Video Update 1 May ~ 18 new homes to be built

Stonebridge Park, St Ann’s, Nottingham.

There was more good news for St Ann’s today after Nottingham City Council approved a new development licence for Leicester Housing Association (LHA_ASRA) for land in Limmen Gardens on the Stonebridge Park Estate.

It follows the announcement that the UK economy has slipped back into a double dip recession due to a slump in the construction industry.

The news comes at a time of uncertainty for Stonebridge Park residents, of whether new construction work will begin on the estate in the near future.

The building of the first phase of 95 new houses, flats and apartments by construction firm Lovell’s, is due to for completion at the end of June.

The development agreement is required to provide Leicester Housing Association with the security of having a legal interest in the land to prevent abortive fees. A second phase of new social housing in Limmen Gardens by LHA/ASRA will provide an additional 18 new family homes for affordable rent.

It also demonstrates the City Councils' continuing commitment to transforming Nottingham's Neighbourhoods.

A City Council representative said today:

“As Construction of phase is nearing completion, LHA-ASRA is in a position to continue their development presence on the Stonebridge estate by commencing work on this new phase. This will allow apprentices and other employees associated with the development to continue their work on site.

“The development of Limmen Gardens will be linked to a separate development agreement between the City Council and Leicester Housing Association for a former sheltered housing site on Rosecroft Drive.”

The city council says the facilities at Rosecroft Drive, Sherwood, are unsuitable for older people and could not be refurbished to make it sustainable for the future. The Sherwood site is on the Edward's Lane Estate, and will cost £279,000 to pull down.

St Ann’s ASDA Event Attracts Thrilled Locals

ASDA gave St Ann’s a vote of confidence at the weekend when they unveiled plans to build a new store on the land of the former Wright & Dobson factory in Carlton Road, along with thirty new social houses on the site of the former Co-op, in what will be a £10m scheme.

 

The new store will provide employment for 200 people.

 

Chris Martin, ASDA’s senior Communications Manager said, “It means that ASDA is giving St Ann’s a vote of confidence. We aim to build a new modern store about a third the size of our Hyson Green complex, with parking for 204 vehicles along with bicycles.

 

“The car park will be accessed from Carlton Road, which will also be the main entrance to the Store. There will also be three new beacon crossings on Carlton Road to allow people to cross the road in safety.

 

“Our new ASDA store will be selling all the main food products including fruit, meat and vegetables, while a small area will be set aside for clothes aimed at children’s age groups.”

 

All ASDA stores have an in-store ‘Community Life Champion,’ who -- in consultation with others -- will decide which local charities and community projects to support, which should be beneficial for the nearby Stonebridge City Farm.

 

Chris Martin added, “I think these two Consultation events have been very successful, we had over 70 people here on Friday, and so far we have seen 50 people today.”

 

For Stonebridge City Farm the new ASDA store will provide a focus for visitors, who will be able to find the visitor attraction more easily, while locals on the nearby Stonebridge Park Estate will find the new ASDA very convenient.

 

Resident Cath Blore who lives in Flewitt Gardens said today “I am very excited that we are having a new ASDA nearby; us locals will not have far to go. TESCO in town is a struggle to get to, and then having to carry a lot of heavy shopping home.

 

“It will be brilliant for elderly and disabled people on the estate, the new ASDA store will make a real difference.”

 

Mr Nick Ebbs, the CEO of Developer Blueprint, explained what would happen next, “We will take everyone’s views on board, all the people who have come to visit our consultation event this weekend. We plan to submit a planning application to Nottingham City Council at the end of July, and if we are successful, work will begin on site early in 2013, and we are aiming for a completion date of Easter 2014, it will be something to look forward to."

ASDA Store Consultation event

“Asda and local regeneration experts, Blueprint, have been working closely together on plans to comprehensively regenerate a high profile but neglected site on Carlton Road in St Ann's. The plans include a new Asda store, with associated parking and new housing.The plans are also set to create around 200 new job opportunities for local people.

