Housing
'SWaN' Regeneration
Ridge, working for Home Group Developments Limited are involved in the redevelopment of the Newstead estate in the south east of Sheffield. Overall, the £135 million project, due to complete in 2015, will demolish and redevelop three estates - Scowerdons, Weakland and Newstead ('SWaN') - replacing the 809 existing units with over 1000 high quality, mixed tenure new homes.
The SWaN estates originally comprised 809 non-traditional houses built in the 1960s by Sheffield City Council. The properties have suffered from persistent repair and structural problems arising from their construction style. In addition to the disrepair issues, the lack of choice in the type and size of housing available and the outdated layout and design contributed to concerns about the sustainability of the estates, and the decision to demolish and redevelop was taken by the Council's Cabinet in March 2003. Rehousing and demolition of existing housing is ongoing on a rolling programme.
Project challenges come not only out of the scale of the development but also from the need to phase the individual estates. Covered by a unique Residents' Charter, existing residents whose homes have already been demolished and who intend to return a new home on the estate are currently being temporarily rehoused to a later phase until their new home is built. Meanwhile, a plan for decommissioning the existing infrastructure and installing the new infrastructure ensures that access and services are maintained for residents in later phases and that disruption from essential works is kept to a minimum.