Refurbishment of existing properties: Page Hall area

Sheffield City Council's 'homes for the future' case study

Summary

Page Hall is an area of Sheffield, comprising of over 500 tightly packed, straight to street, small terraced houses. It forms part of the Burngreave and Fir Vale Housing Market Renewal (HMR) area.

During the early master planning, demolition was put forward as an option for dealing with the area. This met with significant community opposition and the council agreed to explore alternative solutions.

Working with an enabler, local people identified their regeneration priorities. One of the priorities was the development of a project that would encourage individual owners to invest in their own properties.

The showcase project aimed to create four themed refurbished homes from five existing empty properties.

Making it happen

Sheffield council organised a competition for members of the HMR Designer Panel for the showcase refurbishment of five of the empty properties in Page Hall, previously bought by South Yorkshire Housing Association.

This project aims to transform the image of Page Hall as a residential neighbourhood; attracting new residents into the area whilst improving the environment for the existing community.

The council was looking for interesting and innovative design solutions, but it was crucial that the designs were accessible to a wide-ranging audience and could be replicated in other similar properties.

The competition required that architects submit suggestions for improving identified properties under the following themes:

The 21st century terrace:

• internal alterations picking up city living/urban loft concepts
• upgrade to current building standards
• decorative makeover

The ECO terrace:

• reduce carbon footprint compared to existing homes. For example, by using solar panels to provide hot water to the property and increasing and improving insulation
• upgrade to beyond existing sustainability standards
• minimal internal alterations
• decorative makeover using sustainable products and materials

Twice the terrace:

• radical internal alterations to two adjacent houses to create one larger home
• upgrade to current building standards
• decorative makeover

The healthy terrace:

• a non-radical refurbishment that will improve the health of the occupants.  We may also explore fitting ‘SMART’ technology within the home to help regulate appliances
• alterations to improve safety
• alterations to meet some lifetime homes aspirations

The vacant properties presented a unique opportunity to show what could be achieved with small pre1919 terraced houses; making them a more viable and attractive housing option for modern living.

As the properties were owned by South Yorkshire Housing Association (SYHA), the council acquired the properties for a nominal cost of £1 per property.

The whole project is managed by the East Sheffield Regeneration Team, working with various internal and external partners.

The refurbishment work has been carried out by Kier Sheffield Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) under the ‘Construction and Building Services’ contract framework.

This scheme allows the council to negotiate contracts with Kier Sheffield LLP in return for the establishment and delivery of an education, training and employment plan for the most disadvantaged people across the city.

Key learning

The objectives for the Page Hall Showcase Housing Refurbishment project are:

• to demonstrate innovative but affordable refurbishment options for the housing type found in Page Hall
• to kick-start the regeneration of the housing in the area by bringing five empty properties back into use
• to set a high standard of design for future housing regeneration projects both locally and nationally. Linking in with the Building Research Establishments ‘Rethinking Housing Refurbishment’ to bring about change in the way existing properties are refurbished
• to provide high-quality affordable housing to owner occupiers choosing to invest in Page Hall
• to create high-quality homes that will raise the local price ceiling, bringing it closer to similar housing areas in other parts of the city

Once the showcase homes are refurbished open days and exhibitions will be held to enable residents to see the changes that can be made.

Making a difference

Once the refurbishment has taken place, the properties will be sold in a phased approach. This should ensure that the housing market is not flooded and deflates prices for other local residents hoping to sell in the Page Hall area.

Prospective owners from the Skinnerthorpe and Bagley Road area - where the council is carrying out an acquisition and demolition programme as part of our regeneration of the area - may be able to take advantage of a ‘Relocation Appreciation Loan’.

The loan will help meet any gap between the market value of their existing home and the cost of purchasing one of the refurbished properties in Page Hall.

Local residents are kept informed about progress through a quarterly newsletter which is delivered to all homes. In addition the council is also holding a residents meeting on a quarterly basis.

To tie the strands of the project together, a local Construction Training Company was commissioned to run a series of ‘do it yourself’ courses for local residents. These covered some of the more basic aspects. For example, how to handle power tools, electrical maintenance.

During September and October the council provided information sessions on aspects of building refurbishment for local people. Specialists were arranged to come in and cover a different topic each week. For example, what funding might be available towards house improvements for home owners; information about the ‘Low Carbon Buildings Programme’ and other renewable energy sources.

Next steps

This exhibition will kick start a number of events. We want to share the findings of the project, not just with local people, but with Architects practices and local building companies.

A DVD has been produced outlining the project. The DVD will be available long after the houses have been sold.

Further information

For further information contact:

Amanda James, Regeneration Team

tel: 0114 261 7264
email Amanda.james@sheffield.gov.uk