Havering Council and Wates Residential are celebrating four years since contracts were signed and work began to regenerate 12 council estates across the borough, overhauling the council’s existing accommodation to make it fit for the future.
Phase one of the Havering ‘12 Estates’ regeneration programme, will see residents moving in from this winter, with the Napier and New Plymouth developments in Rainham the first to be completed. 197 high-quality homes will replace two outdated 13-storey tower blocks to improve the provision of affordable homes for local people. This will be followed by the Waterloo Estate in Romford and Solar, Serena and Sunrise Courts in Hornchurch. All residents who have been moved off the sites to enable the regeneration are guaranteed the right to return.
The Chippenham Road Estate is the first site to be brought forward as part of Phase 2 of the regeneration project.
Since the joint venture began in 2018, it has been working to deliver a borough-wide lasting legacy, with the latest figures revealing that it has generated almost £19m in social value for the local area. As well as spending over £44m with SMEs and over £200,000 with charities and community causes, it has made significant investments in skills, training and education initiatives.
The social value programme has been created and shaped specifically to the needs of the Havering community and is focused on supporting the local economy and creating opportunities for the borough as the UK recovers from COVID-19. To date, 273 local people have benefitted from employment and skills initiatives, in addition to 2,621 students who have been supported by education activities and programmes.
This includes 30 local students who recently received a full day’s training in film production with Mediorite. Taught how to understand a brief, form ideas and concepts, practical camera skills, shooting as a team and basic edit and screening, [insert number] were then given the opportunity to undertake paid work experience over the Jubilee weekend to help create a commemorative film for residents capturing the weekend’s festivities.
New Leader of Havering Council, Councillor Ray Morgon, said: “At this moment of retrospection at all that has been achieved by the joint venture partnership over the past four years, I am delighted to have the opportunity to also look forward to the fresh start and our burgeoning relationship under the new administration that I lead.
“I am excited about the delivery of the 12 Estates regeneration scheme, which undoubtedly benefits our residents, businesses and the wider community. The new homes being built are vital for our residents but we are keen to continue to maximise the wider opportunities for our community through social value investment.
“As one of our first roles, the Cabinet and I very much look forward to welcoming residents back to the Napier and New Plymouth Site in Rainham next month for an update visit around the properties as they approach completion.”
Hugh Jeffery, Regional Development Director at Wates Group commented: “It feels like yesterday that we were pulling together our proposal for the Havering 12 Estates regeneration project. Four years later, it is incredible to reflect on how far we have come, with our first site Napier and New Plymouth almost complete. This regeneration has always been about more than homes and as a team we are immensely proud of the community benefits we have been able to deliver, supporting the local people now and into the future.”
A short animation detailing the achievements of the joint venture partnership can be viewed on Havering Council’s YouTube channel.
