Background information

Why now?

At the heart of this consultation are the three residential flat and maisonette blocks of Taverner, Freemantle and Westray. Sentinel own 44 three bed maisonettes and 26 one bed flats and in addition, there are also 19 leasehold properties (89 in total). There are also 106 garages, 88 of which are currently rented. Although the homes are structurally sound they do not meet current standards in terms of heat loss, electrical and mechanical services.

The age and design of the neighbourhood creates under-used open space and residents report high incidences of anti-social behaviour compared to other Sentinel neighbourhoods. The playing field is poorly designed and play space and sports provision is inadequate - this is worse for younger children. There is a skate park nearby and a popular allotment plot which is not included in this consultation.

We’ve now secured funding that means we can look at providing modern, better quality homes for residents and improve the neighbourhood for the wider community. This could include an increased proportion of family houses through estate regeneration. If this the preferred approach, you would be fully involved in the design process.

Sentinel’s commitment to residents

We understand that this announcement has the potential to be stressful for the affected residents in the three blocks of housing and also the residents who rent the garages. We’re arranging one to one meetings with tenants to talk through housing needs and the choices available. We’re also contacting leaseholders to discuss options. We’ll also contact anyone who is renting a garage from us in the area.

Extra community benefits

As part of this design process we’ve been able to look at the neighbourhood adjoining the New Horizons area and would like your feedback on some ideas we have to make further improvements. These could include;

• new parking areas;
• new garage designs;
• removal of nuisance trees;
• improved footpaths; and
• bin storage.

If you live in any of the roads pinpointed on the map please come along to the community consultation for a chat, or you can leave your comments on our Facebook page from Saturday 24 March.