The Mayor of North Tyneside, Linda Arkley, will literally ‘bring the house down’ today, Thursday 3 March, as she helps to pull over a house in Blyth Close, Dudley.  The event will mark the launch of a key regeneration scheme for the area being led by Cheviot Housing Association and North Tyneside Council.

Worth almost £4 million the project will start immediately and will take place over two phases.  The completed scheme will provide 36 high quality, affordable new homes for rent or shared ownership.  These will include a mix of two bedroom bungalows and two, three and four bedroom family houses.  Overall the new homes will provide accommodation for around 140 people.  Phase One is due for completion by November 2005 with Phase Two due to start in December finishing at the end of 2006.

A key feature of the scheme is the demolition and replacement of 55 houses (photo attached) which were built in the 1960s by shipbuilders Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn as they attempted to diversify away from the declining shipbuilding industry.

The principal contract has been won by Dunelm Property Services, the social housing construction and refurbishment division of the award-winning regional construction company, Esh Group.

Commenting on the Scheme, Paul Tanney, Head of Housing at North Tyneside Council said;
‘This is a really important day for the residents of Blyth Close Estate.  We started consultations with them in the middle of 2003 and I think it’s fair to say we’ve all looked forward to today since then. The houses we are replacing speak for themselves, they suffer from a number of problems and our aim is to provide better quality accommodation for the people of Dudley.’

David Halfacre, Managing Director, Dunelm Property Services, said;
‘Our team working on the project, led by Construction Manager Ian Shepherd, will include customer care staff who, alongside Cheviot Housing, will indeed keep in touch with residents throughout the project’.

‘We expect to make good progress - the new homes will be constructed using timber frame technology in line with stringent ‘ECO Homes’ standards.  This method has many advantages and can reduce construction time and improve quality, and it is quite usual to see houses erected to roofing stage in less than two weeks’.

A Steering Group, involving a number of Blyth Close residents, local councillors and partners from North Tyneside Council, has been working closely with Cheviot Housing Association to agree the layout of the new estate, the type of housing, and the internal designs of the new homes themselves.  As part of the consultation process residents have visited a number of Cheviot Housing Association estates to see at first hand the options available, such as kitchen ranges and floor coverings, which will enable them to personalise their homes

Ian Armstrong, Deputy Chair of Cheviot Housing Association continued;
‘At Cheviot we believe that local people are best placed to advise us of the issues affecting them; their input is essential if we are to provide solutions which really work and we’ve a long track record of working in this way. We’re delighted to be working with the residents of Blyth Close and representatives from North Tyneside Council and to be replacing these houses which are cold and very difficult to maintain with homes which, as you can see, will be attractive, practical and energy efficient.’

John Oliver, a resident representative on the Steering Group was also involved in the selection and appointment of the principal contractor, Dunelm Property Services.  Mr Oliver said;
‘We were very pleased to be involved in the design of both the estate and the houses.  We were also pleased to have a say in which company would do this work.  We are confident that Cheviot and Dunelm Property Services will deliver our new homes to a very high standard; they are both well known, have good reputations and have already shown they’ve got the best interests of the residents of Dudley at heart by keeping us up to date on a regular basis.’

The Dudley Regeneration Project is being funded by the North East Housing Board, the Housing Corporation and Cheviot Housing Association.
Commenting on the day Mayor, Linda Arkley, said;
‘North Tyneside Council has a long history of successfully delivering regeneration schemes. This is an excellent example of a housing regeneration project.  Quality collaboration between local people, the Council, the Housing Association, funding bodies and the contractor – all designed to benefit the householders and their environment.’

Cheviot Housing Association is a Registered Social Landlord formed in 1969 and aims to provide good quality affordable homes and excellent management and maintenance services. Operating throughout the North East, Cheviot offers a wide range of property types, for single people, families, the elderly and people with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and other special requirements. Homes are available to rent, under shared ownership and supported housing arrangements and a management service is available to the owners of leasehold property. Cheviot is governed by a voluntary Board of Management whose members are drawn from all aspects of the community. They bring their many talents and experience to bear in dealing with the complex and demanding decisions which face registered social landlords.  More information is available at www.cheviot-housing.co.uk

Dunelm Property Services, part of Esh Group, is currently involved in housing regeneration projects throughout the North East of England valued at over £25m.

Based in the North East Esh Group provides construction and construction related services to both public and private sector clients.  The Group has turnover in excess of £90m and employs around 700 people. In 2004 Esh Group won the prestigious ‘Company of the Year Award’ for the North East region.  The North East Housing Board works to make sure that housing policies blend better with other plans and strategies in the North East region.  The main work of the Board is to produce the Regional Housing Strategy (RHS). This strategy advises government ministers on where best to spend money on housing.

The Board is also responsible for advising ministers on how to spend the Single Housing Investment Pot (SHIP). This funding is for local authorities and housing associations. For the two years up to 2006, it is worth £170 million in this region.  More information can be found at www.nehb.org.uk

The Housing Corporation is responsible for investing public money in housing associations and for protecting that investment and ensuring it provides decent homes and services for residents.  Through regulation it seeks to ensure that people will want, and be able, to live in these homes, now and in the future. Over the next three years £3 billion will be spent to enable Housing Associations to provide 85,000 new homes. More details can be found at www.housingcorp.gov.uk