Asda and Blueprint are seeking the views of the local community prior to submitting a planning application to Nottingham City Council. A two day public exhibition is taking place on Friday 27th April (12am-7pm) and Saturday 28th April (10am-3pm) at Stonebridge City Farm, Stonebridge Road, St Ann's, NG3 2FR. Local residents are welcome to attend at any time during those times to learn more about the proposal, ask questions of the team and feed back comments.'”

Philip Bartram,
Senior Property Communications Manager,
Store Proposition,
Asda Stores Ltd,

Stonebridge set for new £2.9m Investment

This Is Nottingham

Stonebridge Park Houses are to have a major spring clean this year after Nottingham City Council agreed to provide more than £1.9m toward the venture at a special meeting on Monday. The money will be used to top up an NPower grant of £993,425 from the Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP).

 

CESP targets households across Great Britain, in areas of low income, to improve energy efficiency standards, and reduce fuel bills. There are 4,500 areas eligible for CESP money that is funded by an obligation on energy suppliers and electricity generators.

In August 2011, Nottingham City Council launched a consultations programme involving 61 households on the estate to improve their homes and allow them to blend in with the new properties now under construction. This is being funded from the Housing Revenue Account, and the homes would get new perimeter railings & fences, off road parking areas and external wall cladding.

The Scheme, which is being coordinated by Nottingham City Homes, includes Lytton Close, Eastham Close, Dennet Close, Wray Close, and parts of Flewitt Gardens & Stonebridge Road.

Tenants of Nottingham City Homes are to have the cladding free of charge while homeowners were being asked to pay a contribution of £6,000 if they lived in a three-bedroom house, and £12,000 for a four-bedroom property. However, no one took up the offer.

The New £2.9m Investment means that the scheme can now be rolled out to cover the whole of the Stonebridge Park Estate to provide cladding in addition to new doors and windows. Homeowners will still be expected to make a contribution of about £6,550, which the City Council believes is better value for money.

There is a sense of urgency as the CESP Programme ends in December, and the NPower grant needs to be spent before the end of autumn 2011.

 

Ms Loraine Crofts who lives in Eastham Close said today “This is really good news, but as a home owner we still cannot afford the £6,000 even though its better value, and I don’t think my neighbours will be able to as they are pensioners.

“When they bought their homes they spent a lot of money making them nice, and they are settled. Pensioners do not want the extra burden of this debt, although everyone on our estate has different circumstances, and this is a really good opportunity for them.”

Video Update 15 April

Stonebridge Park Estate, St Ann’s. Nottingham

With just ten weeks remaining before the completion of Phase 1a & 1b of the Regeneration Scheme, Lovell’s construction workers are working extra hard to meet the date-line of June 30th. The turf laying ceremony was on 17th December 2010 so much has happened to transform the Stonebridge Estate to what it is now, however, local residents say that the new houses, flats & apartments are too close together and have been ‘squeezed in’.

Many of the new social houses are meant for young families with children, yet they have small back yards, and an open plan frontage suitable for off road parking. The only place that children can play on is Rocket Park, which has no play equipment, and its likely to remain this way until 2013.

The new Eastham Close Road is now being constructed, and has reached the Lytton Close stretch. The roofs are going on Bollywood Apartments adjacent Beacon Hill Rise Road, and on the flats in Magson Close, while the new homes at the top of this street are complete waiting for new occupants to move in.

St Ann’s Improvements get under way

Nottingham City Homes is about to begin two major refurbishment schemes in St Ann’s under the Decent Homes programme by installing new double glazed doors in Bellevue Court flats, and new windows in other areas of the estate including Warton Avenue in Mapperley. The contract for the works has been awarded to Nationwide, who will be visiting residents over the next 21 days taking measurements.

In addition, Nottingham City Council will be funding environmental improvements to 61 residences on the Stonebridge Park Estate from the Housing Revenue Account, with Nottingham City Homes coordinating the works that begin in May.

Construction firm WATES will be erecting new fences & iron railings around properties, and building off-road parking areas in Lytton Close & Eastham Close. These environmental improvements will also take place in Dennet Close, Magson Close, Wray Close and Stonebridge Road. Nationwide will be installing new double glazed doors to these properties were required.

