middleport self-build – a case study, mick downs
DESCRIPTION
Slides used by Mick Downs, Urban Vision Enterprise CIC, at the Big Local ‘Improving housing’ study visit, organised as part of the Local Trust programme of networking and learning events for Big Local residents. The visit took place from Monday 24 to Tuesday 25 February 2014 and our hosts for the visit were the Leigh West Big Local area. Urban Vision Enterprise is a Community Interest Company with a particular focus on urban development and heritage. They have worked with a range of communities that have decided to develop a neighbourhood plan, and in fact wrote the Locality ‘Neighbourhood Plans Roadmap Guide’ (http://planning.communityknowledgehub.org.uk/resource/neighbourhood-plans-roadmap-guide) This is the second of two sets of slides Mick used. This one focuses on how one community set about developing ideas for a community self-build project. Although the intention had initially been to use the community right to build, the community has ended up deciding to go through a more traditional planning route. Find out more about Local Trust and this and other networking and learning events at http://www.localtrust.org.uk/ and about Urban Vision Enterprise CIC at http://www.uvns.org/TRANSCRIPT
MIDDLEPORT
– inner city, mixture of terraced housing, social housing and industry
- Located in the area of RENEW North Staffordshire, the Housing Market
Renewal Pathfinder
- Area of Major Intervention
BURSLEM & MIDDLEPORT LOCAL FORUM
- Residents’ consultation group established by the Pathfinder
MIDLAND HEART
- Housing Association based in the area
URBAN VISION
- Architecture Centre & Community Interest Company based in the area
MIDDLEPORT SELF BUILD – A CASE STUDY
Burslem & Middleport Local Forum held a
Community Design Festival in St Paul’s
Church Middleport in March 2013.
The aim of the Festival was to promote
self-build housing development to help
regenerate the Middleport area.
46 people attended the 2 day event and
design proposals for five housing
schemes in Middleport were produced.
Funder - Design Council CABE
Organiser - Urban Vision North Staffordshire
Sponsor - Midland Heart Housing Association
Support - North Staffordshire Society of Architects
MIDDLEPORT COMMUNITY DESIGN FESTIVAL
THE AFTERMATH OF RENEW NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE
What was taken away?
400+ HOMES DEMOLISHED400+ FAMILIES DISPLACED100+ JOBS LOST
What was put back?
NEW HEALTH CENTRE33 HOMES REFURBISHED160 HOMES FACELIFTED
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT MIDDLEPORT?
· Heritage
· Local people
· Close to Tunstall and Burslem
· The park and green spaces
· Shops in Newcastle Street
· Good transport links – road, rail and canal
· Local employers, Steelite
· New Health Centre
· The Canal
· Local skills
· Investment by Prince’s Regeneration Trust
· Good pubs
· Development opportunities – housing
· Burslem Port
· The Local Forum
WHAT’S BAD ABOUT MIDDLEPORT?
· Poor visual image – scrap yards, vacant sites, conflicting commercial uses
· Poor maintenance of private rented houses
· Demolition of people’s homes
· Plans not followed through after demolition
· Adverse effect of demolition on businesses
· Social problems
· Lack of confidence, apathy, cynicism
· Community not listened to
· Council’s master plan not adopted
· Some poor quality new development
WHAT’S NEEDS TO CHANGE?
· The community should be valued more and listened to better
· Encourage better employers
· Support small businesses
· Provide a wider range of housing –
affordable and market housing
· Provide well-designed business start-up units
· Relocate bad neighbour uses, like waste transfer station
· Create new community-led mechanisms to bring about change, such as a community
development trust
· Adopt a master plan that is supported by the community and not just the Council
· Give rate relief to enterprise units
· Encourage community-led projects
MIDDLEPORT COMMUNITY DESIGN FESTIVAL
Five sites for green self-build homes
Local people
Local businesses
Local architects
Local politicians
WE LOOKED AT FIVE SITES
SITE 1 – Oliver’s Mill / Newport House
SITE 2 – Burslem Port
SITE 3 – Middleport Hub
SITE 4 – Newport Lane
SITE 5 – Travers Street / Harper Street
PEOPLE AT THE COMMUNITY DESIGN
FESTIVAL
PEOPLE AT THE COMMUNITY DESIGN
FESTIVAL
PEOPLE AT THE COMMUNITY DESIGN
FESTIVAL
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 1 OLIVER’S MILL
• Scrap yard use re-located
to industrial estate elsewhere
• Canal side housing with
sunspaces and photovoltaic
panels on south side
• Listed Oliver’s Mill
converted to enterprise units
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 1 OLIVER’S MILL
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 2 - BURSLEM PORT WHARF
• Waste transfer station re-located to
industrial estate elsewhere
• Marina / mooring for canal boats
• Café and boaters’ facilities
• Eco-friendly, colourful marina homes
with wetland and boardwalks
• Wharf building converted to
community centre
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 2 - BURSLEM PORT
WHARF
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 3 – MIDDLEPORT HUB
• This crossroads turned into a remarkable
concentration of small industrial uses and
homes, with eco features making positive use
of waste and mitigating noise.
• New feature chimney atop a district heating
system and attractive new community
buildings to revive the spirit of the much-missed
Middleport Club
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 3 – MIDDLEPORT HUB
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 4 – NEWPORT LANE
• This scheme maintained the heritage
character of Newport Lane while creating an
ultra-modern two story community
development with orchards and a brand new
road to improve the link to Middleport Pottery.
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 4 – NEWPORT LANE
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 5 – TRAVERS STREET
• This proposal aims to keep the boarded up houses in Travers Street and
Harper Street and convert them into a mixture of 3-bedroom family homes
with older persons accommodation on the ground floor.
• Some ground floor units would be work spaces associated with the
houses – making live / work units.
• Some units would be short rentals for visitors to local tourist destinations,
such as Middleport Pottery.
PROPOSAL FOR SITE 5 – TRAVERS STREET
FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Formal proposal to Stoke-on-Trent City Council asking that Travers Street be not demolished and the Local Forum given the opportunity to seek funding to recruit self-builders, work up a detailed scheme and carry out the proposed development.
Rejected by the City Council, but Local Forum invited to look at one of the other sites – Newport Lane – once it had been cleared by the Council.
CURRENT POSITION
The Local Forum has become a formally constituted group, to qualify for HCA support.
An application has been made to the Homes and Communities Agency for grant to produce a detailed scheme for the Newport Lane site, and make a planning application for it (not a CRTBO).
If the HCA application is approved, the Local Forum will start to recruit potential self-builders and will work with them to develop designs for a group of eco-homes on the Newport Lane site (which is now cleared).
Postscript – the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, which is refurbishing Middleport Pottery, has been given the Travers Street terrace so the Trust can refurbish the boarded-up houses.