BROTTON
(THE BRICKYARDS AND PARK)
NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL
ASSESSMENT
Executive Summary
November 2005
Fordham Research Ltd, 16 Woodfield Road, London, W9 2BE
T. 020 7289 3988 F. 020 7289 3309 E. [email protected]
www.fordhamresearch.com
1
Contents
1.
Context of the Study Area...................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2 The basis for carrying out the Survey....................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment (NRA) ......................................................................................... 5
1.4 Profile of the housing stock and its occupants ........................................................................................ 6
2.
Condition of the housing stock ............................................................................................................ 7
2.1 Unfitness ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Decent Homes .............................................................................................................................................. 7
2.3 Housing health and safety rating (HHSRS) ............................................................................................. 8
2.4 Energy Efficiency......................................................................................................................................... 8
3.
Improving the housing stock .............................................................................................................. 10
4.
Brotton as a neighbourhood................................................................................................................ 11
4.1 Resident consultation................................................................................................................................ 11
4.2 Study area household survey findings................................................................................................... 11
4.3 Environmental assessment....................................................................................................................... 12
5.
Option appraisal and conclusions ..................................................................................................... 13
5.1 Headline Conclusions from the study .................................................................................................... 13
5.2 Options and option appraisal ................................................................................................................. 13
5.3 Overall conclusions of the study ............................................................................................................. 14
6. Appendix 1. Table summarising the definition and testing of options ............................................. 16
2
1. Context of the Study Area
1.1 Introduction
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council had observed symptoms indicating that the
Brickyards and Park Areas of Brotton suffered from significant housing stresses and
therefore commissioned a Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment from Fordham
Research Limited to determine conditions in the areas and make recommendations
as to the most appropriate course of action.
Government guidance encourages Local Authorities to assess the need for clearance
or renovation on a systematic and area basis, and to declare renewal areas where
concentrated action is required. The process of defining these areas and determining
the most appropriate course of action is known as Neighbourhood Renewal
Assessment (NRA). A principal component of an NRA is stakeholder consultation
which was also undertaken.
The Study Area contains a total of 422 dwellings depicted in figure 1.1 below. The
Report provides conclusions taken from various consultation exercises involving
both residents and other stakeholders. It examines various options for dealing with
the conditions found and outlines a potential strategy for achieving improvements in
the housing stock, environment, community and living conditions.
Brotton shares some of the housing characteristics of Redcar and Cleveland, such as
the low proportion of flats but also shows some distinctive trends of its own, such as
a very high proportion of terraced houses and older property. The area shown in the
map below (Fig. 1.1) predominately comprises of pre-1919 terraced housing, but
across an even mix of tenure groups. It also includes a small number of business
premises.
3
Figure 1.1 – Brotton: Showing the Brickyards and Park areas – the Study Area
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Title: Brotton
Scale: 1:2000
Drawn By: IB
Date: 23-09-02
This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller
of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead
to prosecution or civil proceedings. Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council LA 090 64L 2001
Joan Rees PhD., MRTPI
Director of Development
Development Department
Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council
Cargo Fleet Office
Middlesbrough Road
PO Box South Bank 20
TS6 6EL
4
1.2 The basis for carrying out the Survey
The Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment survey work had two elements:
i) An initial postal survey of all residents of Brotton (not just the Study Area) was
undertaken to establish general perceptions of the area. This helped to inform the
specially-constructed interview carried out with the householders in the Study Area
about their social and economic situation and their views on their environment and
community.
ii) The internal and external examinations of a sample of dwellings in the Brotton
area. This sample was selected following the guidance laid down by the Government
in Annex C to DoE Circular 17/96. Accordingly a sample of dwellings was chosen to
accurately represent the dwellings after they had been divided into suitably sized
sub-areas to facilitate later management of renewal activities.
In total, 330 surveys were made. This consisted of 110 internal and external surveys,
159 external-only surveys, and an additional 61 postal household surveys.
Combined, these three datasets give information on 168 households, and 269
dwellings. This is out of a total of 422 dwellings in the Study Area - just under twothirds of all dwellings in the Study Area were surveyed. We estimate that there were
9 un-occupied dwellings in the Area.
