SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES CASE STUDY Attwood Green OVERVIEW The community of Attwood Green be flawed. The high density living and low represents various inner-city council estates durability of the dwellings and escalating in Birmingham and previously known as: the maintenance costs led to the environment Central Area Estates representing Lee becoming degraded and when allied to Bank, Woodview, Benmore, Five Ways and economic downturn in manufacturing, meant the Clydesdale Towers. The demise of the housing estates were no longer viable. Local City’s manufacturing base over the past 25 residents, dismayed by the lack of expenditure years has produced a and degradation of the surrounding legacy of empty environment, led a high profile campaign, calling factories and mass for the City to regenerate the housing estates. unemployment. Income and Employment The Indices of Deprivation for England in 2007 showed that Lee Bank was within the 2% of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England. Housing Birmingham: The 1991 census revealed that 97.2% of Lee development of Bank residents lived in rented accommodation, Attwood Green the vast majority (92.6%) being council tenants. Communities within the Central Area Health Estates have been hit particularly hard by The Central Area Estates have experienced the economic decline and attending social higher mortality levels and have below average deprivation. life expectancy. The 2001 census reveals that The £550 million project involves the more than 30% of Ladywood residents demolition of 1400 homes, the described their general health as ‘not good’. refurbishment of 1200 homes and the Crime construction of 1300 new homes for sale The Central Estates have in recent times been and rent. The regeneration project started in associated with and stigmatized by the 2000 and is expected to be completed by prevalence of drug related crime including 2014. violent crime and prostitution. The regeneration of Attwood Green is Education, Skills and Training viewed by many as an innovative approach to urban renewal and may provide a good Statistics published in 2003 revealed that 22% practice framework for similar projects. of Birmingham’s working age population had no formal qualifications, compared with a national average of 14.8%. BACKGROUND Cultural diversity within the community is The Central Area Estates were developed in responsible for wide ranging educational the mid 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s to provide requirements. Schools are often presented with superior housing for the residents of the pupils from a multitude of backgrounds and dilapidated terraced slums. As tower blocks faiths. For many such pupils there is little or no and low rise maisonettes the replacement ability to communicate or understand English. dwellings offered the novelty of high-rise One in 5 adults displayed below average literacy living. Such innovation, however, proved to and numeracy skills. Key Words Empowerment Community, Housing Neighbourhood Partnership THE PROJECT Visionary Planning Birmingham City Council to Optima in June A primary redevelopment vision for the 1999. Central Area Estates of the City was Optima and Birmingham City Council entered a outlined in the late 1980’s. Having become partnership in which to undertake a regeneration steadily degraded over the preceding of the 5 estates including Lee Bank. Optima are decades the need for change had become a unique social landlord in the sense that it is evident. defined as a private company, combining In 1998, Birmingham hosted the Highbury distinctive traits from both the public and private Initiative. This event was attended by sectors. Having been established in 1999, professionals as well as local stakeholders, Optima are regulated by charity law under the with the aim of developing the city centre. auspices of the Housing Corporation. The vision was of the community as a Optima in partnership with the City work very vibrant hub, characterised by thriving closely with architects and design teams to business, quality accommodation with create a vision of how the community should be entertainment and leisure facilities befitting developed. A key commitment to this process such a diverse culture. was to engage with local residents and to As part of these ambitious regeneration encourage their participation. Links were proposals, the Lee Bank housing estate was developed with established local housing earmarked for a substantial overhaul, with associations representing the 5 estates. In the City estimating the cost to be addition those residents not involved in housing approximately £200 million. Following two associations could still become involved by unsuccessful attempts to receive funding means of site walkabouts, road shows, social from the Central Government’s Estate events and formal meetings. Action scheme, it was clear that funding The commitment to the community is would have to be sourced elsewhere. represented in that seven of the fifteen The solution which emerged was that of the members of Optima’s Board of Directors are Estates Renewal Challenge Fund (ERCF). local residents. Such local influence has The ERCF was a controversial initiative dictated all aspects of decision making and has acting as a vehicle to transfer council owned proclaimed the regeneration of Attwood Green housing stock into the private sector. This as a national standard bearer for inner city funding route was widely supported by the renewal. majority of residents but was rejected by the The Master Plan City Council in 1996. The regeneration of the Central Area Estates Optima Housing Association began by re-branding the communities into what Local activists unhappy with the actions of was to be henceforth known as Attwood Green. the City arranged a number of high profile The regeneration of Attwood Green has been ‘direct action’ stunts designed to attract set against a 10 year timescale with completion widespread media attention - including due in 2011 with the construction of 3500 new rooftop protests and bill board advertising. homes, 1122 of which will be available for rent. Such desperate and prolonged action finally The ERCF provided a grant of £49.8 million for succeeded in the pressuring the Council the development of Attwood Green. Additional into allowing residents self determination funding from the private sector and other with regard to an ERCF stock transfer. sources was also expected. In partnership with Following this, tenants voted with a the City, Mercian Housing Association and Crest significant majority (62%) to transfer the Nicholson house builders, the objective is to responsibility for the housing stock from the provide a sustainable community through the City to an independent social landlord with process of regeneration. In addition, the project charitable status known as the Optima will receive funds from the private sector and Community Association. Following this other sources. move, 2800 homes were transferred from Page 2 As Optima state: Alongside new homes, the development of shops, hotels and leisure facilities means ‘Communities aren’t just about houses, they’re about people: the homes they live in; employment for the local community. their skills to get jobs; their children’s Importantly however, the plans have not education; their health and fitness; their neglected the importance of green spaces safety and their involvement in making where people can relax and enjoy the ambient decisions about the area they live in.’ surroundings. The area of Attwood Green falls between Park Central in Attwood Green provides a good two districts, Edgbaston and Ladywood. example of a flexible masterplan set within Despite the City maintaining a strategic strong development frameworks, where different direction, increasingly more power is services and new facilities have been planned, devolved to district level. This has required but will be located on streets where they can share catchments with neighbouring effective collaboration between the district developments Bailey et al. (2007) strategic partnerships with regard to interpretation and implementation of City The new housing will be released to the market plans. in a series of phases with Crest Nicholson envisaging the completion of 250 units per The vision of Attwood Green is consistent annum. The demand has been phenomenal with with Birmingham’s 1990 City Centre Urban the first two phases having already sold off-plan. design Strategy which envisaged a ‘barrier free’ city, free from the ‘concrete collar’ of Mixed Income Housing motorway intersections which had Park Central today is a mixture of social rented surrounded the city centre and impeded and private property situated within the same pedestrian movement. This strategy was blocks and rows. Unusually however, it is incorporated into the 1993 Unitary impossible to tell the difference between them, Development Plan. The transformation of such is the quality of design and build. The area the city centre has seen a formerly is characterised by thoughtful and innovative depressive environment become a vibrant use of public space evident in ‘Sunset Park’ and and colourful hub where people want to live ‘Moonlit Park’. The immediate perception is one and work. These themes are continued in of exclusivity. However, this is one urban the publication of The Big City Plan, development that is not the preserve of the outlining a vision for the city over the next wealthy. 20 years. Indeed the key to the success of Attwood Green Park Central is mixed development. John Calcutt, chief The Lee Bank Estate is no more. The executive of Crest Nicholson, was quoted in The largest of the 5 estates and the one which Times (28 May 2004) as saying, ‘it was a the casual observer would be most familiar mistake in the past to push all poor people with has undergone not just a physical together. We need to stop wasting tens of renewal, but an image makeover in the first millions of pounds all over the place on repairs major phase of the regeneration of Attwood and improvements when what we really need is Green.