Out-Law News 1 min. read
25 Jun 2015, 3:56 pm
Alma Estate is one of the Council's priority areas for redevelopment and investment as the estate is costly to maintain and has structural defects. Following an extensive consultation with local residents, 84% of the residents supported the regeneration plan.
The £150 million project will be phased over the next 10 years and completion of the entire estate is expected in 2026. In order to speed up development, the developer has submitted two planning applications at the same time: an outline planning application for the whole estate, and a full planning application for 'phase 1a'.
The outline planning application is for the demolition of existing buildings and the construction of up to 993 new homes. Of these 993 new units, there will be 312 one bed units, 497 two bed units, 153 three bed units, 30 four bed units and one five bed unit. There will be 399 units allocated as affordable housing, split between intermediate and social rental units. The proposal also contains plans for retail space, restaurants, cafes, community spaces, health facilities, car parks, open and play spaces and public realm works.
The full planning application for phase 1a will cover one hectare of land and will see the construction of 228 new homes located in two buildings, four and 16 storeys high. Of these 228 homes, 132 units will be allocated as affordable housing. Phase 1a will also include the building of restaurants, a gym, open space, cycle storage, car parking and highway works.
The Council has confirmed that "secure council tenants will either be able to move into a new build home in the new development or can bid on the Choice Based Lettings System to find a new council home in the borough to meet their housing needs and permanently move away from the estate".
Planning expert Anna Forge of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "The Alma Estate is typical of a number of local authority housing estates built during the 1960s with all the attendant problems including serious overcrowding and a lack of sufficiently sized homes for families."
"Following decades of local authorities acting as enablers of social housing Enfield is looking to revert to the role of provider. With the clear support of residents and the back drop of compulsory purchase powers if required the scheme looks to be eminently achievable," said Forge.
"Council reports suggest that the scheme is to be funded through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), underpinned by a robust financial analysis which indicated that the performance of the HRA business plan would be improved if the Council owns the new housing rather than disposing of the land to a housing association," she said.