Regeneration of Dean Bank - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions - collated

who is on my side?
The Council is on the community’s side. The Council is committed to delivering the vision in these master plans as part of its long term commitment to sustainable communities. In addition we appointed Independent Community Advisors, who know the area well to act as a mediator between the community and the Council. Furthermore we will be developing a dedicated team within the Council to take the plans forward.

Should I get legal advice?
Any member of the community is free to seek legal advice at any time.

Where are the Councillors?
Council Members and Town Council members have been invited and involved in every stage of the process so far. Contact details can be found on the council website, or in Inform the Council’s newspaper, or in the local papers, or you can contact them at the Borough Council offices on Green Lane, tel: 01388 816 166.

How can we trust what you are saying?
The Council has nothing to gain by misinforming its residents. We try to honestly answer all questions, as quickly and as accurately as possible.

Can I be rehoused now instead of later?
You can put your name down on the waiting list for a house now if you wish but you would not be eligible for the assistance package until the clearance area is declared or until Cabinet agree a date from which everyone is eligible.

Anti Social Behaviour

How will the Council tackle anti-Social behaviour and the fear of crime?

Sedgefield Borough Council is aware of the difficulties that local people are facing regarding anti-social behaviour which is why the programme of work contains more than just a bricks and mortar. The Borough is looking to license private landlords, encourage improved housing management by the landlords and Housing Associations, and to ensure the police, private landlords, other partners and council departments work more closely to reduce anti social behaviour in Dean Bank and Chilton.

What can the Council do to stop trouble makers moving from one part of Dean Bank to another?

The majority of anti social behaviour is identified as being from the privately rented properties. However, the Council has a robust lettings system that has checks/references included with the aim of preventing tenancies being given to those who are known perpetrators of anti-social behaviour. If someone gets past these checks and still causes anti-social behaviour we have an enforcement team that can take legal action against these people.

Consultation

How will the local amenities be affected?

We expect that local amenities will be improved through the measures we are taking. The decline in population in some the areas (in particular Ferryhill Station and Chilton West) mean that local schools and shops are under pressure. We hope that by boosting the housing market we can keep these services in business and attract further investment to the area.

When did the Council Consult?

Plans were drawn up by the community through extensive consultation that was carried out in all three affected areas. This included one to one meetings with residents at Ferryhill Station, week long events in Chilton and Dean Bank as well as attendance at Fun Days and Residents Meetings. Consultations were also carried out with other statutory bodies, allotment associations and local councillors.

In addition, residents from each area were taken on a fact finding trip to areas that have undergone similar change in Manchester.

As these are outline plans only, further in depth consultation will be taking place on each and every one of the developments. We hope that all residents will take the opportunities to engage as we progress forward.

Why did no one speak to me?

All residents of Chilton and Dean Bank were invited to events, field visits via leaflets and posters that were displayed by the respective residents associations.

Who will be you development partners?

We are negotiating with a range of possible development partners. These could be traditional housing developers through to Registered Social Landlords.

Demolition

Is there enough demolition?
Some of the streets will still be far too long and will not have much improvement?

Why aren’t you demolishing houses in worse condition than mine?

More houses should be taken out of Newton and Davy Streets.
The consultants had a market assessment completed that identified that the market could handle the numbers of properties identified in the master plan. The design principles have come from the consultants, Llewelyn Davies Yeang.

At present no stock condition surveys have been carried out and the Council only has only carried out visual inspections. However, if you mean properties with high levels of anti-social behaviour, this is more difficult as they tend to spread around the villages. Also, it’s easy for anti-social tenants to move.

Can’t you just demolish the bad houses?
It depends on what is meant by ‘bad’. If it means the physical condition of the house then we will be carrying out housing surveys for this.

However, if you mean areas and houses with high levels of anti-social behaviour, this is more difficult as these people tend to move around the villages. Also, its easy for anti-social tenants to move because of private landlords not being able to do the checks that a council or housing association can do.


Development

Who will get the first chance of houses built on the Square?
Those people who we need to move as part of the first phase of works will be the first to be given this opportunity. Of course not everyone will want to remain as part of Dean Bank so there may also be some properties available on the open market.

Are the new houses to rent?
There will be new homes to rent and buy but the detail (of who needs what and where) has not been gathered yet.

Will there be any bungalows?
See above

124 houses coming down minus 80 new build equals 44 with no home – where will these people/families go?
The people/families will go where they want to go. Some will want to stay in Dean Bank others won’t. We will help as much as possible, for these families to access the area and properties they want.

