The future of "sink estates" has been decided?

Not long ago the Government announced plans to radically transform run-down estates. The plans were understandably welcomed with a hint of caution by the property industry. It’s a double dilemma – you are getting a sparkly new home but it dawns on you that you live in one of the most run-down housing estates in the UK. In total 100 so-called sink estates will either be renovated or completely knocked down all for around £140m. This to me is a good attempt by the Government to revive areas of some cities but the detail of what will be built in their place is sketchy – what we don’t want to see is reductions in estate sizes further adding to the housing crisis.

Born and raised in Sheffield, I know too well that there are certain areas of the city with some very old council estates that are in need of regeneration, but that process must treat existing residents fairly and it is good to see guarantees will be provided to existing tenants – wonder where they will be housed during the construction phase? Has this even been considered? Let’s not kid ourselves though – this is not going to be as easy as the Government is making out but when done properly (like the award winning Park Hill development by Urban Splash) it can be stunning and completely regenerate an area.

In a recently published report called Completing London’s Streets, it found that at least 54,000 homes and up to 360,000 additional homes, could be accommodated within existing estates through a new approach to estate regeneration. The numbers speak for themselves and could create something really special – a ‘complete street’ so to speak with a combination of terraced houses, mid-rise mansion blocks and refurbished towers integrated into a human-scale streetscape.  

This approach is something I’ve previously commented on. By taking existing sites – whether “sink estates” or public estate – additional housing can be provided at reasonable costs. The city of the future needs to prepare for the megatrend that is urbanisation! A key word is “reasonable costs”.

But strong population growth is putting pressures on infrastructure, the environment and the social fabric of the city. The number of people living in urban slums has risen by a third since 1990. And whilst cities occupy 0.5% of the world’s land surface, they consume 75% of its natural resources. Cities cannot keep growing in the same way without becoming unsustainable. City leaders will be presented with difficult choices if growing cities are to remain liveable cities. City leaders need to develop a new city or replacing the underlying parts of its current design – look at Masdar or Migaa as examples.

The needs of cities is evolving. Land is a limited resource in the UK – by regenerating what is already present to provide more housing but at an increased level of quality it feels like this is a solution that needs addressing and progressing as soon as.

Feel free to contact me 0113 288 2276 or lee.a.wilkinson@uk.pwc.com if you wish to discuss this blog or anything relevant to property and construction.

 

Enjoy the weekend

Lee