In August 2021, the One Public Estate (OPE) programme and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) awarded £14.2m Estate Regeneration funding to 14 projects across England.
Estate Regeneration funding is focused on unlocking projects which otherwise would have been unable to proceed due to a gap in funding. The 14 estate areas involved are set to deliver a wide range of benefits, including transformation and improvement to homes, and in some cases delivery of new homes, as well as wider social benefits for the communities in those estates. Many also address challenges such as health, anti-social behaviour, unemployment, fuel poverty and public realm issues.
Grant funding has been used to deliver a wide range of works such as demolition or refurbishment of social housing, building of new, quality homes, public realm works, play spaces and new or improved community centres. The projects involved are showcased below, demonstrating the value of grant investment and the impact it is having on creating vibrant, connected communities and high quality housing that meets the needs of its residents.
In this section you will find:
- background and context
- a summary of projects which have been funded
- lessons learnt and best practice
- an overview of an Estate Regeneration Roundtable hosted in October 2022.
Background and context
Many post-war housing estates are characterised by ageing, poor quality stock with limited connectivity and high levels of deprivation (CASE Report). The majority of local authority housing stock (73 per cent) was built between 1945 and 1980, with 42 per cent of council social homes built between 1945 and 1964 (English Housing Survey 2017).
The Government’s national strategy on estate regeneration was published in December 2016. It highlights some of the challenges and opportunities for estate regeneration including long term collaboration, resident participation, financing, demonstrating best value (public sector) and selecting the right governance model. All of these require significant thought and sustained commitment and resourcing. The strategy notes the benefits of OPE and its collaborative public sector approach to maximising regeneration opportunities and enabling project viability. OPE was therefore well placed to partner with DLUHC to deliver the Estate Regeneration funding programme.
A key challenge for delivery of what are collectively known as ‘estate regeneration schemes’ is the lack of capital funding to cover implementation costs. This form of regeneration typically involves rehousing residents, demolition, clearance and rebuilding for better designed housing and communities alongside targeted interventions at wider socio-economic problems such as health, fuel poverty, lack of quality outside space.
The Estate Regeneration Fund sought to plug that gap, and the 14 projects funded will act as national case studies to demonstrate the value of grant investment in enabling project delivery.
Projects funded
We have a summary showcase of each project awarded funding by the Estate Regeneration Fund.
If you would like to know more detail about any of the projects funded, please contact the OPE Estate Regeneration Team at [email protected].
Lessons learned and best practice
The projects benefiting from the Estate Regeneration fund are addressing a number of key themes, which are likely to be common across estate regeneration projects. Project leads shared the lessons they learned and advice on best practice.
Estate Regeneration Roundtable - October 2022
This roundtable provided the opportunity to celebrate the projects supported by the Estate Regeneration Fund, as well as reflections and learning on estate regeneration, approaches to place making policy and delivery.