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The People's Plan: Cressingham Gardens Estate warm and informal… one of the nicest small schemes in England1 Cover Submitted 4th March 2016. Contacts: Tom Keene: CGE Leaseholder | [email protected] | 07930 573 944 Andy Plant: CGE Tenant | [email protected] | 07842 112 015 This document has been produced by the residents of Cressingham Gardens Estate (CGE) with technical support from a team of local expert architects, viability consultants and surveyors, as well as industry professionals from further afield. Where relevant, specific expertise has been credited within the text. We would like to thank every contribution to this intensely collaborative document, no matter how small. 70+ people attended The People’s Plan launch event 23rd Feb 2016 1 Quote from Lord Esher, past president of the Royal Institute o f British Architects (RIBA), after its completion in 1981. Summary The Peoples Plan (TPP) places existing residents at the heart of the regeneration of CGE, and can provide 33+ additional homes at council rent level, helping reduce the London Borough of Lambeths (LBL) housing waiting list. TPP proposes a full refurbishment and build programme that can be funded by a range of options from fully council to fully external. This proposal: ● Minimises negative environmental and social impact. ● Costs vastly less than the proposed £111m for Council Option 5. ● Has a positive NPV (£6.6m) over just 30 years compared to a negative NPV (-£19.4m) for Option 5 over 60 years. ● Has strong support from CGE residents, wider Lambeth residents and other groups such as homeowners at Parkview Court & homes on Trinity Rise which are also at risk of demolition. Most importantly, TPP improves the condition and keeps people in the homes that they love, while supporting both the longevity of the current thriving community and existing housing stock. We are already in conversation with a number of funding organisations who are in the position to finance a community-owned structure, as was stated in the executive summary of TPP submitted February 19th 2016. In response to Lambeth officers stating that no proof of additional funding had been provided at the subsequent February 25th 2016 exhibition, we are willing to disclose the proof of these commercially sensitive discussions via an independent and neutral third party. Similarly, we would like to point out that no proof of additional funding has been provided for any of the Councils options. Secondly, in an attempt to make Option 5 financially viable Council officers have proposed that £7.5m is loaned by LBL that has erroneously been accounted for as income in order to make the NPV calculation positive2 , see Funding sources section for more information. In order that TPP and all Council Options are assessed under the same criteria, this fund should also be available to all TPP options under the same terms. Though even without this fund TPP is still financially viable. List of appendices A. Images from TPP Jan - Mar 2016 survey B. Social Life Wellbeing Report & Booklet C. SAVE Britains Heritage - Letter to the Council D. English Heritage report E. Original Design Brochure (1960s) by Lambeth F. Sturgis Report: Renewable Technologies G. Sturgis Report: Green Retrofit H. Judicial Review Ruling I. Tall Survey: Summary J. Trowers & Hamlins Report to GLA June 2014 K. Academic research: Voight, Shinn & Nation (2012) L. HRA Debt Analysis M. Re-created Option 5 Financial Model N. TPP Financial Viability Analysis 2 Lambeths financial datasheets published online 16th February 2016; paper copies provided to residents at Viability workshop 18th February 2016 The People's Plan: Cressingham Gardens Estate 2 Index of content Cover Summary List of appendices Index of content 1. Introduction 2. The Peoples Plan vs Councils Option 5 (Full Demolition) 2.1 Policy & Legal Risk 2.2 Tenants Rights 2.3 Financial Impact on Tenants 2.4. Financial Impact on Homeowners 2.5 Target Tenancy Strategy 2.6. New Home Affordability 2.7 Comparison of Financial Viability 2.7.1 NPV Comparison 2.7.2 Missing Assumptions 2.7.3 Lambeths £7.5m Loan 2.7.4 Homeowner Retention Assumption 3. The Peoples Plan Proposal 3.1 Baseline – Lambeth Housing Standard (LHS) Refurbishment 3.2 Additional Housing - Undercover Car Park Conversion 3.3 Additional Housing – Crosby Voids 3.4 Additional Housing - Meeting Demographic Need 3.5 Green Retrofit & Renewable Technologies Programme 3.5.1 Refurbishment vs Demolition 3.5.2 Phase 1: Basic Green Retrofit 3.5.3 Photovoltaics/Solar Panels 3.5.4 Zero Net Energy Energiesprong / Enerphit Passivhaus 3.5.5 Further Green Initiatives 3.5.5.1 Green space strategy 3.5.5.2 Water management 3.5.6 Improved Accessibility 3.2 Housing Allocation & Mutual Swap Programme 3.2.1 Examples 3.4 Additional Community Initiatives 3.4.1 Health & Wellbeing 3.4.2 Community Assets 3.4.3 Children & Youth 3.4.4 Community Opportunities 3.4.5 Connectivity 4. Preserving the Value of Cressingham Gardens 4.1 The Community 4.2 Low Crime 4.3 Architectural Heritage 4.4 Integration with Brockwell Park and Environment 4.5 Estate Layout 4.6 Design of Homes 5. Estate Management Options 5.1 Management of the Estate 5.2 Why support alternative management? 