Welcome to our third blog update about our work in Somerton.
On 12 January, we held our latest steering group meeting. On this occasion, the meeting was entirely online , a decision we took after reviewing the local situation with Covid 19, at that time. We discussed our approach with as many SG members beforehand as possible and provided support where needed to try to ensure residents could attend.
In this meeting, we talked about how we are doing in delivering our project plan and information about voluntary purchase scheme. We presented the high level findings from the damp and visual surveys our partners Michael Dyson carried out for us recently and started to ask residents for their views on different parts of the estate. We agreed with residents that this information will form the basis of our first newsletter which we will be looking to share with residents in the coming months. We shared a draft summary communications plan that will shape how we communicate with the community as our work progresses.
You can read the full minutes from the January meeting here.
13 Somerton residents attended this session, alongside local Councillors Debbie Harvey and Ray Truman.
Draft project plan
We have agreed with the SG that we’ll update them on our progress and keep the project plan updated at each meeting. We also explained how the format had been amended following comments the group made on the original. Residents in the group told us that the new format was much better and that it’s a very useful document.
We gave an update on what work we expect to happen, and by when, but also stressed that things may change. The idea is that having the project plan will allow residents to see the process we need to go through, all the different elements we will be working on, when and how long we expect things will take. It means that we can keep residents updated on any changes that are needed and explain why. Over the next three months, our priorities include:
- Continuing our Resident Steering Group meetings
- Planning a community event to keep everyone updated
- Appointing the financial consultants (Valuers) who will help us deliver the voluntary purchase scheme for homeowners
- Using the Michael Dyson survey results and other information to consider which we will look to progress regeneration and where we may focus on refurbishment
- Work on some design ideas, including the pre-planning process and sustainable drainage
- Look at the specification needed for potential refurbishment works
We’re aiming to share individual results of the surveys with each household who participated in the survey in the next few weeks.
Financial advisor
We tried to appoint a financial advisor back in November to support homeowners who want to take part in a voluntary purchase scheme. We didn’t find anyone at the time who could offer all the services we require.
Our brief has now been split into three and as of 12 January 2022, has gone back out on Sell2Wales, a procurement platform.
We’re hoping to make a final decision on a financial advisor during February.
Many thanks to the residents who are supporting us with this piece of work.
Voluntary Purchase Scheme
Some residents have contacted us about the voluntary purchase scheme, and we have pulled together an FAQ document to help explain more details. Once we have appointed the Valuer, we will re-issue the document and send it to all homeowners.
Please note that this is a voluntary scheme, and you don’t need to contact us unless you are interested in the possibility of selling your property to us.
Mapping and areas: survey results, residents views
We carried out surveys in Somerton towards the end of 2021 to add to the surveys we carried out on a some homes in the autumn 2020. The survey was a damp and visual survey.
We will also be looking at other factors as part of our work as well as the Michael Dyson surveys, including:
- Any historic work
- Recent repairs
- Views and feedback from the resident steering group and the wider community
- Welsh Assembly’s requirements for decarbonisation and other standards we are required to meet
- Other areas we may be able to improve, such as pedestrian access and active travel
The summary of the survey results include both NCH properties and homeowners. We’ll be sharing results individually with those who participated in the survey over the coming weeks.
Please note that we’re not permitted to share individual results publicly due to data protection law.
The report by Michael Dyson doesn’t include every property in the area. The reason for this is that we can ask residents for access, but unless it’s an emergency, we must get permission to enter a home for these reasons. We called at each property at least three times if unable to gain access.
Take a look at the meeting minutes for more detailed information on the results and how they have been split by area/zone.
We asked the group how they would like information to be shared with the wider community. The suggestions from the group were:
- That we need to be transparent, and all information be shared even if it is difficult to understand
- Some of the information within the slides could be simplified as some are difficult to read or understand
- Some of the mapping needs adjusting
- Some prefer numbers to percentages – although the group understood we are not able to share information that could identify individual homes.
The group felt it would be useful for the survey results to form the basis of a newsletter for the wider community. We will look to share this in the coming months.
Communications plan
We shared a high-level communications plan with the resident steering group. This starts to set out who, when, why and how we will be communicating with different groups – this also includes plans for a newsletter for residents and people who have a vested interest in our work.
Refurbishment or regeneration?
We understand that the community wants to know for certain if areas will undergo refurbishment or regeneration.
At the moment, our project plan shows that we may be able to make a decision on each area by September, but it may take a little bit longer and we’ll keep you updated.
One issue that was raised was that residents are concerned about the number of new flats in the area. We’ll take this into consideration, but we know that we do need to provide some flats, due to the housing need in Newport for one and two-bedroom properties.
Our next steering group meeting will take place on Wednesday 2 February 2022.
We hope that this blog has been useful – if you have any questions, or if there’s anything you’d like us to cover in future blogs, please get in touch with us at community@newportcityhomes.com.
Thanks,
The Somerton team