RENEW North Staffordshire
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| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS This page contains the most frequently asked questions received, There are questions on the Masterplanning Exercise and questions specific to tenants of Aspire Housing, owner occupiers and private landlords. Either click on the question below to take you directly to the answer or use the scroll bar on the right hand side of the page to read all. MASTERPLANNING EXERCISE Q.1 What are the revisions to the Draft Masterplan? Q.2 Who is the Lead Developer for the Knutton and Cross Heath AMI? Q.3 How will RENEW and partners ensure the Masterplan is delivered? Q.5 How will I know if I will be affected? Q.6 How will the relocation process work? TENANTS OF ASPIRE HOUSING Q.7 I'm an Aspire Tenant, what happens to me if my home is to be demolished? Q.8 As an Aspire Housing Tenant, how will I be told of plans to demolish my home? Q.9 How many times will I have to move? Q.10 How many re-housing offers will I get? Q.11 I can't afford to move, will I get compensation? Q.12 If I have made improvements to my property, will I get additional compensation? Q.13 Can I be rehoused nearby to members of my family/friends? Q.14 Will my Tenancy remain the same or will I lose rights? Q.15 Will my rent change when I move? Q.16 What is Aspire Housing doing to combat Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) in the AMI? OWNER OCCUPIERS AND PRIVATE LANDLORDS Q.18 I own my home, what if I refuse to sell voluntarily? Q.19 How do I object to this process? Q.20 As an owner occupier, what compensation will I get? Q.21 What support is available to me? Q.22 Would it be more beneficial for me to hang on for as long as possible? Q.24 I have been planning to make improvements to my home. Should I go ahead? Q.25 Why did you carry out property condition surveys in Knutton Village? Q.26 What is the Voluntary Purchase Scheme? MISCELLANEOUS Q.29 Who are English Partnerships? Q.30 What are the plans for the former Collins & Aikman Site? Q.31 What will the former Collins & Aikman site be used for? Q.33 Will MORRISONS be closing their store on Lower Milehouse Lane? Q.34 Where can residents go for further information? MASTERPLANNING Q.1 What are the revisions to the Draft Masterplan? A. A number of revisions have been made to the proposed regeneration programme in Knutton and Cross Heath, as a result of the consultation carried out in 2005 and the economic appraisal of the Draft Masterplan. A total of 178 properties have been removed from further consideration as part of the RENEW funded clearance programme within the AMI. There have been 12 properties (11 on Charter Road and 1 on King Street) added to the proposed redevelopment area in Cross Heath. All affected households have been offered a home visit and given a letter to explain the changes. Back to the top A. The process of appointing a lead developer for the Knutton and Cross Heath AMI started in April 2006. A group of residents from Knutton, Cross Heath and Lower Milehouse were involved in deciding which company was appointed. Bellway Homes were selected as the Lead Developer for the area and all proposals for new development forming part of the RENEW programme will be taken forward by Bellway Homes, working closely with residents and partner agencies. Q.3 How will RENEW and partners ensure the Masterplan is delivered? A. The Borough Council and Aspire Housing are working together to ensure joined up delivery of the programme. It will be supported by an Area Action Plan (AAP), which is a statutory planning document. This will set out the key principles for development, and will ensure that all planning applications approved are in accordance with the Masterplan. If RENEW North Staffordshire funding was reduced, the AAP would still provide a planning framework to guide developments and investment in the Knutton and Cross Heath AMI. Collaboration. A. Yes, there will be some demolition. This is
necessary in order to make the space for new housing, to reduce
the numbers of houses that are very similar in type and to change
the design of the area. New housing will attract new people to live
in Knutton and Cross Heath, and will provide a better choice for
existing residents. Q.5 How will I know if I will be affected? A. We have been working within the Knutton and Cross Heath area since the end of 2003 and consultation has begun in the other areas affected by RENEW North Staffordshire. If your house or street is affected by specific proposals you will be contacted directly by one of the RENEW North Staffordshire partners. Full information and support will be given to anyone who will be directly affected by our plans, whether now or at a later date. Q6 How will the relocation process work? A. The first stage in the relocation process for all households will be a home visit from a member of our staff, to complete a housing needs questionnaire. This will help us to identify a rehousing option that most closely meets your current and future needs and aspirations. The housing needs questionnaire is designed to identify what is important to you when you relocate, e.g. area, property type, amenities, schools, care and support. We will begin gathering this information from households in October 2006, with individual home visits to be scheduled. TENANTS OF ASPIRE HOUSING Q.7 I'm an Aspire Tenant, what happens to me if my home is to be demolished? A. Aspire Housing has a statutory duty to re-house their tenants in appropriate alternative accommodation. Residents who wish to remain as tenants of Aspire Housing will be supported by Aspire throughout the course of their move. Every effort will be made to match the preferences you identify through the housing needs questionnaire with properties that become available. Aspire Housing will offer 'like for like' accommodation, subject to availability in your area of choice and in accordance with housing need. Priority will be given to clearance transfers in accordance with the Allocations Policy.
