Posted on July 20th, 2023 by Elaine Davies
A former glassworks and builder’s merchants will be transformed into 30 affordable homes thanks to a £5.9m development.
We’re working with Liberty Developments, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and Homes England to build the housing at the former Wood & Moore Builders Merchants in Wallows Road, Brierley Hill, which was also previously used as a glassworks.
The new homes will be built using Modern Methods of Construction and the latest low carbon technology.
Liberty developments will construct the properties and more than 25 percent of them will meet the WMCA AMC Zero Carbon home requirement using advanced methods of construction. These will feature low carbon components produced off-site in a factory and will adhere to strict criteria to meet the zero-carbon target.
The new homes will also be super energy efficient making them much cheaper for our customers to heat and power.
Our executive director of development Nick Byrne said: “We are pleased to be working with the WMCA, Liberty Developments and Homes England on Wallows Road in Brierley Hill to build 30 affordable homes.
“At Citizen we have an ambitious development programme to meet the ever-increasing need for homes in the region. We are looking forward to work starting at Wallows Road as part of this £5.9m investment to regenerate the two-acre brownfield site and help bring more affordable housing to the Dudley area.
“Modern Methods of Construction are going to be used at the site for some of the homes with panels and sections of the properties being made in a factory. This has great benefits including reducing the environmental impact as the parts will be built at a quicker pace. We’re looking forward to work getting underway.”
The investment at the site also includes £1.5m funding from Homes England.
Alan Yates OBE, chairman of Liberty Developments, said: “This is a challenging site, but we were keen to deliver a high-quality development incorporating offsite construction methods and low carbon technologies.
“The funding has enabled us to unlock this site and the fact that the WMCA is supporting new, regional housing developers such as Liberty Developments shows their genuine commitment to delivering its Plan for Growth with a range of partners.”
Last summer Plan for Growth was launched. It is a roadmap to help level up the West Midlands, drive future prosperity and recapture its pre-Covid position as the fastest growing region outside London.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair, said: “This development is a perfect example of the type of forward-looking housing scheme we want to see replicated across our region.
“Not only is it breathing new life into a brownfield site, helping to protect our precious green belt, it is also using advanced methods of construction. This supports the new, low carbon industries of the future now springing up across the West Midlands, creating well paid jobs for local people.
“But most importantly of all, these brownfield housing schemes are helping to keep us on track in achieving our target of building 215,000 new homes by 2031. This is crucial if we are to tackle the housing shortage that is driving up prices to such an extent that many people are struggling to afford to buy or rent a good quality home.”
The Wallows Road homes are the latest homes to be built as a direct result of a ‘brownfield first’ approach by the WMCA to invest tens of millions of pounds throughout the pandemic to unlock derelict industrial sites for new housing and commercial premises.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on July 7th, 2023 by Elaine Davies
This week is Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) awareness week which highlights the impact ASB has on people as well as how it can be addressed.
At Citizen we know that experiencing ASB can be worrying and unsettling which is why we’re committed to doing everything we can to act and are encouraging everyone to report it.
In the last year across all our areas, noise nuisance was the biggest ASB complaint we received.
We also visited our customers 9,672 times in relation to ASB and have had success with:
- Serving 50 notices seeking possession
- Secured 24 injunctions
- Achieved 44 possession orders
Teamwork with the police and other agencies is a huge part of tackling ASB. Through our partnerships we have recently secured closure orders against a house in Jardine Crescent, Coventry, which was believed to be occupied by drug dealers. Orders were also secured against homes in Pioneer House and Thomas King House which had been reported to the police over anti-social behaviour and cuckooing (where vulnerable people are exploited by criminals – usually drug dealers – so they can use their homes).
In particular our Coventry concierge team and neighbourhood officer Tracy Hill worked with police to gather a substantial amount of evidence so ASB closure orders in Faulkner House could be granted.
These orders are in place to reduce the annoyance for customers living at Faulkner House who are experiencing high volumes of non-resident access, drug use and drug dealing. Our safer neighbourhoods officer Rachel Slater is also pursuing possession of one of the properties following a breach of the original order.
In nearby Hillfields we have been tackling ASB by working with the police and to recognise our partnership work, concierge team leader Richard Perry, neighbourhood officer Tracey Donoghue, safer neighbourhoods officer Rachel Slater, neighbourhood manager Kelly Lewis and the concierge team have been nominated for a West Midlands Police Excellence Award.
The nomination recognises the work they have carried out to give police information and intelligence to target individuals.
Head of Neighbourhood Services at Citizen, Pauline McKenzie-Brown said: “Thank you to all of you at Citizen who have worked hard to tackle anti-social behaviour across our communities and congratulations to everyone who has been nominated for the West Midlands Police Excellence Award.
“At Citizen we are supporting Anti-social Behaviour Awareness Week and one of the keyways we tackle ASB is by working with our key partners including West Midlands Police.
“We are committed to strengthening these relationships to continue to deal with issues that impact our customers, and we will support them to resolve the issues in the neighbourhood.
