Evaluation

Northmoor’s imaginative design has transformed the area, and residents feel it is a better place to live as a result.

A better place to live

Northmoor rates highly against the Building for Life criteria that relate to sense of place and the quality of the street environment. Feedback from residents shows that 79% of those surveyed feel that the scheme has improved the look of their street. Traffic speeds and numbers have reduced, and there are few complaints about current parking arrangements.

Challenges in managing the external environment

Some difficulties remain in ongoing management and maintenance. Significant numbers of small private landlords make the regime difficult to implement.

For example, gating the alleyways has reduced criminal activity but caused problems for waste management. Bins should be wheeled to a collection area at the end-of-terrace gates but some residents fail to retrieve their bins and rubbish is sometimes abandoned in the alleys.

Estate wardens are not in a position to address properly these hygiene issues, which really need the co-operation of residents and landlords.

The value of good design

Properties in the Northmoor area have risen dramatically in value.  Before redevelopment market values were as low as £3,000 or £4,000, yet after phase one open market values had climbed to around £80,000 to £90,000 (for a while this threatened the funding of later phases!). For Great Places, the rise in the value of its assets leaves it better placed to invest in future programmes.

The owner occupier sector has become more stable, and the turnover of rented properties has reduced as people stay longer.