Clays Lane Housing Co-Op Residents Survey Report
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fluid Clays Lane Housing Co-op Residents Survey Report for the London Development Agency April 2005 1208cclayscooprp6.indd ii Fluid • April 2005 Contents Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Foreword 6 Glossary of commonly used terms 6 The Report Structure 7 Acknowledgements 7 Introduction & context 8 The Olympic Plans for the Lower Lea Valley 8 Pre-planning application 10 About the Co-operative 11 The physical context 12 Consultation 14 Aims of the Residents Survey 14 Overall Consultation methodology and approach 14 The survey methodology 16 Analysis and Findings 18 The Drop-in surgeries 45 Feedback from Surgeries 45 Overall outcomes 46 Emerging Issues 46 Existing issues 47 Relocation Issues 49 Unique qualities of Clays Lane 51 Conclusions 54 Next Steps 59 Appendices 61 International Co-operative Alliance 62 Your questions answered 63 Other London Co-ops 64 Blank questionnaires 70 Post cut-off date responses 78 CLHC planning representation 80 Clays Lane Co-operative Housing • Residents Survey 1 Executive Summary The context of the Residents Survey. Key issues from the survey responses The Clays Lane Housing Co-operative (CLHC) occupies a 2.4 hectare site in the northwest corner of the London Key issue: Self-contained homes Borough of Newham, on land that is earmarked for • Around 84% of 292 respondents would prefer a the Olympic development should London win its bid to self-contained flat to a shared house host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. The estate sits in relative isolation on raised ground. It is bounded to the north and west by the Eastway Cycle Circuit, and to the south and east by Clays Lane and Key issue: Staying within a Co-op Temple Mills Lane respectively. The Co-op provides 450 single bed spaces organised into 107 households • Over half (53%) of all interviewees would prefer across ten courts or courtyards, which comprise one to be re-housed outside a Co-operative or bedroom flats and bungalows and four, six and ten collective housing arrangement. By extraction bedroom houses. this means at least 150 residents may wish to be rehoused within some sort of Co-operative The Residents Survey exercise arose as part of the or collective housing arrangement. This number London Development Agency’s (LDA) commitment could rise to 200 if all those who were ‘unsure’ to planning conditions stemming from the Olympic are included planning applications. This specifically entails a commitment to relocate the occupants of the estate on a ‘like-for-like or better’ basis Key issue: Preferred locations Door to door surveys • Around half of respondents would prefer to remain in the Stratford area The main part of the Residents Survey took place over a 7 week period, from August to September 2004. • The majority of ideal locations are concentrated in central, north, northeast and east London Questionnaires were completed by residents in private, confidential interviews with a member of staff. Analysis and findings Key issue: Places of work A substantial part of the report takes the form of a • Workplaces are concentrated in Central to East question-by-question analysis of the survey responses. London, with some interviewees working across The information has been represented, where London and the Home Counties. appropriate, in the form of tables and charts. General information Key issue: Multi-occupancy homes Number of homes at Clays Lane 450 • There are least 30 homes that have more than one occupant some of the time Total number of interviews (including 5 couples 296 • Single parents who wish to live with their and one person about to move in, but not al- children may encounter problems when it located a room). This represents 290 rooms. comes to relocation. The LDA is committed to Number of voids identified 25 rehousing those who live at Clays Lane, but not necessarily their non-resident family members Number of additional names supplied by oc- 72 cupants Did not wish to be interviewed 2 Key issue: Car ownership Did not turn up for prearranged interview 14 • Just over 20% of respondents owns a car. By a No further information available for this home 47 projection based on the responses, around 90 of Following the cut-off date for inclusion in the report a the 450 homes would require car parking space if relocated further 10 interviews were carried out. This provides a figure of 306 interviews carried out, representing 300 homes. This corresponds to just over 70% of the 425 homes identified as occupied at the time of the Key issue: Moving out survey. • 22 residents were planning to move out within the next twelve months, a further 22 residents were unsure 2 Fluid • April 2005 Emerging issues The LDA published a summary report for residents In order to understand the issues we have grouped in early February 2005* which contained answers to them into three over-arching themes: many of the questions raised by residents during the survey. The Existing