The Council leader joined partners in the biggest estate regeneration in GM for more than a decade to find out how the work is making a difference to local people’s lives at an event to mark the handover of the latest affordable homes.
Guests including Councillor Andrew Western, Clean Air, Regeneration and Housing lead for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Leader of Trafford Council, visited the Sale West estate in Trafford to see the progress to date of the £50m investment plan from Irwell Valley Homes.
They met groundworks apprentice Jayden Thompson, who lives on the estate and is proud to be playing his part in creating a legacy for local people.
Jayden said: “Growing up on the estate it’s good to see the positive changes taking place – I’m happy to be part of it. In years to come, I’ll walk down the street and think ‘I helped to do this’.
Irwell Valley Homes, a not-for-profit housing provider, has so far delivered 39 new homes for social rent as part of phase 1 of the project, with another 40 due for completion over the next twelve months. Their investment in phase 1 totals £9.7m, complemented by £5.8m from Homes England, while phase 2 also includes £550k from Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) Brownfield Fund.
Alongside this, a raft of environmental enhancements are underway, using a £975,000 grant secured in partnership with Trafford Council from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
It’s all being delivered in tandem with a £7m home improvements plan for the estate, which so far has seen more than 600 roofs replaced and more than 40 new kitchens fitted, with a further 200 due before April 2023.
Councillor Andrew Western, who helped to plant some of the 273 trees being planted across the neighbourhood in the coming weeks, said: “There is a huge shortage of affordable homes in Trafford and every other borough in the country and that issue must be addressed urgently. Trafford Council and the Executive are totally committed to working with partners across the borough to provide more affordable homes and this scheme is one of many to support that commitment.
“This regeneration scheme is providing 263 much-needed high quality affordable homes and millions of pounds worth of major improvements to existing properties. Phase one of the scheme has already provided new social rent homes for 30 families and that is obviously fantastic news. There will also be major investment in the public realm, new road, play areas, more trees and green spaces as well as projects to support residents and boost the local economy.
“I was delighted to join in the tree planting ceremony and look forward to continuing to work alongside Irwell Valley Homes on this fantastic scheme.”
Sasha Deepwell, Chief Executive of Irwell Valley Homes, said: “We were delighted to welcome our partners to Sale West to see first-hand the impact we’re making through our ambitious regeneration plan. Harnessing multiple and complementary funding streams and working in partnership with the community, as well as investing partners, has been essential to the success we’ve had so far.
“But estate regeneration of this kind presents huge challenges – not least the practicalities of working within an established community which is already home to thousands of local families. At Irwell Valley Homes, we are committed to driving up the standard of our homes and communities through regeneration programmes like this one at Sale West, but – particularly in the current uncertain economic climate – we need support and funding to be able to keep moving forward. That means a focus on and investment in improving places, supporting communities and creating opportunities for local people, at the same time as building more to help address the housing urgent need.
“Our work in Sale West is the whole package and is more important than ever in the current cost-of-living crisis.”
The DLUHC funding is being used for a variety of environmental projects, including tackling surface water problems in the ginnels; creating five new natural play spaces for local people to enjoy; developing new community spaces across the estate; and building new homes for wildlife - with bird boxes, swift bricks, bat boxes, bug hotels, hedgehog highways and tree planting to improve the biodiversity of the area.
Kerry Dawson, chair of the Sale West Community Allotment who received some of the grant to improve the allotment space, said: “Growing fruit and veg on there at the moment is especially helpful given how much food prices have gone up.
“We’re really pleased to have benefited from this funding and it’s already making a difference.”
Posted on Tuesday 8th November 2022