1.3 Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment (NRA)
The NRA process is well-defined in the Government Circular published in 2004. This
guidance has been fully taken into account during the study and preparation of this
report. A great deal of the report is dedicated the survey findings that inform the
neighbourhood renewal process and provides a wealth of useful information on the
standard of dwellings under the following headings:
•
Unfitness
•
Decent homes
•
The housing health and safety rating
•
Energy efficiency
An assessment of disrepair and improvement to the stock is found in section 2
below.
5
1.4 Profile of the housing stock and its occupants
Data from the survey suggests that the Study Area has a significantly different
housing profile to the rest of Redcar and Cleveland Borough, the North East, and
England as a whole. Some of the main differences found were:
•
19.3% of the Study Area comprises private rented dwellings which is higher
than average.
•
84% of the Study Area consists of terraced homes; a significantly higher
proportion than rest of Redcar and Cleveland.
•
The dwelling stock in the Study Area has significantly older dwellings, with
just 8.9% built after 1919.
•
A very high proportion of households (54.2%) are ‘vulnerable’.
•
Dwellings in the Study Area are considerably smaller than average.
•
There is a low net weekly household income of £211, lower than Redcar and
Cleveland as a whole.
6
2. Condition of the housing stock
2.1 Unfitness
A dwelling is unfit by law if it has very serious problems such as no working inside
bathroom and toilet, rising damp etc. This assessment has been modernised with the
housing health and safety rating which is discussed below. However the unfitness
rating is still important as there is a lot of information about it locally, regionally and
nationally.
•
11.2% of dwellings in Brotton are unfit (30 dwellings), this compares with a
national average of around 4.2% and a regional average of 2.2% (all tenures)
•
The main causes of unfitness are disrepair (53.3% of unfit dwellings) and food
preparation (43.3%). This can be compared nationally to work completed in
2000 where the most common reason for unfitness in England was the lack of
facilities for food preparation.
•
Private rented dwellings are most likely to be unfit (17.3% are unfit) as are
pre-1850 dwellings, vacant dwellings (33.3%) converted flats (24.1%) and
semi-detached houses (20.0%)
•
Single pensioner households, households with two or more adults and two or
more children, and vulnerable households are more likely than average to
live in unfit housing
•
An additional 30 dwellings were found to be ‘fit but defective’ (representing
12.3% of the dwelling stock), again most commonly owing to reasons of
disrepair
•
Of the 30 unfit dwellings, 12 would require block action, (repairs need to be
made to the whole block of flats and not just individually), and only 1 would
require clearance.
2.2 Decent Homes
‘Decency’ as defined by the Government, is assessed against four main factors. These
are:
•
Unfitness
•
Disrepair
•
Modern facilities
•
Thermal comfort
7
The results suggested that 43.9% of dwellings failed the standard under one or more
criteria. This figure compares with a national estimate (for all dwellings) of 33.1%.
Some of the main findings relating to ‘non-decent’ homes were:
•
The main reason for failure was thermal comfort, 64.4% of non-decent homes
failed under this heading. This is also the main reason nationally where 73%
of non-decent homes failed for this reason
•
Dwellings with high levels of ‘non-decency’ included: private rented and pre1900 dwellings, and converted flats
•
Households that show high levels of non-decency include pensioners, and
single person households
•
The Survey Area-wide capital cost of making all homes reach the standard of
decency is £246,000.
2.3 Housing health and safety rating (HHSRS)
The HHSRS is a method for looking at the condition of dwellings in an area taking
into account the potential hazards of a dwelling in relation to any persons using it
rather than a study of the fabric condition of the home.
It was thought that around 17.1% of dwellings require a category 1 response, which
is significantly higher than the estimated level of unfitness in the Study Area of 11.2
%. Below are some characteristics of ‘hazardous’ homes:
•
The main hazards in Brotton relate to ‘falls on stairs’, ‘falls on the level’ and
‘excessive cold’.
•
Owner-occupied dwellings (with mortgage), dwellings built between 1900
and 1919, and, above all, end-terrace dwellings are all more likely than
average to have a category 1 hazard.
•
A majority of RSL dwellings, dwellings built after 1919, semi-detached or
detached houses, and purpose-built flats have a category 2 hazard.