Have the private landlords signed up to the Agreement with the Borough Council?
The private landlords have not yet signed up to an agreement, but licensing will be brought in as part of the overall programme of interventions to ensure the future sustainability of the areas.

A fact sheet on licensing will be drawn up to give the residents groups to make it clear what will be done.

When will we see the start of something happening and where?
Eden Terrace in Chilton - group repair scheme has almost finished,
The former Praxis site in Dean Bank – will have homes built on it starting after summer 2007.
“The rows”, Ferryhill Station – outline planning permission has been granted and demolition and new build will commence around summer 2007.

Can you ensure that once improvements – new build starts, it will continue and not have long gaps between phases like Ferryhill Station, which has taken forever?
Yes. We will ensure that each phase of works, once started, runs as smoothly as possible. We will not start a phase of works that can’t be completed within the timescale we’ve consulted on. We aim to make sure that the phases will run seamlessly together. We can’t we can’t foresee everything that might happen in the future.

Why can’t land on the perimeter be used for new build where allotments are and concentrate allotments in one area such as Paxton Street?

Allotments sites cannot be built on with out the permission of the Government and some of the allotment sites are not appropriate following site investigation.

If we do nothing about the interior of Dean Bank then the original problem of market decline remains and we would have accelerated the pace by placing newer more appropriate houses on the outskirts of Dean Bank encouraging more people to move out of the terraces and into the new homes.

Why can’t new houses be built on land which is at present an eyesore and has been for years, namely the back of Watt Street where there is a strip of grassed land and dilapidated garages?

See above.

What would have to happen to bring about Compulsory Purchase (CPO)?

There are a number of things that have to happen before a CPO can be declared, including a document called a Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment that explains fully why a CPO is needed and approval from Government must be given too. This is a long process and appeals against the decision can be made. It can take anything from 9 months to 2 years to get a CPO.

As an individual, I would like to see the streets shortened, the riff raff gone, more green open spaces, but not play areas or kids congregating for football.

[size3]There is a park that needs a lot of attention; more play equipment so that everyone can enjoy it and a youth facility to keep kids off the street corners. The consultants have come up with their proposed design following the evidence they have gathered and consultation with residents groups in the area.

The Borough Council is aware of difficulties faced around the Borough with open spaces that can result in nuisance. Each green open space will be looked at individually and we will consult with the residents group as to how best to prevent nuisance behaviour.

The Borough is happy to work in partnership with the relevant organisations to reduce the numbers of children hanging around street corners.

As a very old resident of Ferryhill it is sad to see so much change in Dean Bank, but I know it is necessary because this generation don’t have the same values as mine?

I wish the Council every success but get it right, you won’t get another chance Thanks for your comments and we are gearing up now to be able to make sure we do get this right the first time.

What does the plan entail?

The plan simply maps out a potential 10 year vision for each of the settlements. Some of the changes will happen over the next three years and others will take longer.

Residents in all three settlements will already by aware of work being carried out in their area.

The plan allows the Council to make a convincing argument for extra government funding. It is also meant to guide us in spending other money.

When will this happen?

The plan is designed to happen in Phases over the next ten years. However, this would be subject to constant review. We aim to progress as quickly as possible with the early phases.

Why my house?

The interventions described in the plan are at a broad level at present. This means that it might not be your house, however in order to take the plans further we needed to outline some areas. The Council wanted those potentially affected to be notified personally.

Will I get a better house than the one I live in now?

All new properties developed will be delivered at least to the Governments Decent Homes Standard.

What does Housing Market Renewal Mean?

Quite simply in areas such as Ferryhill Station, Chilton and Dean Bank there is an over-supply of one particular type of property. As with the rest of the North East, these areas have seen a rapid decline in population of the past decade and these two factors lead to the housing conditions we see know e.g. boarded up properties, large numbers of private rented properties.
The master plan allows for several properties to be demolished and be replaced with different housing stock. These could be bungalows, three-bed room semi detached or starter homes with a garage.
The principle is that people who want to move up the housing ladder within these areas can do so without having to move out of the village.

Why has one end of Dean bank been scheduled for group improvement?

The Council employed Llewellyn Davies Yeang as experts to identify how Dean Bank, Chilton West and Ferryhill Station could be improved and become a sustainable community into the future. They have looked at the housing market and used urban designers to draw a plan of how this could happen. As part of the plan drawn up by the consultants some houses would be demolished, some would remain, some would be improved along with some new build. The group improvements, it is hoped, will increase the lifespan and the value of those houses and help to ensure the future of Dean Bank.

Finance

How does the Group Improvement Scheme work – who pays?

The group repair scheme requires everyone to agree to participate to have their properties improved and depending on the individual household income there is a maximum of 25% of the costs to pay.

