Our initial proposals for Ekin Road were to demolish all 122 of the homes on the site, to enable us to improve accommodation standards for people living in existing council homes; to build additional council homes to meet local need; and to address wider housing supply issues, including much-needed larger family homes.
Doing nothing at Ekin Road is not an option, as some of the council homes have significant maintenance and structural issues and are well below the current standards we apply to new homes. We have a duty of care to our tenants, and so we need to redevelop the estate to build new, high-quality homes for our tenants.
Throughout the process we have been listening to feedback, and have been open to considering the viability of different options that would enable us to deliver the much-needed new homes in a way that is affordable for the council to deliver.
At the meeting of Housing Scrutiny Committee (HSC) on June 2024, we confirmed that we would adapt our approach, and would retain 14 of the existing houses, while redeveloping the other 108 existing homes, to build 131 new mixed-tenure homes.
Following this update, some residents asked whether a further six homes could also be retained. As we said at the HSC meeting, and to residents at the Liaison Group in the same month, we would still be proposing to redevelop these six homes in the east corner of the site, but would continually review the viability of different options as the plans evolved over the summer.
As these plans have evolved, it has become clear that the decision to include the six houses in the redevelopment proposal is the right approach, and that alternative options would impact our ability to redevelop the site as needed. We provided an update to this effect at the meeting of Housing Scrutiny Committee on 17 September, in response to a public question which was asked about these six houses.
We have also been calling residents and visiting the site in recent weeks, ahead of a letter being sent to all Ekin Road residents on 17 September, to provide an update about the proposals. We have been really clear that the forthcoming planning application will include plans to redevelop 108 homes at Ekin Road, including the six houses to the east.
Cllr Gerri Bird, Executive Councillor for Housing, said: "Working to deliver the high quality, affordable homes that our tenants deserve to live in has to be done in a way that is affordable to the council. We do everything we can to work with affected residents, and have been listening to feedback throughout this project as we have considered the viability of different options. We have already adapted our approach to retain14 homes, but the remaining six houses are still due to be demolished as they are an essential part of enabling us to deliver these new, improved council homes, including an increased number of much-needed affordable, larger family homes.
"We know this is a very difficult time for any residents involved, but we have been in contact with all affected residents, including in the six houses in the east. We'll continue to offer one-to-one bespoke support, which can include logistical support with moving, financial support for associated costs, and compensation. Our track record of supporting residents during previous regeneration schemes speaks for itself and some of the case studies that can be seen online should hopefully provide some reassurance as well.”