2.4 Energy Efficiency
An important part of any stock condition survey is the measurement of energy
efficiency. The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is the Government’s
recommended system for home energy rating – where a high score (on a scale from 1
to 120) means a dwelling is more energy efficient. Some of the main findings in
Brotton were:
8
•
94% of dwellings have central or programmable heating.
•
Just 16% of dwellings have cavity walls; only 14% of these have insulation
•
Brotton has an average SAP rating of 48, which is below the private-sector
averages for England (50), and the North East (53, for all dwellings).
•
Certain kinds of dwelling shown the lowest mean SAP, such as, owneroccupied (no mortgage) dwellings, older dwellings, detached, semi-detached,
and end-terraced houses or converted flats.
•
Households living in dwellings with particularly low SAP are likely to
contain pensioners or have lower incomes.
9
3. Improving the housing stock
The survey studied faults to dwellings and associated repair costs. Some of the main
findings of the analysis were:
•
The average cost per dwelling of urgent repairs (i.e. those needing to be done
within the next year) was £1,095 – this totals £295,000 across the study area.
•
The average cost per dwelling for basic repairs (i.e. all work needing to be
done within the next 5 years) was £1,595– totalling £429,000 across the study
area.
•
The main problem areas (in terms of the amount needing to be spent) were
roofs, external walls and foundations.
•
The private rented sector showed the highest repair costs, as did pre-1885
dwellings and converted flats.
•
Single person households show the highest absolute repair costs; households
with more than one adult and one or fewer children showed the highest costs
per m2.
•
No commercial properties were found to require urgent repairs.
Improving energy efficiency in Brotton by 30% appears possible but difficult to
achieve. To achieve an improvement of 20.6% would mean improving virtually every
dwelling in the Study Area to some degree. By applying insulation and central
heating improvements (e.g. replacement of solid fuel space and water heating by
gas) to dwellings the increase in SAP is 18.6% (to a mean SAP of 57). Small further
improvements could be made through double glazing although this does not appear
to be very cost-effective. The package of measures estimated to achieve the highest
mean SAP (of 58) would entail a total cost of £483,000 Area-wide.
The analysis was carried out by tenure and took account of owner-occupiers income
and equity levels. Some of the main findings were:
•
To carry out all urgent repairs required to owner-occupied dwellings
(occupied dwellings) would cost an estimated £220,300.
•
Households’ income levels could reduce this figure to a potential demand for
financial assistance of £156,000 whilst including the scope for equity release
would reduce this figure to £112,300.
In the private rented sector, the cost of carrying out all urgent repairs is £29,200,
rising to a maximum of £83,400 for all repairs and energy improvements.
10
4. Brotton as a neighbourhood
4.1 Resident consultation
The consultation component of the NRA has revealed some clear common
perceptions from Brotton residents. They have articulated a clear vision of what they
would like Brotton to become. In addition, they have commented on a range of
options that might help Brotton realise this vision.
Consultation from Brotton stakeholders largely aligns with the views of residents. In
addition they have described the initiatives that are being delivered to improve the
area. Examples of such improvements are the Community Warden Service, better
co-ordination between the Council and social landlords, traffic calming. There are
future plans to improve play provision still further and to replace the public library.
The following conclusions are those that we find should influence the overall
conclusions of the
NRA;
•
There is a strong sense of community which highly values the physical and
social attributes of the area.
•
Local people and stakeholders see a long term future for the area and they
are clear about the local issues that have to be addressed.
•
These issues are in their broadest sense:
o
The impact of Crime and anti-social behaviour
o
Housing that is in poor condition and the ability of owners to
maintain them
o
Environmental problems such as street maintenance, layout and car
parking problems.
Our overall conclusion is that the wider liveability problems perceived by residents
need to be addressed. This is alongside some of the most pressing housing problems
affecting local people. Unless both sets of issues are successfully addressed, Brotton
will not change into the place envisioned by its residents.
4.2 Study area household survey findings
Householders were asked to give their opinions on Brotton as an area in general, and
were asked about what specific elements most needed improving. Key findings
include:
11
•
Between a fifth and a third of all respondents rated play and sports facilities,
car parking, and policing as ‘bad’.
•
Whilst, on average, respondents rated the quality of their street and their
area in general to be ‘fair’, they rated their houses much more highly, and
were more likely to say that the area and their street were getting worse
rather than better.
