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Best housing story
Limestone Road Redevelopment - Newington Housing Association
The £9.5 million Limestone Road re-development has underpinned economic and
community regeneration in North Belfast. It is a powerful example of the far-reaching
benefits that can be realised through collaborative working between a housing association
and the community it serves.
This is certainly the case for Julie Anne Kinghan and her daughter, Ellie,
who spent her first 18 months in hospital due to the lack of suitable
accommodation. Newington Housing Association provided the family
with a home and a full extension that meets all of Ellie’s needs and
allowed her to finally leave hospital. Because of this, the family were
able to stay together in a peaceful area and Ellie could finally live at
home.
The Limestone Road Development is a Social Housing project situated
on the Newington/Tigers Bay interface in North Belfast. In the 10 years
up to 2005, PSNI statistics highlight that this interface was the most
violent in Northern Ireland and was the first to have static CCTV cameras
installed. This violence led to a sustained period of decline in the area, with an increase in
empty properties, a high turnover of Housing Association tenancies and an increase in voids.
The area had a poor reputation and was often a housing choice of last resort for those that
moved there.
Newington Housing Association (NHA) was created in 1975 principally in response to the
troubles in the Limestone Road area and it has worked vigorously to transform and
redevelop this interface area for the benefit of all communities.
Ellie Kinghan is just two year’s old, but has but has already battled her way through heart
surgery and life-threatening infections. Her family had been living in temporary
accommodation, which just was not suitable for her complex health needs. In August 2014,
they moved to a bright new home within NHA’s Limestone Road Development and she is
already flourishing.
The home where the Kinghan family now live was two months away from completion when
the opportunity to help the family was first discussed. Once the proposal was viable
Newington HA extended the construction contract and delayed completion of the scheme
by 6 months to ensure the family’s needs were met.
On the day of the official opening, mum Julie Ann watched on proudly as her two-year-old
daughter pulled herself up to stand; just one of the things doctors said might never happen.
Ellie was delivered by emergency caesarean at 34 weeks and at just 13 days old, she
underwent heart surgery for the first time.
There is no name for Ellie’s condition which includes an enlarged heart and weakness in her
lungs. She uses a specially-adapted wheelchair and has round the clock care. Ellie is fed
constantly through a tube and has a tracheotomy.
Her old home wasn’t suitable for her unique needs and with the
specialist care Ellie could only receive in hospital, it divided Julie
Ann away from her young family. The answer came from the
most unlikeliest of places, a most notorious Belfast interface
that had suffered dereliction and deep community divisions.
Changing the interface
However, NHA and Duncairn Community Partnership recognised the potential for change in
the area and had a vision to stimulate a programme of transformation that could revitalise
an abandoned residential area, rebuild community relations and provide much-needed high
quality homes.
At the core of the development is a successful partnership between NHA, the Duncairn
Community Partnership and local community groups that ensured the housing solution
worked in sync with the values and aspirations of the neighbourhood. The brownfield site is
bounded by the Limestone road, residents, commercial businesses and two primary schools
and NHA embedded itself with the surrounding community to listen, inform and shape the
works to meet community need.
A concerted effort from community partners on both sides of the interface and support
from NHA’s statutory partners helped facilitate ground-breaking cross-community
discussions centred on how the area should be improved in order to secure new
opportunities for sustained and shared prosperity.
NHA’s Limestone Road regeneration scheme centred on the construction of 71 homes and
the refurbishment of an existing dwelling. The latter could provide scope for an extension,
the type of which Ellie required.
Julie Ann takes up the story:
“Newington Housing Association contacted us to say ‘we might have a house for you,
possibly we’ll be able to build an extension on for Ellie for all her needs. If we get the
planning permission would you be happy?’ I was a wee bit weary because of the interface,
but I thought if I was going to get a house that was going to be suitable for Ellie and could
keep the family together then why not.”
The plans gained full approval and Ellie’s new home was completed with special-adaptations
including widened doorways, ramps, and the extension which houses Ellie’s bedroom and
custom-built bathroom.
The home has had a profound effect on Ellie as Mum Julie Ann explains:
“Since we moved in, Ellie’s only been back in hospital once and she’s
fought two infections at home. She’s putting on weight, standing,
sitting, she’s grown and she’s a lot happier. Now she wants to
crawl.”
While medical experts cannot put their finger on the what
prompted the change, Julie Ann believes coming together as a
family was the turning point.
“I think Ellie’s picked up that everyone’s a lot more relaxed. In the
other house I couldn’t sleep at all. I shut myself away from
everybody. Now, as a family we go to the park to feed the ducks and that’s what the kids
love. Seeing them happy, makes me happy, this is my life-long home.”
Julie Ann says that while she was apprehensive about living near an interface, it was a
smart decision:
“Honestly, it was the best move I ever made. We’re so close to family here and the
hospital’s here and there’s plenty of space. Newington Housing Association made
everything possible for my family to be together and thank you to them for the house and
the support for getting us where we need to be.”
The 71 new homes in the development have been built to high energy-efficiency standards
to reduce heating and energy bills for the families who live there. In the past, the Limestone
Road was regarded by many as a last resort housing choice. NHA and its partners’
investment has rebuilt confidence, delivered high quality homes and opened the
opportunity for more new homes.