Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

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The Housing Crisis in Lambeth

There is a housing crisis. There are simply not enough homes to accommodate London’s growing population. As a result:

• People have been priced out of homes, whether to buy or to rent

• There is not enough affordable homes for those who cannot afford market prices

In Lambeth there are over 21,000 people on our housing waiting list, 1,800 families in temporary accommodation and 1,300 families living in severely overcrowded conditions. In addition ‘Right to Buy’ has made it harder for Lambeth to respond with 11,579 council homes lost since 1980.

In addition the number of new social rented homes being built in Lambeth has fallen dramatically due to the Central Government cuts. In 2010-11, 700 new social homes were built in the Borough in one year; by 2013-14 this had fallen to 120; the forecast for 2015-16 from housing associations is that just 40 homes for social rent will be built.

More and Better Homes in Lambeth

Lambeth is tackling this challenge head on with a commitment to build 1,000 new homes at council-rent levels by 2019.

To meet these commitments Lambeth is working on projects across the Borough ranging from small schemes to redeveloping whole estates.

Lambeth has to do this as land is in short supply - there are no large tracts of unused or derelict land. We have to make better use of land that is already being used. This involves considering pockets of land around our housing estates.

This also involves looking at whole estates to consider whether these whole estates should be considered for redevelopment to provide new high quality residential neighbourhoods.

Lambeth is also investing £490 million over the next five years to improve the quality of peoples homes – the biggest estate regeneration scheme in Lambeth's history This work will happen despite a £150 million cut in Government funding. Unfortunately we don’t have the money to improve every home. By regenerating estates, we can fill this gap.

Westbury was included in the estate regeneration programme primarily because of the potential for additional new homes and the opportunity to improve the urban quality of the area.

Background Context

Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

2

Next StepsFollowing this exhibition your comments will be collected and be considered in the preparation of the Masterplan objectives and a recommended scenario which will form part of a Cabinet Report to go to Council’s Cabinet for decision. It is the Council Cabinet, made up of your elected Councillors, who will make the final decision.

In making their decision the Council Cabinet will apply the following tests.The following must be achieved:

• Viability: to make sure the scenario selected is financially viable

• Deliverable: that delivery risk is manageable and that phasing and construction programmes are feasible

• Meets Key Guarantees: delivers the re-provision of existing homes in line with the Key Guarantees to residents

• Meets Planning Policy and Tenancy Strategy: scenario meets as a minimum Council planning policy and Council tenancy strategy on affordable housing for the net additional new homes

The following need to be considered:

• Additionality (1): favouring scenarios where the quantum of new homes provided is higher

• Additionality (2): favouring scenarios where the quantum of new homes for council rent is higher

• Optimal Tenure Split: aim to achieve a tenure split between market and affordable homes, which is closest to a 60% affordable/40% market split (taking into account any localised reasons for moving away from this split)

• Nature of Market Housing: preference for private rent

• Pay-back Period: favouring scenarios that provide shorter pay-back periods, while acknowledging that the Council is able to invest in the local community over a far longer period than a private developer, to support the needs of local families

• Subsidy: favouring scenarios that require the least subsidy to meet the other objectives

At the moment Westbury is due to be discussed by a Cabinet meeting on the Nov 9th.

Todays exhibition is an opportunity to comment on the recommended scenario before this Cabinet meeting, as well as discuss any specific questions and concerns you may have.

If the Cabinet agrees with recommendation we will comeback to you with a detailed timetable of further engagement. This will show you how and when you will be able to have your say on how the new estate could look down to the fixtures and fittings in your home. In addition you will be able to discuss your scenarios for moving elsewhere.

As your Council, our objective for residents going forward will be to:

• Keep uncertainty for residents to a minimum

• Ensure residents have an understanding of the bigger picture

• Make it clear to residents that their voices have been heard by decision makers

• Ensure that residents have the information they need to make the best choices about their families' futures

If the Council Cabinet decides to go ahead with regeneration you have a number of options. These vary depending on whether you are a council tenant or a homeowner.

Options for Homeowners1. Move to a new or refurbished home on the new estate by:

• Taking over all of the equity

• Transferring all of your equity in your current home into a higher value property and owning that part of the property. If you were to sell that property you would get the percentage share you have in the property - the Council would take its share at this point.

• If you are not in a financial position for the first two options you could take a shared option and payment of rent on unowned share.

It is important to note that all ownership options involve relinquishment of the ownership of your current home and all ownership options with the council are dependent on residents housing need and financial circumstance, and valuation of the respective properties.

You would be eligible to qualify for Home Loss and disturbance payments – the details of which will depend on the particular rehousing route you choose.