issues, Relocation issues and the Unique Character of Clays Lane. This allows us to separate The answers provided by the LDA highlight some of those issues that are particular to the current the most pressing issues for residents. At the time circumstances from those which will have an impact of writing, the answers were necessarily uncertain on the relocation process. In addition we have been in tone. However, there are several issues which able to draw out numerous qualities which are specific may need to be addressed in the light of residents’ to Clays Lane and a product of many of its unique expectations. characteristics. Existing issues The diagram below aims to collect and show the relationship between the overall findings of the Should London win the Olympic Bid, many of the existing Residents Survey. Extracts appear in the relevant issues will no longer be of concern for residents, such sections on the following pages. as problems associated with the current management and the quality of the environment. However, lessons may be learnt from the difficulties some residents have experienced, such as anti-social behaviour in large shared households, which have proved difficult to manage internally. Diagram to show the overall issues identified from the Residents Survey Complaints Function procedure Noise Money as Co-op Crime goes back Co-op into Co-op rules Delivery of Choice services Mismanagement Anti-social Conflicts Security Co-op Allocation behaviour Affordability of tenure living policy Maintenance Hygiene Management Shared households Management People Learning Finance Personal Numbers control Lack of sharing Support Ideology privacy Communal Personal and Choice Numbers living Existing issues Security mutuality Co-operative living Few Sharing children Spatial Quality of the Sense of qualities environment Diversity Community Unique Clays Lane Single character Adults People Security Health and disabilities Accessibility Gender Spatial Working from imbalance Relocation requirements home Spatial Compensation People with Issues Car parking housing qualities Quiet Accommodation needs storage Arrears Finance Quality Garden Atmosphere Pets Domestic Sharing Quality of Courtyards Affordability amenities Choice Location Family Location the Couples environment Process Open Non-Olympic Family Self Housing Specific spaces contained Neighbours design Timescale Work locations homes Delivery Local Well Access Travellers Security Management Public Transport amenities kept Student Communication Transport halls links Maintenance Who Outside Within Co-op Local Co-op Leisure Medical amenities Parks & schools open Shops space 1208c issues diagram.ai *Clays Lane Housing Co-op, Residents Survey - Report for the London Development Agency, January 2005 Clays Lane Co-operative Housing • Residents Survey 3 Relocation issues Eligibility “The aim is to relocate all residents regardless of Uncertainty over the future of the Co-op as an whether they are members of the Co-op.”* organisation and as a place. The current status of the Co-op as a fully constituted There are several residents who appear not to be Registered Social Landlord has been the subject of a members of the Co-op. Their status is unclear. It is dispute with the Housing Corporation in recent years. our understanding that the legal dispute between the The uncertainty this has brought about has been Co-op and the Housing Corporation has impeded the exacerbated by the impact of London’s bid to host the Co-op management’s powers to evict residents. There 2012 Olympic Games. are numerous residents who live outside the strictures of the Co-ops policy on cohabiting, families, etc. The Some of the uncertainty over the future of the Co-op LDA has made a commitment to re-house all those will be addressed when the International Olympic living on the estate. This may be a difficult matter for Committee make their decision on 6 July 2005. If the Bid some who are separated from partners but still have is successful relocation will follow, and residents can responsibility for childcare, and who wish to move to then be further engaged in the process, with the LDA new accommodation with their children. giving due consideration to their personal preferences and needs, as promised. Exercising choice One particular area of uncertainty about the relocation The Non-Olympic scenario process is the extent to which residents will be able to “The Lower Lea Valley has been identified as a exercise choice. For example, residents are aware that regeneration priority and development in some form is the LDA is committed to providing accommodation at likely to happen”* least ‘as good as’ they currently have. Two questions However, if the Bid is unsuccessful, many residents that arose were what would happen if they turned will have had their expectations raised that they will be down what they were offered, and whether they would relocated anyway, as the LDA have said that the area is be able to choose who they were to live with? earmarked for regeneration anyway.