5.3 Right to Manage 5.4 Right to Transfer The People's Plan: Cressingham Gardens Estate 3 5.5 Do Nothing 5.6 Summary of Estate Management Options 6. Financial Viability 6.1 Baseline – LHS Refurbishment 6.2 Additional Housing – Undercover Car Park Conversion 6.3 New & Additional Housing – Crosby Voids 6.4 Green Retrofit & Renewable Technologies 6.4.1 Phase 1 Basic Green Retrofit 6.4.2 Photovoltaics/Solar Panels 6.4.3 Zero Net Energy Energiesprong / Enerphit Passivhaus 7. Five funding Structures & their Implication 7.1 Structure 1: Lambeth 7.1.1 Housing Revenue Account (HRA) debt 7.1.2 Forfaiting / factoring 7.1.3 Grant funding 7.2 Structure 2: TMO/Lambeth 7.3 Structure 3: Sale & Leaseback with Community Entity 7.4 Structure 4: Full Community Ownership 7.5 Structure 5: Energiesprong 8. Funding sources 8.1 Grant funding 8.1.1 Government Grants 8.1.2 EU Grants 8.1.3 Charitable Grants 8.1.4 CSR Grants & Support 8.1.5 Crowd Funding 8.2 Debt 8.2.1 Banks & Loan Aggregators 8.2.2 Insurance & Pension Funds 8.2.3 Bonds 8.2.4 Social Impact Debt 8.3 Quasi-Debt 8.3.1 Long-term Contracts 8.4 Equity & Quasi-equity Instruments 8.5 Green Funds 8.5.1 ECO funding 8.5.2 European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF) 8.6 Other 8.6.1 Forfaiting/ Factoring 8.6.2 Single Capital Pot Loan £7.5m 9. Assessments 9.1 Criteria for assessment 9.2 Wellbeing Assessment 9.2.1 Mental & Physical Wellbeing 9.2.2 Children & Youth 9.2.3 HACT Analysis 9.3 Policy and Legal Risk Assessment 9.3.1 Right-to-Buy Extension to Housing Associations 9.3.2 SPVs not to be used to circumvent right-to-buy 9.3.3 SPVs not to be used to avoid HRA cap to provide affordable housing 9.4 Leading heritage organisation support 9.4.1. The Twentieth Century Society 9.4.2. SAVE Britain's Heritage The People's Plan: Cressingham Gardens Estate 4 9.4.3. English Heritage (now Historic England) 9.4.4. Brockwell Park Community Partners 9.4.5. Other local organisations 10. Appendix A. Images from TPP Jan - Mar 2016 survey B. Social Life Wellbeing Report C. SAVE Britains Heritage - Letter to the Council D. English Heritage report E. Original Design Brochure (1960s) by Lambeth F. Sturgis Report: Renewable Technologies G. Sturgis Report: Green Retrofit H. Judicial Review Ruling I. Tall Survey: Summary J. Trowers & Hamlins Report to GLA June 2014 K. Academic research: Voight, Shinn & Nation (2012) L. HRA Debt Analysis M. Re-Created Option 5 Financial Model N. TPP Financial Viability Analysis The People's Plan: Cressingham Gardens Estate 5 1. Introduction The People's Plan (TPP) is a strategy which offers Lambeth Council a viable alternative to demolition of Cressingham Gardens Estate (CGE) for consideration as part of its consultation. Residents have created TPP with help from local architects, quantity surveyors and finance experts. It places residents at the centre of the regeneration programme and assists the council in fulfilling its stated programme level regeneration aims of building 1,000 extra homes at council rent levels and enhancing the quality of existing homes. It does so in a way which takes on board the economic reality of local housing finances. TPP provides an evidence-based opportunity for the council and the community to fulfil these shared aims and meet the council's own criteria for assessment. The Plan also fulfils additional aims that have been defined as a priority for: CGE residents, local community groups and central government. These additional aims can be summarised as: ● Prevent unnecessary demolition - to minimise negative impacts on social well-being and the environment ● Keep people in their homes ● Preserve the community support network developed over many years ● Conserve the original vision for the estate (integration with park setting, mix of generations and backgrounds, convivial layout enhancing life quality from social and family point of view) ● Significantly improve the quality of repairs and maintenance ● Further improve wellbeing and add value via a range of community and innovation opportunities ● Improve the carbon footprint of the estate ● No or minimal impact on Brockwell Parks environs and views, including the section of CGE which is already part of the Brockwell park conservation area. TPP takes full account of the inherent value of the estate, which residents have a deep desire to protect and maintain for future generations.