Housing Minister asked to intervene in Seven Sisters' demolition dispute

Date published: 11 March 2020

Rochdale councillor Faisal Rana has written to the Minister for Housing to ask him to visit Rochdale to investigate RBH's controversial plan to demolish four of the Seven Sisters tower blocks at College Bank and regenerate the area.

Last year, tenants living in four of the landmark Seven Sisters tower blocks – Mitchell Hey, Dunkirk Rise, Tentercroft and Town Mill Brow – were told their homes will likely be torn down within the next seven years.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/126907/seven-sisters-tenants-told-their-blocks-will-be-torn-down

RBH says repairing the 60s blocks would be too expensive, push up management fees and only serve as a short-term fix - but says it 'will continue to provide advice and assistance to all residents affected by the proposals, providing tailored support for those households who need it so that everyone can move into a good quality home that meets their needs'.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/112547/rbh-guarantees-town-centre-homes-for-residents-at-college-bank-and-lower-falinge-if-flats-are-demolished
• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/126971/housing-association-urged-to-end-confusion-over-regeneration-masterplan

Under the proposals, College Bank would see refurbishment of the remaining blocks – Underwood, Mardyke and Holland Rise – including remodelling to reduce the number of bedsits, combining both ‘studios’ on each floor into a single two-bedroom property and improving parking arrangements.

 

 

In his letter to Christopher Pincher MP, the Spotland and Falinge ward councillor wrote: “I know the government is determined to see an increase in the number of homes built to tackle the housing shortage, with particular emphasis being given to affordable homes to buy and more social homes for rent.

“There is an urgent need to build more homes for rent to tackle the desperate shortage in towns and cities right across the UK and to drastically reduce the scourge of homelessness and long waiting lists.

“I would like you to visit Rochdale to see for yourself the actions of one social housing provider that is actually making the problem worse.

“Rochdale Boroughwide Housing owns and manages 13,000 former local authority homes. It is proposing to demolish four out of seven blocks of flats in the town centre. These homes are very popular with the residents who now live in fear of losing their homes.

“College Bank Flats – known locally as the Seven Sisters – are home to over 1,000 people and have graced the Rochdale skyline for 40 years. Unlike many other high-rise blocks, they have been very popular in the town and their design has added to the built environment, not detracted from it.

“The landmark flats enjoy a stable community of many long-standing residents and quite a number of owner occupiers, again a testament to their popularity. They are close to schools, all the town centre amenities and have excellent transport links.

“Rochdale Boroughwide Housing is proposing to tear down four of the blocks because, they say, it will cost too much money to refurbish them. Most tenants dispute this. They are in good condition and have been well maintained over the years.

“However, the landlord is prepared to pay well over £1 million to demolish each of the four tower blocks.

“The housing crisis is a real one and needs urgent action to tackle the desperate shortage of homes. I cannot for the life of me understand why Rochdale’s largest social housing provider wants to make the problem worse. Its proposals will remove a staggering 480 homes available for rent to be replaced by just 120 new homes on the site. Rochdale has some of the most deprived communities in the country and cannot stand such a huge reduction in the number of homes for rent.

“A recent report by respected research group Futuregov has said demand for social housing in Rochdale is a tipping point. In just three years, the number of homeless forced to live in bread and breakfast accommodation has almost quadrupled; with people spending 3,653 nights in B&B in 2018/19. That is the scale of the crisis facing Rochdale.

“I would very much appreciate it if you could put a visit to Rochdale top of your in-tray. It would an ideal opportunity to investigate what only can be described as an act of housing vandalism.

“You will also be able to meet the Save the Seven Sisters campaign group – proud tenants, terrified of losing their home, battling an over-powerful and insensitive landlord.

“If your busy schedule is such that an early visit is not possible, I am more than happy to visit you at your offices in Marsham Street and I will bring with me representatives of the College Bank tenants who will explain first-hand the anxiety and fear their landlord is putting them through.”

 

 

In response, Gareth Swarbrick, Chief Executive of RBH, has written to Councillor Rana with a letter of his own.

Mr Swarbrick’s letter reads: “I want to reiterate that my door is always open to discuss any issues related to College Bank and Lower Falinge. We have provided dedicated briefings – both written and face-to-face – for elected members regarding our regeneration proposals and we would be really pleased to answer any queries from councillors.

“With that in mind, I was very saddened to read the significant number of inaccuracies and misunderstandings within your letter to the Minister.  In particular, I want to make it extremely clear that our plans aim to increase the number of homes in the town centre area. I am deeply disappointed in your misleading and inaccurate statement about the number of homes available at the completion of our regeneration plans. We want to deliver more homes, not fewer – and deliver higher quality homes and a better mix of homes that meet the needs of local people. Our plans are about providing healthier, greener spaces and a mix of family houses and homes for older people as well as apartments.  As well as increasing the overall number of homes, this will provide better quality options for town centre living and a better quality of life.