A. Many consultation events have already taken place and will continue to do so over the coming year. However, that is not to say that the ideas shared at the consultation will definitely go ahead and it may be a number of years before we see any major changes in the neighbourhood. If your home is to be demolished, a representative from Aspire Housing will visit your property in person, in order to confirm the situation and to discuss your rehousing options using a housing needs questionnaire. They will be happy to help you complete any required paperwork and to answer any questions you may have. Q.9 How many times will I have to move? A. The vast majority of Aspire tenants will only move house once. The exception to this rule will be those households who wish to move to a new build property that has not yet been completed. In these cases it will be necessary to move twice. All households will be asked if they would like to register interest in new build property as part of the housing needs questionnaire. Where households make two moves, Aspire Housing will provide as much support as possible to ensure that disruption is minimised. There will be limited new build housing for social rent within Knutton and Cross Heath and these will be allocated based on housing need. As a result, we cannot guarantee to fulfil all requests for new build housing. Q.10 How many re-housing offers will I get? A. Our usual policy for transfers would be to make one reasonable offer of alternative accommodation, however in the case of clearance transfers we will make two reasonable offers, taking into account household needs and preference whenever possible.
A. There is statutory compensation of £4400 (amount reviewed periodically) for tenants of Registered Social Landlords (which tenants of Aspire Housing will be entitled to) for ‘homeloss’, should they be required to move for clearance purposes. Further financial assistance will also be made available to cover removal costs and re-connection charges that you may incur as a result of your move. Q.12 If I have made improvements to my property, will I get additional compensation? A. If you can demonstrate that you have made significant improvements to your home there may be a compensation payment available to you. However, you will need to apply in writing to Aspire Housing, ensuring that you specifically outline the improvement, and provide the original written consent from Aspire or Newcastle Housing coupled with proof of expenditure incurred. Further information can be obtained from your Housing Officer. Back to the top A. RENEW North Staffordshire and Aspire Housing want to keep the existing community together and to strengthen it with new residents. New housing will be built as part of the Masterplan for local people and new residents to move into. We will do everything we can to rehouse tenants and owner occupiers in the areas of their choice. However, it will not be possible to guarantee that families/friends in adjoining properties can be moved to adjoining properties in other areas. Requests for properties in the same street can also not be guaranteed. This is because when alternative properties in Aspire Housing’s stock become available and ready for re-allocation they tend to come up randomly across the Borough. Q.14 Will my Tenancy remain the same or will I lose rights? A. Your Tenancy will stay the same should you be required to move and you will not lose any rights under that Tenancy agreement. For example, if you were a tenant prior to January 2000, and were required to move you would still have the ‘Right to Buy’ and if you were a tenant after January 2000, you would still have the ‘Right to Acquire’. Q.15 Will my rent change when I move? A. Tenants on a protected rent will remain on a protected rent when they move house. Tenants on target rent will remain on target rent when they move house. Rents can vary according to property type and area, so it is possible that there may be a change to your rent if you choose another area or take a different size of property.
