Living at Kidbrooke Village Foreword his work has been supporting thriving communities commissioned to from academic research, policy understand what life is and practical experience. like for the first residents The Berkeley Group describes social of Kidbrooke Village, a sustainability as being: ‘ … about T new community in the Royal Borough of people’s quality of life, now and Greenwich, south London, and currently in the future. It describes the extent one of the largest regeneration projects to which a neighbourhood supports in the UK. individual and collective wellbeing.’ Kidbrooke Village has replaced the Ferrier Social sustainability combines design Estate, built between 1968 and 1972. of the physical environment with a focus This consisted of 1,906 dwellings made on how the people who live in and use up of 74 blocks ranging from thirteen a space relate to each other and function storey towers to two storey houses. The as a community. It is enhanced by estate was inaccessible and isolated development, which provides the from the surrounding areas. It had a very right infrastructure to support a strong different character to the local area and social and cultural life, opportunities was ultimately beset by severe social for people to get involved, and scope and economic problems. for the place and the community Its regeneration since 2009 has been to evolve.’ led by the local authority with Berkeley, The term social sustainability is not yet the GLA / Homes and Communities widely used by housing developers Agency, and Southern Housing. or public agencies in the UK, although This research project makes use of an it has been an object of academic innovative new framework that has been research for over a decade. We believe created for the Berkeley Group by Social it should become central to the way Life and the University of Reading, to that everyone involved in the process measure social sustainability in new of building new housing settlements housing developments. It is based understands sustainability in the on what is known about creating and years ahead 2 3 Contents About this report About this report 05 his report describes measuring the social sustainability Executive summary 07 the findings of a research of new housing and mixed-use Social sustainability rating 10 project exploring developments. The framework was community strength and developed by Social Life and Professor 1. Kidbrooke Village: an introduction 12 quality of life at Kidbrooke Tim Dixon of Reading University and 2. Our approach 16 T Village in the Royal Borough of published in September 2012 as 2.1 What Is social sustainability? 18 Greenwich, south London. Berkeley, Creating Strong Communities. the developer of Kidbrooke Village, 2.2 Measuring quality of life and community strength 19 This report was written by Saffron commissioned this work to understand 2.3 The indicators 20 Woodcraft and Nicola Bacon. The what life is like for new residents 2.4 Analysing the results 21 survey design and statistical analysis and to understand how to support 3. Applying this approach 24 was carried out by Dr John Brown. the community as it starts to form. 3.1 Benchmarking the resident survey results 24 3.2 Contextual interviews and site survey 24 The research involved a resident survey About the Berkeley Group carried out by an independent agency, The Berkeley Group builds homes 4. Living At Kidbrooke Village 28 ComRes, statistical analysis of the survey and neighbourhoods. We seek to create 4.1 Who did we survey? 29 data by Dr John Brown of Social Life, beautiful, successful places. We work 4.2 Kidbrooke Village rating 32 a site survey by an independent together with other people to tackle 4.3 Social and cultural life 34 assessor, Matt Lally, and interviews the shortage of good quality homes, 4.4 Voice and influence 43 with organisations based in Kidbrooke and we make a lasting contribution to 4.5 Amenities and infrastructure 44 Village, carried out by Lucia Caistor the landscape and to the communities Arendar and Zoe Spiliopoulou from 5. Quality of life at Kidbrooke Village 50 we help create. Social Life. The work was undertaken 6. Analysis by tenure 54 between January and March 2013. The Berkeley Group is a FTSE 250 company and made up of 5 7. Contextual interviews: key themes 60 This report contains the summary autonomous businesses: St George, 7.1 Community safety 60 findings of the project. A technical St James, Berkeley, Berkeley First and 7.2 Open spaces and community facilities 62 appendix has been written to accompany St Edward. It was voted Britain’s Most 7.3 Local relationships and community identity 63 the summary, containing a detailed Admired Company across all industries 7.4 Moving from the Ferrier Estate to Kidbrooke Village 64 description of the research method, in 2011 and has been ranked the UK’s 7.5 