The residents of the front row of houses in Flewitt Gardens will begin consultations with project manager Sharon Brookes in the near future.

The external wall cladding of these properties has been a contentious issue since August 2011, as tenants of Nottingham City Homes will have the work done free of charge, while home owners have to pay up to £12,000.

A representative for Nottingham City Council said today

“I am aware of the delay re. Flewitt Gardens consultation – this is because the situation here in terms of the potential for available funding is moving extremely fast and will affect all residents so although we are aware that we need to speak to these residents we can’t do so until the position on any potential funding has been finalised. This is extremely complex and is regrettably leading to unavoidable delay while we establish the best deal for residents and the Council.”

I understand that Nottingham Energy Partnership is presently in discussions with Nottingham City Council with the view to cover the cost for homeowners so they too can have the cladding free.  Money from the Community Energy Saving Programme CESP & the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) schemes from energy companies would be used to fund the wall cladding.

Letter to Housing Minister

Richard Pearson
Stonebridge54b@hotmail.co.uk

Rt. Honourable Grant Shapps MP
Welwyn Hatfield Conservatives
Maynard House
The Common
Hatfield, AL10 0NF

5th April 2012

Dear Mr Shapps,

Social Housing Scheme ~ Stonebridge Park Estate, St Ann’s, Nottingham

I first wrote to you on 6th January 2012 in order to bring to your attention that funding for the Stonebridge Park Regeneration Scheme has stalled, and it seems unlikely there will be any further construction of social houses on Stonebridge before the end of 2013.

You did advise me that you would reply once your government department had looked into the points raised in my correspondence; however, I have not heard anything.

I have written twice to the HCA and they have not replied to my correspondence.

Nick Clegg announced £17m funding for Local Enterprise Partnerships in the autumn of 2011, of which Nottingham City Council may receive £4.5m, however, the Stonebridge Park scheme does not qualify under the criteria.

I am also advised that the Housing & Communities Agency have allocated all of its available 2012 funds to other local authorities, while giving a low priority to the Stonebridge Scheme.

All of the detailed plans for the construction of 50 new homes on Phase 2 of our Regeneration Scheme have been drawn up, the land in Limmen Gardens is prepared ready for construction works to take place, and planning permission is a formality. All that is required is government support to drive the Stonebridge Park Regeneration Scheme forward, and HCA funds to help kick start phases 2 – 4.

I enclose a Data DVD containing a file of the latest photographs of the construction works by house builder Lovell, and the recent videos of Stonebridge from January – April 2012. Additional photos & videos may be viewed on my website at: http://stonebridgeregeneration.blogspot.co.uk/

Construction work by Lovell is due for completion at the end of June, after which there may be redundancies as builders apprentices & contractors are laid off. It will also have an effect on the local economy has the supply of building materials for Stonebridge from Nottingham firms will come to a close.

I want to do all that I can to encourage dialogue between the government, HCA, and the developer Leicester Housing Association & Nottingham City Council to move the Stonebridge Park Regeneration Scheme forward.

Please can you do all that you can to provide additional funding for this stalled social housing scheme, and encourage the HCA to raise its priority level for Stonebridge Park so that kick start funding is made available in the near future.

Yours Sincerely

Richard Pearson

CC: Chris Leslie MP (Nottingham East)

Crime Figures February 2012

Melville Gardens Criminal damage 1
Jersey Gardens Theft 1
Paxton Gardens subway ASB 1
Paxton Gardens ASB 1
Eastham Close subway ASB 1
Wray Close Theft 1
ASB = Antisocial behaviour

St Ann’s Valley Centre

Right to Buy your Council House ~ Boost

Garden Gates are ‘poor workmanship’ say new home owners

ALL OF THE GARDEN GATES fitted to new homes on the Long Hedge site at the top of Magson Close, don’t fit properly, say new home owners who came to view their homes this weekend prior to moving in. The footpaths are too narrow for the gates, so they are left at odd angles, with bits of wood put in place to carry the latches. One of the new home owners advised me that they intended to complain to Estate Agents Haart who sold them the property, to ask them to do the job properly and put things right.