“With regard to your comments on the emphasis on social rent, you will recall that in our Councillor bulletin sent to you on 14 February, we explained how we would dearly love to be able to access grant to build more social rent homes. However, like much of the north, Rochdale is an area currently locked out from receiving Homes England grant for social rent by Government funding rules.  We would be very grateful for your support to enable us to access grant funding to build new homes for social rent.

“Our clear aim is to increase the number of genuinely affordable homes to rent, not just in Rochdale town centre, but across the borough. Our plans aim to reverse the erosion of the number of these homes as a result of right-to-buy. Our long-term goal is to increase the supply of affordable homes to rent in Rochdale borough, and we have already set out plans to increase the number of homes we build each year as part of our current corporate strategy.

“The decisions that we have made on the future of College Bank are difficult ones, and we know that this makes for a challenging and upsetting time for some residents. We have an experienced and dedicated team of professionals to support and advise residents who will need to move. We have made a clear promise that every resident who wishes to remain in the town centre will be able to do so, and we are already delivering on that promise. We also have some great feedback from residents who have moved, explaining how a better-quality home has better met their housing needs and improved their quality of life.

“Residents in College Bank have been very clear to us that the blocks as a whole need upgrading. To provide modern homes fit for the next three decades, our most recent independent professional cost report has told us that the work needed would cost over £15m for each block currently proposed for demolition. For that money, we could build up to 150 brand new homes – the equivalent of 600 homes across all four blocks.

“The College Bank blocks are five decades old and like similar blocks of this age and construction up and down the country, they need significant investment. There is rainwater penetration into flats, and heating, water and sewerage systems are outdated and don’t meet residents’ needs. Investment is needed to the roofs of the blocks as well as entrances, the single stairwells, all communal floors and flat door replacements to meet the highest standards of safety needed for high-rise homes. Work is also needed to the concourse over the garages where water pooling is a significant problem – these pools then need to be pumped away.

“You refer to the FutureGov report, which is rightly stark in setting out some of the long-term challenges that we face to meet the housing and support needs of local people. As I said in my letter to Councillors last week, the report is particularly clear about the impact of placing families in temporary accommodation.

“We can only alleviate this by providing the right homes to meet this demand, including in Rochdale town centre. We desperately need to improve the quality and mix of homes available. The blocks at College Bank house primarily single people and couples, both RBH and Rochdale Council agree that this accommodation is completely unsuitable for families with young children. There is a clear need to increase the supply of family housing in the town centre – and the new homes we have built in the town centre area to date have met that need. We are due to start further new homes in Lower Falinge shortly, which will include new apartments and family housing, all for genuinely affordable rent.

“I completely agree that no family should spend time in bed and breakfast as temporary accommodation. The only way to resolve this is to ensure the supply and quality of homes in Rochdale provides great places where these families are able to stay and build their lives. It also involves all partners and services working together, a key finding of the FutureGov report. 

“I am really proud of the work RBH does together with the council to support households facing homeless both in helping to prevent homelessness and in supporting people in temporary and into permanent homes. 

“I would be very happy to answer any questions you have or to meet with you to help you understand our proposals in more detail.”

 

 

Chair of the Save the Seven Sisters Campaign, Mark Slater, a resident of the College Bank flats, has welcomed the news of Councillor Rana’s letter.

Mark, who has lived in the flats three times, said: “We are very concerned over the plans RBH has for College Bank and Lower Falinge. The FutureGov report seems to have localised the epidemic and really brought it home.

“The flats are part of Rochdale’s community assets; they’ve been part of the skyline since they were built, and they are part of Rochdale. These are people’s forever homes, where their lives are and where their support networks are.

“I can’t see the logic in reducing the housing stock. There will be a loss of 380 properties, but there are over 6,000 people on the waiting list. It’s a social sin to see so many people in temporary accommodation and homeless. I volunteer at the soup kitchen and see the homeless and socially vulnerable. They have openly told me that if we didn’t have the flats, they would be back where they were before.

“We disagree that it will cost £10million to refurbish each block. The carbon spend can’t be dismissed: it’s unsustainable to demolish and rebuild them.

“Residents have had no support from RBH, they’ve been abandoned. No planning application has gone in, but they are making people uproot. It is disgusting.”

He added: “I agree with every word Councillor Rana has put in his letter. We’re really positive we will win this fight.”

Additional reporting: Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter