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News Release from: The Civic Trust | Subject: Houses Don't Build Communities
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 06 August 2004
Civic Trust Says Houses Don't Build
Communities
In its campaign for sustainable regeneration of towns and cities, the Civic Trust calls for new housing development to take into account the needs of residents and the demands placed on local services
A social impact study carried out by the Trust and consultancy Core Connections on the Convoys Wharf development in Deptford, South London, has revealed a lack of joined up thinking about the impact of housing development on health and education provision Proposals for 3,200 new homes on Convoys Wharf could increase the area's population by over 50%
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 15 Aug 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Concerned residents at Pepys Community Forum and the Creekside Forum engaged the Civic Trust because they were not convinced by the developer's environmental impact assessment on the capacity of local services to cope with the new development.
The Forums were also concerned about social cohesion, and wanted to avoid creating a 'them and us' two-track society between new and existing residents.
The Civic Trust study looked at current health and education provision in the ward, and reviewed borough-wide plans and policies to see how far this specific development, but also planned future housing development, took into account the needs of new and potential residents.
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"Our research showed the lack of forward thinking amongst statutory providers to respond to the cumulative impact of developments and the needs of the future," says Alexandra Rook, Principal Consultant at the Civic Trust.
"Five year plans for service provision obviously do not address developments taking place over the next 10-12 years, nor are the agencies working together to share resources and cater for needs in new ways.
"Local services, especially schools, provide the 'social glue' that enables existing and new communities to meet on common ground, and begins to build a sense of community.
New apartment blocks aren't enough to regenerate areas because they don't go further than providing new homes - true regeneration means people engage in the place that they live.
The quality of local services is key to ensuring newcomers make use of shared facilities rather than electing to go elsewhere.
"It's no good talking about sustainable communities and social cohesion if this isn't happening.
New housing brings in new people, but if the aim is to build a community - and we think it is - then regeneration doesn't stop there." Traditionally closed to the public and surrounded by a secure wall, the Convoys Wharf development site - a shipbuilding yard for 300 years, and most recently home to News International - will be integrated into the surrounding public realm in proposals by the Richard Rogers Partnership.
While the opening up of the site is welcome, the riverside location and higher density development of 6-8 storey apartment blocks, with some towers of 12-14 storeys, are likely to attract a more affluent population that may not easily integrate into the locality.
A multi-agency forum, held in Deptford as part of the Civic Trust project, with representatives from health, education, neighbourhood management, community safety, youth work and the local councillor, was brought together to address these issues.
The Civic Trust hopes that this, the first in a series of forums (and based on the neighbourhood management panel) will lead to wider engagement and investment in the community and its facilities.
In addition, a further phase of research, looking at the economic impact of the development, will commence this autumn.
The community around the Convoys Wharf proposals had to find the funds themselves to carry out this research.
The Trust believes it essential that the planning brief for complex sites must address not only community involvement and environmental impact, but also social impact on the local community and its infrastructure of schools, meeting places, health and recreation facilities.
Mixed use development must encourage local provision and reduce the need to travel further afield for work, education and leisure, and create truly integrated and attractive places to live, work and play.
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