* Today Lovell workmen fitted new smaller gates so they closed correctly after complaints from new home owners.

Video Update 89 Days to completion

Stonebridge Park, Nottingham. UK

The Long Hedge site at the top of Magson Close is close to completion, with just the surface tarmac of the new road left to be done. The flats along Magson Close are still under construction, and now workers are concentrating on The Peverel site, Eastham Close & Dennet Close to try and get them finished on time.

I was lucky on Tuesday 27^th March and managed to have a conversation with Alex Barras (LHA_ASRA). Alex said he was confident that the Stonebridge construction works would all be completed on time at the end of June. Alex is retiring from LHA at that time so he was just overseeing the last 12 weeks of construction on the estate.

Installing the district heating pipes was a real headache he said, because every home had to be connected individually, and this meant extra trenches everywhere causing a higher risk of cutting through electric cables. The district heating installation has caused a delay, however, the good whether has allowed them to catch up.

Alex gave me some sad news about one of the 11 apprentices taken on by Lovell’s as part of the works programme. I have not been given the young man’s name; however, he died just after Christmas after a short illness. LHA_ASRA have now taken the unusual decision to rename St Matthias Apartments at the bottom of Magson Close after the apprentice.

Seven hour Power-cut hits the estate

The power cable damaged by Lovell workmen

 

AT 12 noon on Monday a number of angry residents are to hold a meeting with Mr John Shuttleworth, Lovell’s operations Manager to express how angry they are at the way they are being treated.

 

Residents & home owners in Eastham Close, and Lytton Close are all angry at the way Lovell’s (The building contractor) have blocked off the Eastham Close footpath without informing them leaving them prisoners in their own homes (Their back gates are all fenced off because a new road is under construction in Lytton Close). The postman has been unable to deliver their letters for a week! On Friday morning Lovell cut through a main electricity cable leaving part of the Stonebridge estate, and Kelverdon Gardens without power for several hours ~ which was the final straw.

Their dustbins have also not been emptied because they cannot take them out to the pick-up point.

Video Update ~ St Patrick’s day

Stonebridge Park Nottingham. UK

The new road now being constructed in Lytton Close will be completed at the end of March, the contractor WATES will then begin environmental improvements to the front & back gardens of Eastham Close and some Lytton Close homes by Installing new iron railings, wooden fences, off road parking areas and external wall cladding to residents homes.

An application for planning permission to carry out similar work to houses in Dennet Close and Lytton Close (proper) has now been submitted to Nottingham City Council.

With just 13 weeks to completion of Phase 1a & 1b, work has begun on the back yards of the houses in Eastham Close, and the roof is now ready to be put in place on the big Peverel apartment block at the junction of Blue Bell Hill Rise Road & Dennet Close Road.

Beginning in April a series of coffee mornings will be held at Stonebridge City Farm as part of the consultation process. Local residents will be able to come along and have a chat to Project Manager Sharon Brookes and WATES who will be carrying out the work.

It is anticipated that Martin Harris will also be at the coffee mornings to begin local consultations regarding Rocket Park.

Martin Harris of Nottingham City Council Parks Department gave an update to the recent SPTRA meeting. He said that his Department wanted to work with SPTRA and local residents to complete Rocket Park by installing new play equipment. He also wanted to make the estate more colourful by sowing wild flowers, poppies & bulb planting on the vacant areas where the old flats have been demolished. He then described some of the problems involved with cultivation, and said that while the NCC Parks Department do not have funding for Plants & shrubs for Stonebridge now; he thought that this can be over-come later on.

Water to cost more

From 1st April Seven Trent is to increase its water bills to customers by 8.1% – about £28 per year.

Starry Preview

Stonebridge Park, Nottingham. UK

Summer Cruise along the river Trent

The Princess Boat carries 170 passengers, together with a crew of five. Today the boat set off on a 3-1/2 hour cruise up & down the river Trent. The weather was warm and sunny, and there was lots to see, so we really enjoyed ourselves. I was accompanied by my friends June / Andrew Gaskell, and their two daughters Jessica (11) & Angelina (8) shown in this slide presentation. Our last day out was at the Robin Hood Pageant held at Nottingham Castle, and that video can also be found on this web site.

