat, please visit keepmoat.com
For further information, please contact Russell Eggar on 07973633136 or Russell.Eggar@keepmoat.com
