One Housing Group Limited (City Style) has completed a £26 million scheme in Lewisham, South London. Designed by PRP, the development provides 92 new homes, including 64 for older people, 26 homes for sale, and an additional two family houses for social rent on a separate site at Blessington Road. Built in 1963, the site was originally home to the Christopher Boone’s Almshouses and has been developed by housing association One Housing in partnership with the Merchant Taylor’s Boone’s Charity. PRP’s design approach revolved around the need to care and protect older people living in Lewisham. It consolidates the existing almshouse accommodation previously situated on two sites and is well located in terms of access to the high street and public transport routes, but also in relation to a residential care/nursing home operated nearby. The building typology is closely aligned with the aspirations and recommendations of the HAPPI report. The older persons accommodation, which has an age restriction of over 57, is configured as a ‘U-shaped’ block that wraps around a central garden courtyard, while the accommodation has been reinvented as dual-aspect apartments, each with its own front door accessed from walkways that overlook the garden. The apartments are generous in size at 10-15% larger than the minimum space standards, and all benefit from bay windows and large balconies. Carefully arranged landscaped areas are at the heart of the development, with a circular, covered walkway that leads to a communal summer lounge, a terraced garden designed as a quieter space for residents, and a garden for those interested in horticulture and vegetable growing. Anne-Marie Nicholson, senior partner at PRP, said: “These state-of-the-art homes have been sympathetically designed by our ‘Later Living’ team with residents in mind, particularly those who are older and desire modern homes with nearby access to care. We have redeveloped the original properties to bring the community together, centred around a beautifully landscaped courtyard that allows for socialising and hobbies. “People spend years building a community for themselves, and this natural bond to one another and to a location should be a key consideration in design terms.  Designing with people in mind is at the heart of what we do, and we’re determined to create homes that provide older people with the lifestyle they’ve always had.” PRP’s development consultancy team was appointed alongside the ‘Later Living’ architectural team to provide cost consultancy and project management services as well as planning advice and daylight surveys, enabling PRP to see the project through from conception to completion.

A new proposal from a National Assembly Committee might require all new-build housing in Wales to be zero carbon. The Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee found that Wales has the oldest housing stock in Europe and that the pace and scale of delivering energy efficient homes needs to be increased “urgently”. A ten-year low-carbon housing strategy was called by the Committee and it will involve the construction of all new-build homes to zero carbon standards, as well as retrofitting existing housing stock. The strategy also includes: a complimentary planning and building system with low-carbon and energy efficiency at their centres, and supported by rigorous, independent inspection regimes; financial incentives to encourage buyers and owners to buy low-carbon housing and invest in retrofit measures; funding interventions that maximise the impact of Welsh government investment in low-carbon housing; and a fully-trained workforce, ready to construct and improve homes using the latest technologies. The Committee found that the possibility of meeting the Welsh government’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 was “some way off”. “There are many reasons why we should improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock. The most pressing is the need to deliver on legal obligations to eliminate fuel poverty and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases,” said Mike Hedges AM, chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee. “The Welsh Government is required to reduce emissions by 40% by 2018 and by 80% by 2050. Challenging targets need challenging solutions. Reducing the amount of energy we use in our homes will substantially accelerate progress towards these goals. Achieving the targets will require a considerable ramping up of ambition and must span the whole of Wales’ policy levers. We are calling on the Welsh Government to bring forward a ten-year low-carbon housing strategy, including milestones and targets to kick start housing development now and for the future,” explained Mike Hedges.

A two-story building in Brinkburn Street Byker in Newcastle, which has stood empty for almost two years, is to be converted into a new homes development. The building was used as a central design hub by architect Ralph Erskine and his team to coordinate the transformation of the Grade-II listed Byker Wall Estate, which is the reason why the development will be named ‘Ralph Erskine House’. The building will be converted into four two-bedroom apartments by the Byker Community Trust (BCT) housing association, which owns and manages over 1,800 homes on the Estate. BCT, which acquired the building from Newcastle City Council, is investing £393,300 in the housing scheme, expected to be completed by November 2018. An Empty Homes Grant of £120k was also awarded by Homes England to support the initiative. As part of the conversion, BCT is searching for a local artist to take the lead on recreating a mural of Erskine’s visual signature – a hot air balloon – on one of the outside walls of the building. “Walking around Byker you realise that Erskine’s vision was to create something of social worth. He was revolutionary in his time, by basing himself on the Estate to consult with people face to face and ensuring that they were at the heart of his design plans,” said Jill Haley, Chief Executive at Byker Community Trust. “Continuing in the spirit of community involvement, we wish to invite local artists to be a part of an exciting project. We are looking to recreate Erskine’s iconic hot air balloon visual signature on the side of his old office, as a tribute to him. It will be a great opportunity for a local person to make a lasting impression, a gesture that I’m confident Ralph Erskine would have liked,” Jill added. Originally built as a funeral parlour in the 1900s, the building was converted into an office in 1969 to facilitate redevelopment of the Byker Estate. The office acted as main focal point between Newcastle City Council, the Byker community and Erskine’s design team.