River Trent, Nottingham. UK

New Centre Set to Open on 23rd April

The New St Ann’s Valley Centre may not have a Chemist to dispense prescriptions given by GP’s ~ No announcement was made at this evening’s meeting for Friend’s of the facility.  The Centre will not have a Dentist.There is no Café.  It contains no shops.

The new centre will be officially opened on 28^th May with a community based activity and dedication ceremony, although the building will be open to the public to use from 23^rd April. The opening hours will be 8.30 am – 7pm Monday to Friday only, while St Ann’s Library will also open on Saturday’s 9am – 4pm.

The £11.6m St Ann’s Valley Centre has car parking spaces for 130 vehicles, including registered disabled, and members of staff will have permits to occupy 70 of these. A secure bicycle storage facility is located at the front of the building.

 

Tania Najuk, Nottingham City Council Project Manager began the meeting by announcing the time table of the change-over in the next few weeks.

 

St Ann’s Library will close down on the Robin Hood Chase on 4^th April, and will reopen in the new centre on 23^rd April. The library will occupy much of the ground floor of the new Centre, with a children’s resource area, and facilities for public presentations. The librarians will share the main reception desk, along with Nottingham City homes, and NHS receptionists. The library will have very modern facilities allowing members to book out their own library books, and a retrieval system inside the main entrance will allow uses to drop off their books without having to go the main desk.

 

A small quiet room near the main entrance is to be named The Jim Neil Suite. It has not been decided whether it will have a photograph of Mr Neil on the wall, although their will be some unrelated artwork; a plaque of some description will be placed on the door of the facility.

 

The Wellspring GP Practice will close down on 19^th April. There will then be an out of hour’s service in operation for patients while the practice transfers its equipment and medical records into the new Centre. The Primary care Trust facility, including GP practice, will then open to the public on 24^th April. GP facilities and receptionists are all located on the upper first floor of the St Ann’s valley centre, which is accessed by a lift & Stairs. However, the new Centre will not contain a Dental Surgery.

 

Also on the upper 1^st floor is a large private open-plan work area for around 130 members of staff, made up of Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City Homes and the NHS.

 

Subject to confirmation, the St Ann’s Housing Office on the Robin Hood Chase will close down on 19^th April, and staff will then transfer their files and equipment into the new Centre. From 23^rd April members of the public will be able to make initial enquiries at the front reception desk about their Rent, Benefits or Repairs, and a member of staff will come down to speak with them in one of the quiet reception rooms nearby.

 

Having toured the building I found it large & spacious, with good lighting and it was easy to negotiate. Project Manager Tania Najuk said that she wanted to create a team of volunteer helpers, who will help answer questions & guide members of the public to the place they wanted to be. The volunteers will all receive special training before. Anyone wishing to volunteer may contact Kate Stockwell, Project Assistant: Tel 0115 8834895 Email: kate.stockwell@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Video Update: 5 March 2012

Stonebridge Park Estate, Nottingham. UK

I quite enjoyed making this film.

It was a lovely spring afternoon with all the birds in tune. The Video begins at the Peverel site adjacent Blue Bell Hill Road, then along Dennet Road, Dennet Close, Lytton Close, and Eastham Close & back to the Peverel pub site. We over-see the new road being laid in Lytton Close.  Then onto Rocket Park, Long Hedge at the top of Magson Close, Magson Close itself, and onto St Matthias Road. The film ends with a view of the Lord Alcester public house & the New Albany Centre. The theme music at the beginning of the film is from Thunderbirds by Gerry Anderson.

Crime Figures: January 2012

Nugent Gardens: ASB 1
Hawk Ridge Gardens: ASB 1
Lytton Close: ASB 1
Flewitt Gardens: ASB 2
Melville Gardens: Drugs 2
Jersey Gardens Theft 1
St Matthias Road: Robbery 1, Vehicle crime 1, Other theft 1

ASB = Antisocial Behaviour