•
People most liked the natural surroundings of Brotton and its social life; and
the aspects they disliked the most were lack of policing, drug problems,
crime, anti-social behaviour and dog mess.
•
Overall priorities for action from the Council were preferred to include
minimal demolition (although some were in favour), and a broad range of
priorities for both improvements to current housing and new housing to be
built.
4.3 Environmental assessment
The environmental assessment took two dimensions: an overall impression, and a
study of individual environmental problems.
The survey first looked at overall impressions of the area. It was deemed that 66.9%
of dwellings were in a ‘good’ environment with 9.3% in environments described as
‘poor’. RSL dwellings, post 1919 dwellings, and purpose-built flats are much more
likely than average to be in poor environments, and households containing lone
parents or two or more pensioners are more likely than average to live in poor
quality environments.
The survey then went on to look at specific environmental problems. Few major
problems were found, and were limited to ‘litter/rubbish/dumping’, ‘dog or other
excrement’ and ‘nuisance from street parking’. Other factors that created a high
number of non-major problems include: ‘vacant / boarded up houses’, ‘scruffy
gardens’, and ‘scruffy neglected buildings’. 1.9% of all dwellings were described as
being in an environment with no problems, 55.0% in an environment with minor
problems and 43.1% in an environment with major problems. Some groups were
found to be more likely to have a ‘major problem’, single non-pensioners, and those
living in RSL dwellings, newer dwellings and purpose-built flats.
12
5. Option appraisal and conclusions
5.1 Headline Conclusions from the study
Without oversimplifying the findings of the study it is possible to state that a small
number of properties are:
•
in serious disrepair
•
exhibit an adverse impact on the street scene
•
are owned by people who need advice and assistance to improve them.
Disrepair generally tends to be caused by problems with the exterior of dwellings
and group repair solutions would be appropriate.
There is a case for small scale demolition of individual properties but not for
demolition on any scale.
A greater number of elderly person households occupy property that is in poor
condition and is likely to deteriorate.
However the perception of residents is that the condition of local housing is not the
main issue facing them. The main issue is that of crime and anti-social behaviour in
its widest sense.
A judgement has to be made about the scale of intervention necessary by the Local
Authority and the priority that the Local Authority will attach to the area relative to
corporate objectives and priorities.
5.2 Options and option appraisal
This was conducted in accordance with Government Guidance. Fordham Research
worked with a stakeholder group to determine;
•
Aims and objectives for the area as informed by findings of the study,
stakeholder and resident consultation
•
A framework for appraising options and deciding upon a preferred option.
A number of options were considered arising from the study which were considered
and reviewed by the stakeholder group.
13
Options of do nothing and total clearance and re-development of the area were not
pursued as they were neither desirable nor feasible. 3 options were considered in
detail and tested against the decision framework. In outline these options were;
A. Improved care and maintenance of the area
B. Option A plus a programme of works to ‘facelift’ dwellings and improve the
energy efficiency of them
C. A pilot programme with the aim of re-designing back streets to improve
their appearance and function.
The appendix to this summary contains a table that
•
Explains each option and estimates the cost
•
Tests the option against aims and objectives of the area.
5.3 Overall conclusions of the study
It is our belief that there is little evidence to support the view that the local housing
market is failing. We believe that there is some evidence in the Council’s Housing
Strategy to suggest that the housing market is unbalanced.
report a rapid increase in house prices recently.
Many stakeholders
Vacant property rates are not
unusually high.
That is not to say that that the housing does not carry some of the risk factors
associated with market failure in terms of the age and character of the housing stock.
However we have observed that house prices have recovered somewhat and the
management practices on the part of some landlords has changed.
In addition
Brotton is essentially rural in location and character and is not part of a conurbation.
With regard to housing market balance there is clearly an issue in the Study Area.
But this has to be viewed alongside the rest of Brotton which displays a wider
diversity of property size type and tenure. We are concerned about the lack of
specialist accommodation for older people. But we do not propose action as the
Study Area is unsuitable because of its topography. We also have to be realistic in
terms of the wider picture relating to district and regional allocations for new
housing and the fact that this is a national problem of a huge scale.
We must consider the role of the Study Area within the district wide policy context
and the role that Brotton will play within the Community Strategy and the Rural
Strategy.
