Hello!
Welcome to our January blog update about our work in Somerton.
Our last Resident Steering Group meeting was on 11 January at Nexus House, with a combination of people attending in person and online. 7 residents attended the meeting. Terry and Andrew from Oxford Architects attended, with Andrew in Nexus and Terry online to talk through the design activity we have been working on.
You can read the minutes in full here.
Project Plan
We have ground investigations works starting on the 30 January, working on Newport City Council and Newport City Homes land.
We will be looking at modern methods of construction and talking to a supplier about the process.
We will also be looking at going out to get a contractor appointed for the 2 refurbished properties we are piloting.
Valuer
There have been 48 valuations carried out, all of which are at different stages of this process. Valuations are progressing along and will continue into 2023. To date we have completed on 8 buy backs.
Design Update
Throughout December we have had several meetings looking at the design proposals. We’ve had an internal NCH meeting with colleagues from around the business so they can give us their feedback on the design for the 2 pilot properties that will be refurbished.
We met with Newport City Council planning team to look through design proposals for Sycamore Avenue / Hawthorne Avenue, all their comments will be taken on board as we progress with our designs.
A few of us went to Bristol to look at a site that TopHat (Modern methods of construction) (MMC) contractor has supplied homes at.
We also met with Welsh Government to discuss modern methods of construction with them - they have given us things to take away and think about when looking for a MMC supplier / contractor.
We also had a meeting with NCH and our planning consultants Asbri Planning, to looking at how we want to submit planning and the phasing around this to ensure we cause the least disruption to the people living in Somerton.
Communication
A letter will be delivered to every home on Wednesday 25 January to advise of the Ground Investigation surveys that will be carried out from the 30 January.
Time and Date of Next Meeting
Wednesday 1 February at 17:30pm
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.