A. In accordance with Aspire Housing's Anti-Social Behaviour Policy, the organisation is committed to combating ASB. Aspire Housing will not tolerate those who persistently breach their tenancy conditions and will take appropriate action against individuals, working in partnership with the ASB Co-ordinator at the Borough Council and the local Police. However, Aspire Housing often needs the support of the community to take appropriate action and rely on local residents to identify perpetrators of ASB and to report incidents to them and the local Police as they occur. Therefore, if you witness ASB in your neighbourhood please ensure that you contact your Housing Officer, at your earliest opportunity. Q.17 Why should I agree to be transferred in the future when I obviously won't benefit from the transformation? A. The RENEW North Staffordshire programme in the Knutton and Cross Heath AMI is primarily concerned with reducing the numbers of social housing stock and so it may be that not everyone currently living in the neighbourhood would be able to remain in the same neighbourhood for the long term. However, if you are required to move, Aspire Housing would be willing to offer you temporary accommodation in the first instance, with a view to offering a newly built property in the future, subject to availability. OWNER OCCUPIERS AND PRIVATE LANDLORDS Q.18 I own my home, what if I refuse to sell voluntarily? A. If your house is one of those shown on the final plan to be demolished, and you refuse to sell your home, it might be subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO). A CPO is when a local authority has the legal right to buy or take rights over your private property if its location falls within a public or private construction project, for example the RENEW North Staffordshire programme. Q.19 How do I object to this process? A. Before the acquiring authority submits the CPO for confirmation, a notice must be published for two successive weeks in one or more local newspapers and must also be fixed on or near the land covered by the order. The order will include the address to which objections should be sent and the time period for doing so. The objection must be in writing but there is no specific format. You can write the letter yourself or you may appoint a professional adviser to submit the objection on your behalf. Q.20 As an owner occupier, what compensation will I get? A. You will receive the market value of your house. This will include fittings and fixtures, as it would if you were selling to the open market. It is called loss on old, and is based on the value of what you are leaving behind rather than the cost of replacement in your new property. You may also be offered a home-loss payment and/or a compensation for disturbance. You may also be entitled to compensation for disturbance if you are an owner occupier which might include removal costs, legal fees, survey fees, reconnection of services (gas, electricity) etc. Home-loss payments may be available to property
owners, or leaseholders with 3 years unexpired lease who have lived
in the property as their main dwelling for at least a year. A homeloss
payment is 10% of the market value of your interest in the property
subject to a maximum of £40,000. The Borough Council’s Housing Renewal Assistance policy offers relocation grants to residents affected by clearance, subject to funding being available. A relocation grant is a means tested grant that can be, subject to certain conditions, awarded up to the sum of £20,000. Q.21 What support is available to me? A. Following completion of the housing needs questionnaire, owner occupiers will be supported throughout the course of their move by the Home Options Team, based at Staffordshire Housing Association. Impartial advice will be available about a range of housing options. Free independent financial advice will be available to those who wish to purchase their own property. Home visits will be made as required and help provided to fill in forms, make phone calls and liase with other organisations. Q.22 Would it be more beneficial for me to hang on for as long as possible? A. Not necessarily. The value you would get for your home by either voluntary sale to RENEW North Staffordshire, or by compulsory purchase will be based on the market value at the time of sale. The valuation will not take into account any surrounding clearance, so the figure will be based on what the house would be worth if there was no RENEW North Staffordshire activity taking place. Of course, house prices might go up or down. This will affect the valuation on your property and therefore the money you would be offered. Q.23 The money I would get for my property wouldn’t allow me to move to a similar house in another area, what options are open to me? A. Work has been undertaken to establish options to assist homeowners to move to alternative accommodation. For further information please visit the Home Options page on this website. Q.24 I have been planning to make improvements to my home. Should I go ahead? A. It is your decision to carry out home improvements. It is not possible to predict now what will be proposed for every house in years to come. If you have improved your home with work such as an extension or new windows the value of this work may be reflected in the market value of your property. Q.25 Why did you carry out property condition surveys in Knutton Village? A. It is well known that North Staffordshire has significant problems with housing conditions but in order to work out a plan to invest in these communities we first needed to research the local housing conditions in more detail. The surveys concentrated on the pre 1919 properties in Knutton Village and examined the general physical and structural conditions of houses and the likely cost of renovating homes. Following the results of the surveys there will be investment in the pre-1919 terraced housing in Knutton village, with a programme of ‘Facelift Grants’. These grants will help to improve building exteriors, which will enhance the general appearance of the area. Work will initially focus on certain properties on the High Street. Further investigation of properties that have been identified as having been affected by settlement in the past will also take place. Affected homeowners have been contacted and a structural engineer will survey the affected properties to identify whether the movement is old, and therefore not a problem, or whether works may need to be carried out to stabilise the property. It is expected that the full report, including an indication of specific remedial works if appropriate, will be available in December 2006. Q.26 What is the Voluntary Purchase Scheme? A. Aspire Housing has obtained RENEW North Staffordshire funding to purchase a number of privately owned properties in the Knutton and Cross Heath AMI at market value, as part of the on-going regeneration activities in the area. Aspire Housing is also purchasing properties throughout the Newcastle RENEW area for the following purposes:
If residents are interested in taking advantage of this scheme, please contact Samantha Elks or Paul Latham on 01782 635200. Aspire Housing can offer sellers options, such as, alternative rented accommodation or remaining in the property as our tenant for a pre-arranged period of time. All acquisitions are subject to a full market valuation, offers will be made within the constraints of the funding available. If you are interested you should contact contact Samantha Elks or Paul Latham on 01782 635200 to arrange an independent market valuation. Q.27 What happens if I have purchased my property through the Right to Buy and I sell my home back under the Voluntary Purchase Scheme, do I have to pay back any discounts I received? A. If you have bought your home under the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire, you can sell it whenever you like. But if you wish to sell within 'the discount repayment period' specified below you will usually have to repay some or all of the discount. The amount you repay will depend on when you made your application to buy. If you applied for the Right to Buy or Right to
Acquire before 18 January 2005 and sell within 3 years of buying
your home. If you apply for the Right to Buy or Right to
Acquire from 18 January 2005 onwards and sell within 5 years of
buying your home. Also, if you purchased your home under the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes on or after 18 January 2005 and you wish to resell or dispose of it within 10 years, you must offer it to either your former landlord or another social landlord in your area at full market value. The market value must be agreed between the parties or, if they are unable to agree, will be determined by the District Valuer (the cost of which will be paid by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister). If your offer has not been accepted within 8 weeks, you will be free to sell the property on the open market. Q.28 What happens if I have purchased my property through the Right to Buy/Right to Acquire and my home is subject to a CPO, do I have to pay back any discounts I received? A. Where a property is acquired under a CPO any discount previously received would not have to be repaid as it is classed as an 'exempted disposal'. MISCELLANEOUS Q.29 Who are English Partnerships? A. English Partnerships is the Government’s national regeneration agency. The organisation’s aim is to deliver high quality, long term growth and regeneration in England. They do this by developing their own strategic sites and acting as the Government’s specialist advisor on previously developed and used land. They also ensure that surplus public sector owned land and properties are used to support Government objectives. English Partnerships helps to create communities where people can afford to live and want to live, and supports regeneration by improving the quality of our towns and cities. Information on projects and programmes can be found at www.englishpartnerships.co.uk. Back to the top A. English Partnerships bought the 4.93 hectares (12.18 acres) former Collins & Aikman site, adjacent to the Morrisons Supermarket on Lower Milehouse Lane, in April 2004 from private owners. Since then, comprehensive demolition and site clearance works have been carried out to prepare the site for future development. The purchase by English Partnerships secured the land in public sector ownership and will ensure that the future development will be in line with the work currently being carried out with our partners in the area, Aspire Housing and Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council plus RENEW North Staffordshire. Q.31 What will the former Collins & Aikman site be used for? A. Whilst the layout and design will be informed by further community consultation and masterplanning work, we expect a mainly residential development with a mix of tenures, including some social and private housing. The following developments are proposed, subject
to planning permission: 2. A LIFT Health centre, which will contain GP surgeries, dentist, pharmacy and other health services (opening Spring 2008). 3. The lead developer will work with English Partnerships and residents to produce a detailed plan for the general needs housing area of the site. 4. This will include the construction of 160 general needs homes, of which 25 will be for social rent and 22 for shared ownership (available 2008-10). The development will be to a high quality and will create an area where existing and new residents will want to come and stay, and where people will be able to afford to live. The development will also assist in the wider regeneration of Knutton & Cross Heath and the housing market of North Staffordshire, contributing to the work of RENEW North Staffordshire. The number of houses and timing of development will be decided as part of the ongoing work and through liaison with the Council and RENEW North Staffordshire. Q.32 Are industrial units going to be built on the Lower Milehouse estate? As we've seen signs for planning permission on Wilmot Drive. Is this why the consultants are proposing to knock down our houses? A. The Borough Council has received a planning application to build a large distribution warehouse (like New Look) on the land beside the Leoni building (former Rists site). This proposal does not involve the knocking down of any housing on the Lower Milehouse estate. Q.33 Will MORRISONS be closing their store on Lower Milehouse Lane? A. Response from Les Williams, Store General Manager – Morrison’s Lower Milehouse Lane; “Having spoken again to our Estates Department and also Stores Director I can reconfirm our original conversation that Morrison’s will NOT be closing our store at Lower Milehouse and will continue alongside the converted Safeway store in Newcastle town centre. I hope that this allays any persons concerns over the future of my store..” Q.34 Where can residents go for further information? A. Residents can contact staff from the partners below;
Further information is also available on
the website: www.renewnorthstaffs.gov.uk
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Regeneration Team, Aspire Housing, Kinsley, The Brampton,
Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 0QW. Tel: 01782 635200
Fax: 01782 715498