In our view residents do not want to see the character of the area
fundamentally change – just reach its proper potential as a community able to enjoy
14
its location and quality of life. This brings us back to the previous paragraph and to
the conclusion that every housing market needs areas of lower priced market
housing. The Council needs to ensure that this housing is decent.
This does not mean that no action should be taken in support of the above objectives.
The combined effects of demographic trends and the inability of some households to
afford to maintain their homes to a decent standard means that the health, safety and
quality of life of many people is seriously prejudiced through disrepair. In many
respects the Council’s current policies in respect of housing assistance and
community safety are adequate. But it is believed that the rate of take-up is not
sufficient and that some sort of accelerated programme is justified.
It is clear that fear of crime is a major factor in resident perceptions of the area. This
has been fully reflected in the options proposed by the study.
Taking everything into account, there are two main options that should be carefully
considered by the Council. These firstly address the fear of crime and anti-social
behaviour that has been so clearly articulated by residents and secondly addresses
the physical condition of the housing. The third option suggests a more innovative
approach to dealing with some of the problems caused by house and street design
that are not suited to modern lifestyles. However this option may not prove feasible
and a demonstration project is put forward for consideration.
15
6. Appendix 1. Table summarising the definition and
testing of options
16
17
Table 15.1 Reconciliation of the decision framework to options A and B
Strategy
Policy
Performance
Resources
Feasibility
Option A only
Will support some strategic aims of
the Council and its partner agencies
especially in relation to community
safety.
Option B only
Will support some strategic aims
in respect of dwelling condition
and energy efficiency. Baseline
is provided by the survey.
Will be consistent with policies in
respect of community safety and
enhance delivery.
Will lead to improvements in
performance against community
safety and crime reduction targets
and improve resident satisfaction.
Will be consistent with policies in
relation to private sector housing
and enhance delivery.
Will lead to improvements in
stock condition, health and
safety, energy efficiency targets,
decrease fuel poverty, and
improve resident satisfaction.
Funding over a 10 year period will
require re-prioritisation of mostly
revenue resources by the Council
and its partners. This level of funding
is the minimum needed to provide a
plausible response to the main
priority expressed by the community.
Proposals are a mostly a
development of existing services.
Funding over a 10 year period
will require substantial capital
resources. The budget takes
account of potential household
contributions to costs as well as
the needs of household who are
considered vulnerable.
Group repair schemes are
considered to be an effective
Options A and B combined.
Will meet more strategic aims of
the Council and its partners than
either single option.
Will address issues key to the
sustainability of the area and the
rural part of Redcar and
Cleveland District.
Will meet more policy aims of the
Council and its partners than
either single option.
Will enable the council and its
partners to improve performance
against a wider range of
measures and make a significant
contribution to the quality of life,
sustainability and resident
satisfaction.
Option C
Will serve as a demonstration
project for the solution to a
problem that is widely present in
the region and the district. Will
help to achieve strategic aims of
the Neighbourhood Renewal
Assessment
Will meet more policy aims of the
Council and its partners than
either single option
Will enable the council and its
partners to a significant
contribution sustainability
measures, property values and
resident satisfaction
Will cost more initially and
considerably more if a follow up
scheme is adopted. However
due to the innovatory nature of
the project ring fenced funding
might be negotiated from
national or regional government.
This scheme would not be easy
to implement. There are legal
18
way of extending the life of
properties in an area.
Neighbourhood
Renewal
Assessment
objectives
Will partially address problems and
perceptions.
Will mainly address quality of life and
certain environmental objectives.
Will address quality of life, health
and certain environmental
objectives.
Plausibility
Will address the major concerns of
residents.
Will address issues affecting the
health and safety of vulnerable
local residents and reduce the
risk of market failure.
Options combine to meet most
Neighbourhood Renewal
Assessment objectives. Further
consideration needs to be given
to aspects of aims for young
people. Impact on the local
economy will depend upon how
the council procures building
construction work.
Will help to meet aspirations
expressed to us by stakeholders
and members of the public.
and financial issues to
overcome. It would require
100% take up by residents in the
street or block.
If fully implemented would design
out many problems faced by
residents in an innovative way.
Members of the public might be
persuaded that this was a stepchange in thinking by the Council
and a significant step towards
the vision for the area articulated
by residents.
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