Heath Town Legal Advice

The City of Wolverhampton Council is seeking to appoint a legal team to support the planned procurement of a development partner for the regeneration of the Heath Town estate. The procurement will commence in June 2016 and is planned to use the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation.

Background

The Heath Town estate consists of over 1100 properties owned by Wolverhampton City Council and managed by Wolverhampton Homes, an ALMO. Built in the 1960s it consists of high rise and low rise deck access blocks, with houses on the fringes of the estate. The architecture, including elevated walkways, blind alleys and unsafe pedestrian routes, has led to negative perceptions of the estate, and a poor reputation. To address this a regeneration Masterplan has been developed in consultation with residents for the partial demolition of the estate, and new mixed tenure infill housing development.

The Heath Town estate sits within the area covered by the Heathfield Park Neighbourhood Plan, which was formally adopted by Wolverhampton City Council in September 2014, and identifies the Heath Town estate as a key housing development site, and supports the Masterplan proposals.

The Heath Town Masterplan

The Masterplan proposals are shown at Appendix 1, and include:

 Selective demolition of an Adventure Playground building, garages and walkways at Hobgate Road, and of part of the Chervil Rise low rise block, including 36 maisonettes, commercial units, a GP surgery and Wolverhampton Homes’ offices

 Development of 300+ new homes across the estate

 Delivery of new GP surgery, working with the NHS, and development of an Extra Care scheme for the elderly on the former Duke of York pub site

 Associated infrastructure and car parking

In addition to the investment required from the developer, the Council will also be providing for additional improvements on the estate, including:

 Enabling and demolition works to facilitate improved security and infill development

 Improvement of play facilities including the Multi Use Games Area

 Wolverhampton Homes investment plans for the retained blocks (the estate has already benefitted from the Decent Homes Programme delivered through Wolverhampton Homes)

Timescales and phasing

The regeneration works will take place on an occupied residential estate and the programme of works will need to minimise disruption to residents as much as possible. During the works, which are likely to take between 4-5 years, a number of contractors and sub-contractors will be working on site, undertaking enabling works, demolition, house-building and the refurbishment of blocks.

It is planned that the works will be phased to take into account the different stages of activity required, and to ensure that contractors will not clash. Appendix 2 shows the proposed phasing for the project. In summary:

Phase 1 (area outlined in red) – residential development of the cleared sites: former Duke of York sit