St Raph's International Fun Day Sunday August 13th Noon-6pm

 

Community Raphs' welcome decision not to redevelop the estate

 

The group St Rapahels Estate Community (Community Raphs')  have welcome Brent Council's decision not to redevelop the St Raphael's estate which is situated between the River Brent and Norfth Circular Road:

 

We at Community Raph’s are delighted with the news that Brent Council has decided to back down on the redevelopment options for St Raphael estate.

 

 We are privileged & thankful to be working with Ash (Architects For Social Housing) from 2019 to this present day, together we have helped produced a detailed report to highlight that infill with refurbishment is financially viable, socially beneficial & environmentally sustainable. This report was sent to the Chief Executive, Brent councilors, Mayor’s office and relevant parties.

 

We believe this report to have an impact on this announcement.

 

We at Community Raphs are proud to have helped support some quarters of the estate mental wellbeing, created by the lack of transparency, honesty, respect by the official bodies of brent, & more so the thought of losing their homes & community.

 

We have worked hard to highlight our plight to outside bodies like Ash and the wider community.

 

Moving on we must have proper engagement, transparency and clarity at every stage of this infill + (refurbishment) project. Despite this announcement our work is not done, we feel there are a few things that needs to be ironed out.

Cllr Butt addresses St Raphael's residents on the delays in fill-in/rebuild development of the estate. Is it the full story?

 

 

On Twitter @LifeInKilburn  suggested this was not the whole story:

St Raphael's redevelopment delayed. What the Leader doesn't tell you is that the GLA have changed their funding criteria and that they will not fund housing that replaces current housing, making the full redevelopment option not financially possible.

This was a point also made by St Raph's Community group LINK 

Inside Housing LINK covered the GLAs change of policy in December 2020 and quoted Helen Evans of the G15 group of housing associations:

The new programme will mean that grant funding will only be available for additional homes in estate regeneration.

This is a big change from previous programmes, the extent to which it makes a difference will depend on how much the estate is being densified.

I believe estate regeneration, which already involves additional costs of demolition and loss of rental income, will become more expensive and unviable in some instances.

There may be some wriggle room for Brent Council and it could be that the delay is caused by protracted talks with the GLA. The GLA’s guidance states it will “consider funding these replacement homes in exceptional circumstances”, such as if homes have become “obsolete”. Does this apply to housing on St Raph's?

 Inside Housing continued:

Guy Slocombe, chief investment officer at Hyde, said he hopes the regeneration rules are “a broad generalisation” and that “some of the homes that are being regenerated are being regenerated because they are no longer fit for purpose”.

He continued: “Hyde has experience of large-scale regeneration which involves replacing homes that would not meet the decent homes standards. I believe that grant should be provided to replace these homes and I hope that... regeneration projects will be considered on their own merit.

Alternative funding may also be being explored. This is what the GLA document, Homes for London - Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026, LINK  says:

Estate regeneration

 

The Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 provides funding for estate regeneration projects where the grant is used for additional homes. Funding will not be available for units that replace homes that have been, or will be, demolished.

 

Where homes have become obsolete the GLA will consider funding these replacement homes in exceptional circumstances, and only as part of a scheme that will increase the number of homes overall. 

 

Where councils are unable to fund replacement homes within their own resources, the GLA will look to provide alternative funding. Investment partners seeking to undertake estate regeneration are encouraged to submit bids under this programme for units that will increase overall supply and to discuss additional requirements with GLA officers where further funding is required to support the replacement of homes that have been demolished.

Two important St Raphael's Estate zoom meetings this week - infill or redevelopment?

Unfortunately this video has only had 4 views since it was postws on October 27th

 

The final November meetings on the St Raphael Estate 'infill or redevelopment' issue take place  this week on  zoom:

PPCR & St Raphael's Voice:

• Tuesday 24 November 2020, 6-8pm

Click here to join the meeting.

Use the meeting ID 854 657 8943 and password Straphs22

 

 

Brent Council & St Raphael's Voice:

• Thursday 26 November 2020, 11am - 1pm

Click here to join the meeting.

Use the meeting ID 819 6597 5967 and password 1j8EVi

Useful documents:

• Masterplan Proposals & Design Code Summary (.pdf, 8.14MB)
• Timeline (.pdf, 734.0kB)

 

 

St Raphael's Estate: a recent meeting and upcoming exhibition

I wrote recently about the competition between two groups to win the hearts and minds of people on the St Raphael's Estate where residents are faced with choosing between refurbishment and in-filling on the estate or complete demolition and rebuild financed by the development of private housing on the estate.