2. Purchase of an alternative home on the open market without the involvement of the council.

If you have specific concerns about your options you can speak to a member of the estate regeneration team on 020 7926 1000 or email us at westburyestate@lambeth.gov.uk

Options for Tenants1. Move to a new or refurbished home on the estate with a new lifetime assured tenancy agreement.

2. Move to a council or housing association home elsewhere in the borough by bidding for a home through the ‘Home Connections’ service, with top ‘A’ priority.

3. Move to sheltered housing in the borough if you are eligible ie for the over 60s (or over 55 with medical needs).

4. Buy a property elsewhere within the borough or on the new estate, on a full or part ownership basis. This will be subject to your financial circumstances and the availability of properties for sale within the scheme.

You would be eligible to qualify for Home Loss and disturbance payments – the details

2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2020/2021

We are here

Exhibition 217th Oct

Last chance to influence

the masterplan objectives23rd Oct

Cabinet Meeting9th Nov

Appointment of masterplan team

1st Dec

Masterplan DevelopmentDecemeber 2015 to August 2016

Detailed DesignSeptember 2016 to February 2017

Submit and determine planning application

March 2017 to August 2017CPO Enquiry

September 2017 to February 2018Proposals for Tender

March 2018 to August 2018Construct Phase 1

August 2018 to August 2019

Next Steps

Calender of Events

Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

3 Lambeth Brief

Lambeth Brief

In addition to the tests described on board no. 1 the following, more specific, requests will be given to the Development Management team. These issues were investigated during the resident training workshop

Lambeth must deliver a housing density of between 145 u/ha and 170 u/ha to increase the amount of affordable homes within the borough. This means going from 240 existing homes to between 435 and 510 homes, a number which has been subject to initial testing and is considered a reasonable but not excessive (see board 4). Additionally, Lambeth aim to: • Provide as many of the new homes as can be afforded as (social rented) affordable homes (and to ensure no reduction in the number of affordable homes) (see board 2)

• Enable existing residents who want to remain on the estate to do so, and to explain clearly to them any financial or other consequences of doing so (see board 2)

• Give existing resident leaseholders the opportunity to buy back into the redeveloped estate through shared ownership

• Redevelop the estate to provide all new homes to current standards of construction, size and energy consumption

• All new homes should be designed to be fully in accordance with the London Housing Design Guide, Lifetime Homes, and built to current design and technical standards in terms of energy efficiency and insulation

• A minimum of 10% wheelchair accessible homes, more if supported by the housing needs assessment. This includes some wheelchair accessible parking where needed by residents, but without compromising the overall public realm strategy

• Plan the replacement homes with a single decant of all residents in mind, this includes developing a phasing strategy as part of the masterplan that aims to achieve a single decant

• Create robust new buildings that will remain in good condition into the future and that minimise on going or difficult maintenance regimes for buildings and spaces

• The Council is committed to developing a high quality residential neighbourhood

• The Council will develop a local lettings policy in collaboration with residents

Residents Design Brief

Overview

The Westbury Estate has a strong long-term stable community and many of the residents have participated in the design consultation process that Lambeth Council and their consultants have run. Any proposed regeneration of the estate will impact the residents. The retention of the existing community feel and visual character of the Estate have been key drivers from those who have participated. In addition following the building visits and emphasis on quality of workmanship of any new housing has also been highlighted.

It is the start of a masterplan design brief with design requirements that the residents are identifying as being important to any future design proposals.

Design requirements to be met within any emerging design proposals for the estate

Overall feel of the Estate – Spatial characteristics

• The estate currently feels quite open and long views are afforded in several directions. This sense of openness should be maintained in any new design.

• The mature trees to the South East frontage of the estate close to Wandsworth Road are particularly important and must be retained.

• The new design should maintain strong visual links with Heathbrook Park and Wandsworth Road, including maximising the number of homes with views of the park and/or green space.

• Any proposals should enhance and improve the green and natural environment around the buildings and avoid sterile blank large areas of concrete paving, tarmac etc.

• Preserving as much green space as possible at the heart of the estate is essential

• The design should retain as many of the green spaces around the towers as possible. These spaces should be made more accessible and therefore altered to ground level during the reconstruction stage.

Open spaces and streets that connect the neighbourhood

Streets and Parking

• The approach to movement and car parking on the estate should allow it to retain its calm and quiet character

• A road running all the way through the site to accommodate emergency vehicles and estate traffic is required, designed to not encourage external or fast through traffic.

• Streets should not just accommodate vehicle movement but should be visually attractive with trees and green landscape, for or example, layout as Acer Street Hackney viewed by residents on the site visits, which avoids other fixtures and clutter.

• Parking, to retain as a minimum the existing quantity of spaces and ensure that the current residents have their parking facility honoured.

• Ensure spaces are easily accessible to homes with a reservoir of parking areas within the estate for visitors, deliveries etc. covered by visitor daily permits from the residents.