Why should I pay rent if I don’t now? (on a shared equity home)?

You shouldn’t have to. As yet we have not fully developed any shared equity model. However, in principle we would want it to work without anybody being out of pocket.


Objections

Strongly object to building at back of Blandford Street opposite the bungalows. This is already an open space and seems contrary to the concept of more open space being created. This element is not identified until the 2nd phase and things may change in the meantime. There will be further consultation on each of the individual phases.

What would happen if everyone got together and opposed it?
The Council would listen as always to the genuine views of the community.


Owner Occupiers / Landlords

My house is up for sale and an estate agent has valued the property. At the moment I am not affected by demolition. Would the Council be interested in buying my house?

At this time the Council will only look at buying your home if you are within the first phase of the proposed works.

Does market value for owner occupiers affected by demolition mean for the duration of the period needed to complete the Regeneration, or will it change as things move along?

Things will change as time moves on. This can mean that property values could increase if your home is near to a development area.

Will I get full market value AND compensation?

Yes.
Sedgefield Borough has stated that no owner occupier or tenant should be left out of pocket in this process.

Will I get the value of my conservatory / extension / kitchen on top of the value?

The Council aims to give all owner occupiers affected market value for their home. If an improvement to a property has added value to that property then this should be reflected in the value.

How much are other people getting for their houses?

As above people will get market value for properties.

I am worried that my house will not be valued at “market value” but well below that. I have heard rumours that your values are very low.

The Council aims to give all owner occupiers affected market value for their home. The values will be different for each home, and we cannot comment on individual prices as this is confidential information, but the Council has not been buying properties at substantially less than they are worth.

Will it blight my house?

The Council hopes not. The Plans are designed to boost the local housing market. We will be monitoring very closely to see how the situation develops.

Do I need to declare in a sellers’ pack?

Sellers packs do not come into force until next year (2007) and have been subject to extensive modification by the Government. We would expect that the Regeneration Master plan would be flagged to a prospective buyer through the usual land search process.

I have just bought my house why wasn’t I told?

Until the plans were adopted as formal Council Policy then they would not show on any land search.

Will I be able to remove my recently fitted kitchen and bathroom when I move?

The council will be paying the full value of the property, which will include fixtures and fittings in the property. If you wish to reuse specific items you will be able to negotiate this with the council, however this may, or may not, mean a reduction in the price paid for the property. You should talk to the Council when the consultation for your phase of works commences.

Why can’t the Council buy the houses that are for sale now?

The council will buy properties now but only those whose confirmed sale has fallen through because of the masterplan. The council has a limited pot of funding for this financial year so can only afford to buy these properties at this point.

Is it right that the Council is valuing all the properties in the first phase?

No.
Valuations are being done only at the owner’s written request at the moment, and only in phase one.


Parking

Car Parking is a problem

There will be an extra 196 car parking spaces in Dean Bank.

Regeneration

What is this Regeneration plan?

The Regeneration Plans for Ferryhill Station, Dean Bank and Chilton have been drawn up to provide a vision for the physical regeneration of the villages. The plan allows the Council to apply for money from the Government and also helps the Council identify how to progress the regeneration.

Why do we want this Regeneration?

The communities in each of the three villages have for many years raised concerns with the Council over derelict housing, anti-social behaviour, lack of parking and the anti-social behaviour of tenants of private sector landlords. The aim of the plan is to put in place sustainable measures to tackle these.

In addition, due the changing economic profile of County Durham (such as the decline of coal mining and traditional industries) the villages need to be attractive to people to stay in and move to.

Is this plan a set decision?

The decision to adopt the Master plan and its vision for the three settlements is now council policy. However, the implementation of the vision and the master plan has large amounts of flexibility in it.

Can we fight it?

The master plan is a living document. All aspects of the plan will be open to further debate and consultation.

The Communities for each of the three areas have been involved throughout the process so far and we intend to continue to involve the community.


Relocation

Will the neighbours be staying together?

Our aim is to build a sustainable community around needs and desires of existing residents. As far as is possible we would want neighbours to stay together.

What are the areas for relocation?

Our aim is to allow all those affected who want to stay within the villages to do so. We will be working with our development partners to make sure this happens.

Why do we have to go somewhere else?

You don’t. Our aim is to allow those that wish to stay within the settlements to be able to stay and to have a better quality of life.

What is happening with the Store House allotments?

There have been no planning applications submitted for this allotment site, and it is unlikely that planning permission for housing would be granted by the Council for any that came in. However, there is a right of appeal for any planning application whether it’s a conservatory or a factory that is proposed to be built.