St Raphael's Estate Community organised a public meeting attend by more than 60 residents on February 25th which was attended by ASH (Architects for Social Housing) as well as by some leading members of St Raphael's Voice.  St Raphael's Voice claim on Twitter to be the represenative voice:

St Raphaels Voice - The Representative Residents/Tenants/Stakeholders Board for St Raphaels Estate are officially on Twitter - Please ignore all other fake accounts

Further details on the Brent Council website HERE 

St Raphael's Estate Community also on Twitter state:

Ordinary Peoples Rights THE RESIDENCE OF ST RAPHAELS WANT TO KEEP THEIR HOMES, NO TO REDEVELOPMENT/REGENERATION. YES TO REFURBISHMENT With Infills

 Their website is HERE

Inevitably I understand there was some disagreement between the two groups at the meeting.

ASH have published a full account of the meeting with slides from their presentation on their website HERE along with the two videos below. The first is the main presentation and the second an account by Pete Firmin on the experience of residents on the South Kilburn Estate of 15 years of redevelopment/regeneration with another 15 to go.

St Raphael's Voice are advertising two public exhibitions of design alternatives for the estate:

Today Brent Council issued this press release about the exhibition:

The St Raphael’s community will get their first glimpse of what their future estate could look like at two public exhibitions in early March.

The exhibitions, taking place on Saturday 7 March between 12-4pm at St Patrick’s Church, and Tuesday 10 March between 5-8pm at Henderson House, will be a chance for residents to have a first look at the initial designs for infill development and redevelopment – the two approaches being considered to improve St Raphael’s for existing residents while providing much needed new affordable housing.

Earlier this winter, residents attended 11 co-design workshops that saw them explore how each approach could best benefit the existing community. Karakusevic Carson Architects, who residents appointed as their chosen architect in July 2019, then used the community’s ideas to create the initial designs.

Councillor Eleanor Southwood, Brent’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said: “For the last year we’ve been working closely with residents and community groups as they have created plans for how their estate could look and feel in the future. It’s vitally important that the community continues to lead the design process, so I encourage everyone living locally to tell us what they think and their preferred design option.”

Chair of the estate’s resident board St Raphael’s Voice, Asif Zamir, said: “The public exhibition is a significant milestone for all residents; I’m excited to see the community turn out and to have some thought provoking conversations on the possibilities, and their aspirations, for the future of our estate. We will continue to empower residents to lead the way forward together, so that we can get the best outcome for everyone whichever option is preferred.”

Following the exhibitions, the community’s preferred initial designs will be tested to ensure they meet planning guidelines and are affordable. Later this year eligible residents will choose their preferred vision for the future of St Raphael’s.

St Raph's residents move to 'take back control of our community' April 8th

St Raph's Redevelopment Latest - Meeting tonight at Oakington Manor Primary School

Brent Council is holding a meeting this evening (6pm February 21st) at Oakington Manor Primary School* for St Raphael's Estate residents and stakeholders based on the estate  to discuss the appointment of an Independent Advisor.

The Independent Advisor according to the Council will:

• Set up and run a Tenants/Residents/Stakeholders Board. The Board will have a formal structure and make sure that tenants and the community are formally engaged in the process to arrive at a preferred option for the Estate and are at the forefront of decision making.
• Provide independent advice to all those who live withing St Raphael's regardless of tenure.
• Carry out engagement and consultation, which will include enabling all tenants, residents and stakeholders to contribute to the decision-making process related to the future proposals in accordance with best practice and to disseminate information and encourage attendance at events and activities which are taking place.

The Council has invited 5 organisations to bid:

1. Communities First Foundation
2. Newman Francis Ltd
3. PPCR Associates Limited
4. Priority Estates Project
5. Source Partnership

Residents and stakeholders will decide who will be recruited as their Independent Advisor at two meetings - tonight's and on March 5th.  Tonight's workshop will concentrate on questions to ask the organisations above, discuss what they want the the Independent Advisors to present at the next meeting, and whether they wish to attend the meeting with the Independent Advisors.

The meeting on arch 5th at 6.30pm at Oakington Manor School will enable residents and stakeholders to have the final say on who their Independent Advisor will be. They will be able to  hear presentations from the applicants, ask questions and  vote for the Advisor of their choice.

As the St Raphael's Twitter account states above there is also a meeting planned for February 27th at Brent Civic Centre 6.30pm-8.30pm. This will be a public meeting for a wider discussion about the future of the estate which includes the key issue of refurbishment or demolition and new build, with the latter financed in part by private housing.

*Oakington Manor Primary School, Oakington Manor Drive, Wembley HA9 6NF

Big changes for St Raphael's Estate on Brent Cabinet agenda

The Brent Council Cabinet is poised to approve a consultation on the redevelopment of St Raphael's Estate at its meeting on Monday November 12th (4pm, Brent Civic Centre). LINK

The estate borders the North Circular Road and the River Brent and consists of around 1174 properties of which Brent Council manages 807. Network Housing also manages some and others are private following Right to Buy. The estate was constructed between 1967 and 1982 with little intervention since.