• Bin storage areas should be designed so that they are enclosed to avoid visible external bins and re-cycling containers. Bin and recycling enclosures should be designed to fit into the streetscape or within the lower floors of the buildings and have well designed attractive enclosures.

Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

4 Residents Design Brief

Street life and landscape

• Provide open space that supports good levels of interaction between residents and benefit from natural passive surveillance. I.e. it is possible to look out and see who is around and what is happening.

• Shape the development around existing mature trees and its general ‘green’ character. Trees should be re-provided on a greater than like for like basis with a number of trees that will balance the loss of any mature trees and their natural benefits.

• Include a range of types of private, communal and shared open spaces that encourage social interaction and communal activities focused centrally within the estate. It is however important that the design does not become over secure and create a ghetto type environment within the estate. There needs to be some free movement so that people can socialise and contact each other without being limited by fences and secure gates. The balance between openness and some security where necessary should be carefully balanced.

• There should be some open space accessible to all in the heart of the estate and a place for residents to congregate. The fountain which currently serves as a place of communal congregation should be re-instated as a central feature.

• Emphasis should be on access and quality of space rather than providing “enough space”

• Some External private front spaces seen on the building visits of Sept 15 were concreted/paved this made for a sterile harsh street scene and any designs should develop a green approach to the front areas that can be easily maintained.

• Roof gardens should be included in the proposals where maintenance and management are carefully thought through.

• There should be an external area for community allotments.

• New build homes should accommodate the current style of private back gardens for all those residents who have gardens now.

• Well-designed wayfinding signage with simple legible and attractive graphics including location plans located at the main entrances to the estate is required. The signage should be integrated into the design be well designed and not to clutter the estate .

The Housing provision - Tenure and mix

• The design team should provide a good mix of tenures and sizes of accommodation in an integrated way across the estate.

• New developments should be “tenure blind” i.e. there should be no visible differentiation between social, rented and private housing.

• Any new plans should recognise the desire to keep existing resident groups together, wherever this is possible.

• Isley Court residents wish to see a building consisting solely of non-family homes with quiet one bed homes.

• A proportion of ground floor level accommodation for those with limited mobility is required.

• Consideration of a proportion of housing for the elderly should be considered in the brief mix to allow independent living and/or transition housing to support residents who wish to stay within their existing community as they age.

More detailed home requirements

• The London Design Guide should be used as a minimum standard, as a base-line.

• The new homes must be large, light and bright, with large windows and good ceiling heights.

• The amount of storage must be appropriate for the size of the property and the type of household.

• Existing residents should have a choice of open plan or homes with separate kitchens.

• The layout should maximise the number of new homes that are able to have their own front door onto a street or external entrance space.

• All shared entrances should have a welcoming feel, they are the entrances to people’s homes and are important. The size and scale of the entrances should be in proportion to the number of homes it is serving.

For larger buildings double height entrance halls should be considered. 1 The arrangement of post boxes should be carefully designed. Entrance doors should be durable, well designed and secure.

• Higher-level homes must have a door entry system from downstairs.

Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

5 Residents Design Brief (continued)

Ancillary accommodation requirements

A new furnished tenant/community space with the same range of facilities (wc’s, kitchenette) of a larger size to accommodate the higher numbers on the estate. Located centrally or on a main route through the estate. Including toilets, kitchenette of a scale that is proportional to the existing tenants room in the Amesbury Tower but scaled up proportionately for the new number of estate tenants. The community room should include storage for chairs and tables, and be finished to a good standard for use and with its own keys. The exact specification and uses should be developed with the community.

Attractive secure bike parking enclosures close to dwellings with passive supervision.

Ground floor storage areas for upper housing units.

Telecommunications and services are to be provided to a high standard, e.g. cable, phone, broadband, TV, etc. across the estate. The provision of services should be no less that currently provided.

Buildings appearance and materials

From the visits undertaken by the residents there were three clear preferences expressed. These were:-

i) External wall materials should be durable material and look good for a long period of time with little maintenance. A strong preference for a majority of a good quality brick was expressed following the Sept 15 building visits as rendered or timber clad buildings visited look poor after a short period of time.

ii) New housing should have large openable windows and be high quality and well designed.

iii) Balconies and terraces looked better when staggered and did not appear to be highly regimented.

Quality and workmanship of new works

The building visits revealed that the quality of the products and standards of acoustics on the new estates were not always good.

The quality and workmanship will be an important factor for the residents.

AcousticsInternally and externally it is essential that the standard is as high as the current building regulation standards set and that they are checked and monitored for compliance. 2

Windows and doorsThe initial design team should specify early a range of suitably high quality window and door manufacturer systems so that they are not substituted for a lower poor quality system by the contractor later in the build.