“We think West Midlands Police for the action they have taken in recent months and we’re encouraging our residents who are suffering from anti-social behaviour to contact us and the police.”
Crimestopppers are also hosting an event on Friday 7 July for anyone in the community to attend and find out more. It’s taking place at The Lozells Methodist Centre – Community Centre (163 Jerard St, Lozells, Birmingham B19 2AH) from 2pm-5pm.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on July 5th, 2023 by Elaine Davies
This week is Rural Housing Week which shines a light on the vital importance of housing associations in rural communities.
One of the focus areas this year is Hidden Homeless which highlights that homelessness in rural areas is often less visible and can be exacerbated by high housing costs.
At Citizen we are committed to providing safe and secure housing for those who have found themselves homeless and one of our schemes is White Cross Road in Hereford.
Over the last year we have housed 24 residents at Whitecross Road with a great track record of successful moves to permanent accommodation.
Whitecross Road is currently full and there is a growing waiting list of people who have found themselves homeless in Herefordshire.
Claire Gallagher* is one of the residents currently living at Whitecross Road and she said being there has had a big impact on her life.
She said: “Whitecross hub has changed my life. I came in here a homeless addict and I’m now clean and working towards getting my baby girl back.
“The support here has saved my life, literally, and the staff are absolutely amazing, especially my keyworker. Thank you, Whitecross Hub.”
Head of Housing Support Liz Carroll said homelessness is an issue in big cities, but it is also a real issue in rural areas too, so it is important resources are in place to help those who have found themselves homeless.
She said: “It’s important we highlight Rural Housing Week as, unlike bigger cities, Hereford has no direct access hostel accommodation other than severe weather emergency protocol winter provision, so supported housing schemes such as Whitecross hub are a vital housing resource. Rural homelessness is an increasing problem and with people sleeping in remote locations it is hard for housing services to know where they are and to offer support.
“It’s important we have schemes like Whitecross Road to provide safe and secure housing for those who find themselves homeless, with support available on site to help guide residents through whatever difficulties they may be experiencing.
“We then support the resident to move on to permanent housing when the time is right
“At Citizen we are committed to working with our partners in Hereford and across the West Midlands to make a difference to our customers and communities.”
Find out more about Rural Housing week here.
*Name has been changed
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
Posted on July 4th, 2023 by Elaine Davies
Customers living in our Gateway and Frank Walsh House accommodation in Coventry have worked with artists to feature in an exhibition hosted at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire this summer.
The exhibition, called Lockdown Landscapes, highlights the effect the Covid 19 pandemic had on people around the UK as well as inspiring remembrance of those who have been lost.
A section of this exhibition is called Citizens of Coventry and it explores how people without housing were impacted by the pandemic.
Artist Sebbie Mudhai and videographer Tom Chimiak held sessions with residents based at the Gateway and Frank Walsh House. A poem and film were created, inspired by stories of our residents’ experiences during the pandemic.
One of our residents Steve Witten took part in the sessions. He said it was a good project to be involved with.
He said: “People came from the National Memorial Arboretum and asked us how we’d been affected by the Covid pandemic mentally, physically and spiritually. We spoke about our experiences verbally and did a little bit of writing, but it gave us all a sense of unity.
“It was very isolating during Covid. I was out of work at the time because I used to work on a building site and they had shut down, and initially it felt fearful going into lockdown.
“I enjoyed taking part in the sessions and it was good that the artists saw value in our input and our experiences are appreciated. The National Memorial Arboretum is quite famous and so I’m proud to be part of a project that is being shown there.”
This is the second event residents from Gateway have been involved in at the National Memorial Arboretum after they helped to create art for VE Day in 2020.
Our housing support manager at Gateway, Gail Cooper, said people living at the Gateway and Frank Walsh House had lots of different experiences to share about lockdown.
She said: “Sharing their experiences took some of our residents back in time. Some people had traumatic experiences which were too difficult to share but others felt it was cathartic to talk about what had happened to them.
“We all felt really emotional hearing their experiences and we were very proud of all the different voices who took part.
“Our residents helped inspire the poem and they have been filmed reading the lines out loud and we think this will be so impactful.”
Aaron Rossi, heritage project manager at the National Memorial Arboretum said: “The Lockdown Landscapes exhibition at the arboretum features four installations reflecting the experiences of diverse communities from across UK, focusing on those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Citizens of Coventry is an incredibly moving component of the exhibition; through the mediums of poetry and film, it has captured how members of this community bonded during these difficult times, showing resilience and support for one another, even when faced with greater hardship because of the pandemic.”
The exhibition Lockdown Landscapes runs until October 1 at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. It is part of the Lockdown Landscapes initiative, a nationwide community engagement programme led by the National Memorial Arboretum in partnership with the National Forest Company, Sampad South Asian Arts and Heritage and Westminster Abbey, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Image ©National Memorial Arboretum.
Posted in Uncategorized |
No Comments