'Limited' shops

Open views on to green space

Space for small gardens and lawned common areas

Green space between the estate and the River Brent

The officers' report states:

St Raphael’s estate was built when land was in abundance and therefore the build density is low. This presents an opportunity, for the Council to consider what options are available to maximise housing supply on the estate. By doing so, the Council can start to address the housing needs on the estate, as demonstrated above. Initial indications are that, with careful planning and support of residents on the estate, redevelopment options could produce significantly more homes, of the right size and which are genuinely affordable, than the current residents of the estate require. 

Options: 


1. Refurbishment with Limited New Build– This option would retain but increase the height of the existing blocks but could also possibly add new blocks on available land as in-fill to the existing estate. This option would not likely to be able to deliver the best outcomes for St Raphael’s that a re- development could as it would eat into and not re-provide greenspace. It would not facilitate the reprovision of better community facilities. 


.         

2. Re-development - This option would be the most radical and would likely involve the re-modelling of the estate and also increase the overall numbers of homes located on the Estate and at the same time, address the socio- economic issues affecting residents on the estate through improvements to the infrastructure on the estate. This would require a ballot. 


If Option 2 is not to eat into the green space on the estate and between the estate and the river, it appears likely that there will be high rise development.

In the past the estate had a difficult relationship with the residents of the private houses just over the River Brent in Monks Park. At one stage Monks Park residents asked that the bridge linking the two should be removed so that St Raphael's residents couldn't access their streets. Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt declares two residences on Monks Park in the Register of Interests and Dawn Butler has a house there.

Brent Council recognises the socio-economic challenges the estate faces:

The Council is committed to improving the housing, environmental and economic outcomes for those who live on the St Raphael’s Estate. The Council is aware from both the feedback and from its own knowledge of the Estate that there are environmental, safety and socio-economic issues for St Raphael’s. For example, the Community Profile for St Raphael’s identifies some specific challenges for its residents:

·      38% of children are living in poverty in St Raphael’s compared with 19% across England 


·      25% of people have no qualifications in St Raphael’s compared with 22% across England, 18% in London and 19% in Brent 


·      27% are in full time employment compared with 39% across England, 40% in London and 36% in Brent 


The Council also knows that there are other issues.

·      St Raphael’s is identified as having a low PTAL (public transport accessibility level), and only 56% of households have a car (compared to 74% nationally). 


·      The nature of the roads and river surrounding St Raphael’s can make it feel isolated even although it is relatively close to Wembley, which is exacerbated by the limited retail offer on the Estate. 


·      There are also issues in regards to the air quality and noise from the North Circular. The parts of the estate immediately beside the North Circular have high poorer air quality (65-90 NO2 (ug/m3) – reducing down to 75 dB) - reducing down to 0-55 dB further into the Estate. 


The Council is also aware that personal robbery is a prevalent crime on St Raphael’s estate, which increased by 107% from last year, compared to an increase of 52% in the rest of the borough. Also increasing, but to a lesser extent, are assault of wounding/Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH). There is also recorded gang activity on the estate. The Council’s Community Safety and Housing Management teams are working very closely with the Metropolitan Police to try and tackle these issues. However, the design and nature of the estate is likely to be a contributing factor in these crimes. 

The redevelopment option would introduce private housing into the St Raphael's mix in order to finance the redevelopment and provision of additional affordable housing and the South Kilburn regeneration is cited as an exemplar. However there are differences in terms of involvement with private developers:

Whilst the South Kilburn model has worked through the Council engaging with delivery partners to deliver and manage new private and affordable housing, on St Raphael’s the Council will seek to explore with its partners and Council wholly owned companies such as I4B and First Wave Housing, to be able to deliver/manage private sale or market rent housing products, as well as retention of social housing by the Council alongside Network Homes and Peabody Trust.

Unlike the South Kilburn development any redevelopment of St Raphael's will have to go to a tenants' ballot following GLA rules. 

Here are extracts from a residents' survey about the estate (click on images to enlarge):

Given the report's mention of gang activity it is noteworthy that 'facilities for youth' is top of the residents' agenda for improvement but that of course is not just a matter of providing a building but also the provision of ongoing funding. The Roundwood Centre is a great building, the last one left in Brent, but the latest Brent Council budget proposes no longer funding its youth service activities.

The high priority given to parks and green spaces by residents is also significant and it is likely that any proposals that eat into that space will be opposed.

Overall of course concerns that the redevelopment is a cover for gentrification will have to be addressed by councillors and council officers.