Throughout the UK the pressure to build new housing is forming attitudes to the future reuse of large swathes of post WW2 housing stock. This is now managed by RSL’s (Registered Social Landlords) or still by Local Councils.
Much of this stock is problematic and not worthy of refurbishment to today’s higher sustainability demands. Often, its mix is wrong, a poor fit for actual housing needs. It is also in today’s terms of low density, but is located close enough to town and city centres to justify new provision at the higher densities that support the new public transport systems and low car lifestyles our society will need. But such remodelling and replacement of existing housing stock is challenging now with so much of the stock already sold off under Right to Buy Legislation.
Much one to one consultation with households is needed within these project programmes to achieve the kind of regeneration consensus essential to good outcomes. We have led such programmes involving Local Authority estate regeneration around Cheltenham’s GCHQ employment hub, in Taunton and in Weston Super Mare in Somerset. Each such exercise commissioned was part funded by central government programmes that challenge Local Authorities to test their options for brownfield land to contribute to housing demand.