Integration with the wider neighbourhood 64 statistical analysis and data files. most sustainable major housebuilder The project uses a framework for 8. Conclusion 66 for the last 7 years in a row. 4 5 About Social Life • 63% of residents report that local This project has explored Executive summary friendships are important Social Life is a new social enterprise how the first people to move created by the Young Foundation • 95% reported feeling very or fairly to Kidbrooke Village are Kidbrooke Village is a large-scale, new in 2012. Social Life’s Founding Directors safe at Kidbrooke Village after dark experiencing life in the new suburban community in Greenwich, are Nicola Bacon and Saffron Woodcraft, and 96% of residents felt fairly or community. The aim of the south London. It is currently one of the who set up and led the Young very safe in the surrounding largest regeneration projects in the UK Foundation’s work on communities from research is to understand neighbourhood and has been planned to transform 2005 to 2012. Social Life’s mission is to what can be done by the the former Ferrier Estate into a new • Over 71% agree they can influence reconnect placemaking with people’s developer, the local mixed-tenure, mixed-used community. decisions affecting the local area. everyday experience and the way that authority, local voluntary Over the next 15 – 20 years, 4,800 communities work. Our expertise is in organisations and the homes, schools, shops, health facilities, the social dimensions of placemaking Who did we survey? residents themselves, to restaurants, offices, community facilities and sustainability, in understanding how support people’s quality and new open spaces will be created • 83 respondents lived in affordable to accelerate local social innovation, of life. The research involved at Kidbrooke Village. housing and 47 in private housing; and in knowing how to translate these a household survey, a site 32 respondents (just over 25%) had insights into practice and policy. The results of the resident survey survey, and a number previously lived on the Ferrier Estate. Social Life is working in the UK and and one-to-one interviews with local of in-depth, one-to-one internationally. For more information organisations paint a picture of • Immediately before moving to visit www.social-life.co. interviews. Kidbrooke Village as good place to Kidbrooke Village, 13% of live, where people feel safe and settled. respondents reported having lived The household survey results Residents feel like they belong to the in Greenwich, almost 10% in Woolwich were benchmarked against neighbourhood. They say they intend and 9% elsewhere in Kidbrooke. data from four national to remain resident in the neighbourhood 32% moved to Kidbrooke Village government surveys to for some time and feel that people from other London boroughs. Almost assess the experience of from different backgrounds get on well 4% came from outside the UK. Kidbrooke Village residents together. Residents report high levels • Respondents were aged between of overall life satisfaction. against that of people living 18 and 90 years old. 35% were aged in comparable places. 125 residents (or 24% of current between 31 and 40, 25% between This work has been carried households) were interviewed in 19 and 30, and almost 17% between out at an early stage in the January and February 2013: 41 and 50. life of Kidbrooke Village. • Almost 93% of residents plan to • 30% of respondents describe It describes a community remain resident in the neighbourhood themselves as White British, 20% that is still forming and for a number of years African, almost 14% as Other White, will continue to experience almost 9% as Caribbean, 6.5% Indian, • Over 90% feel like they belong in significant change in the and almost 6% Chinese. A small the neighbourhood coming years. At the time number of respondents described of the research 519 • Almost 80% of residents agree or themselves as Arab, Pakistani, Irish, homes were occupied strongly agree that the local area and Other Asian background. is a place where people from different out of a projected total • 43% were in full or part-time backgrounds get on well together of 4,800. paid employment, 20% were 6 7 unemployed, 11% were retired, is already having a significant, positive 8% full-time students, almost effect on the wider neighbourhood. 8% involved in some form of Safety and a much-improved public family or childcare, 6% were realm are the most noticeable changes, self employed. and were widely commented on in the contextual interviews. • Combined household income ranged from below £7,000 a year People said: to over £100,000 a year. 32% of • ‘Kidbrooke has been completely respondents reported household transformed’ income of up to £7,000, almost 19% reported household income • ‘It’s no longer a concrete jungle.