Quality of the external soft and hard landscapingThe quality of green space is an important aspect of any proposals and for this reason the landscape plans should be approved and any landscaping budget should be set and ring fenced during the design process that the landscaping proposals are properly delivered.

Services

Options for individual or central serviced heating systems must be explained to residents who should be allowed to make a group choice of which option will work best for them. Reason: service charges have in the past been disproportionately high, while not benefiting from individual servicing and control their homes heating systems.

Management and phasing of the works

• Management of open space should be seriously considered during the design stages so that it remains pleasant to use and accessible.

• Tenants should not be required to move from the estate unless they request a move off the estate during the building work.

• Parking provision should be carefully phased to allow tenant use during the duration of the works.

• Noise and disruption – hours of operation to be agreed with residents.

Principles around relocation and moving

• All residents in the low rise properties should be assured of priority for choice of position and in particular move to like for like property size and accommodation on the new build estate.

• In some instances, residents may want to move back into equivalent locations on the site and this should be accommodated.

Next steps

To select the Resident Advisor from the list of Agencies provided by the Council.

An important step as the Advisor should be able to guide both Tenant and Leaseholder through the mire of legal requirements and particularly the financial aspects of the potential move to new homes on the new estate.

Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

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Heathbrook Park

Amesbury Tower

Durrington Tower

Allington Court

Fovant Court

Welford Court

St R

ule

Stre

et

Portslad

e Road

Wandsworth Road

Design Proposal 1 - Lanes and Courtyards

N

Retention and conversion of Welford, Fovant and Allington into secure courts 150u/ha - 160/ha (200-240 additional homes)

8-10 Storeys

4-5 Storeys

Public open space

Communal open space

Private open space

St R

ule

Stre

et

Wandsworth Road

Mature trees to the south

east of estate are retained

Streets with trees and green

landscape

No vehicle access through

site Private open space

Communal open space

Possible community

space or retail at base of building on Wandsworth

Road

Bus stop overlooked

Shared open Space

Green space around towers

partly developed

Parking number stay the same as

existing (96 spaces)

Mature trees removed and replaced with street trees

Front doors onto street for some

new homes

Isley Court redeveloped

Views through to park are

compromised

Mature trees removed and replaced with street trees

This scenario is not currently favoured by Lambeth as it does not address their brief as fully as scenario 2 . It also seems more at odds with the emerging residents brief in terms of openess and retention of green spaces.

Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

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Wa

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Ro

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H e a t h b r o o k Primary School

OVERGROUND

Communal space gated

Pedestrainised lanes

Residents courtyards

Old and new are expressed

through a different materiality

Retail/community facility on ground

floor

Pedestrianised area

Welford, Allington and Fovant courts retained and

reclad

Design Proposal 1 - Lanes and Courtyards

8-10 Storeys

4-5 Storeys

Metropolitan WorkshopA r c h i t e c t u r e + U r b a n i s m

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Heathbrook Park

Amesbury Tower

Durrington Tower

St R

ule

Stre

et

Portslad

e Road

Wandsworth Road

8-10 Storeys

7-8 Storeys

6-7 Storeys

4-5 Storeys

Design Proposal 2 - Landscaped Avenue

N

Preferred scenario:New homes with only towers retained, majority of green space is not built on

150u/ha - 160/ha (200-240 additional homes)

Open and long views

Road running all the way

through the site to accommodate emergency and

estate traffic

Mature trees to the south

east of estate are retained

Bus stop overlooked

Streets with trees and green

landscape

Open space supports good levels of interaction between residents and benefit from natural passive

surveillance

Large amount of homes with views

of the park

Potential for non-family untis

Private open space

Communal open space

Shared open Space

Memorial Retained

Improved green

and natural environment

around buildings

Linear open space at the

centre of the site

Green space retained around

towers

Fountain re-instated as a central feature

Green spaces are made more

accessible

Front doors onto street for some

new homes

Parking distributed

evenly around the site

(110 spaces)

Strong Visual links

with Heathbrook Park and

Wandsworth Road

Possible community

space or retail at base of building on Wandsworth

Road

Public open space

Communal open space

Private open space

This scenario is currently favoured by Lambeth as it better addresses their brief as outlined on boards 2 and 3. It also appears to better address the emerging resident's brief in several key areas such as openess and retention of green space.

Possible site for first phase

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OVERGROUND

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ar

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H e a t h b r o o k Primary School

Retail/community facility on ground

floor

Private back gardens onto

communal space

Improved green

and natural environment

around buildings

Private back gardens

Respects scale of existing

On street parking with trees

Staggered balconies

Taller blocks overlook park

Street trees and green landscape

Shared surface

Shared open public space

Trees retained

Front doors onto street with privacy

strip

Design Proposal 2 - Landscaped Avenue

8-10 Storeys

7-8 Storeys

6-7 Storeys

4-5 Storeys