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Green light for major Basingstoke regeneration
NORTH HAMPSHIRE’S biggest landlord has received council backing for the latest project to replace 140 outdated properties with nearly 240 new affordable homes on a Basingstoke estate.
Sentinel Housing Association has spent four years putting together an ambitious £40m project to regenerate unpopular blocks of maisonettes in Popley’s Faroe Close and Maldive Road.
On Wednesday last week, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s planners gave the green light to the plans, paving the way for residents to be relocated and the site to be demolished next spring.
Sentinel Chief Executive Martin Nurse said afterwards: “With more and more people in need of affordable homes, gaining planning approval could not have come at a better time.
“Most of the new properties will be family homes at affordable rents, and will be much more energy efficient than the 1960s maisonettes there at the moment. However, we’re aware that some neighbours are not totally happy with the proposed redesign near the shops, so we’ll be looking again at that aspect in the near future to see if we can reach a consensus.”
Funding for the £40m project will come from a mix of government grants and bank finance raised by Sentinel, and the new development will be completed by 2012.
The redesign centres on a new tree-lined park and kick-about area, and will look and feel similar to Sentinel’s award-winning regeneration of Oakridge – completed in 2006.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Housing and Health Cllr Cathy Osselton said: “As the Cabinet member responsible for housing, I’m delighted that this important scheme has passed this major milestone and now has planning permission. It will increase the amount of badly-needed affordable housing in the area, and will offer a much better standard of home than the existing out-dated maisonettes."
