The Better Neighbourhood Project will have a massive visual
impact on the Thornhill landscape. It is going to improve
the environmental areas directly around the 88 walk-up blocks
in Thornhill. Thornhill Plus You have allocated £3.5
million to the project.
Where Did This Project Come From?
At the start of the Thornhill Plus You programme (then known as Thornhill New Deal for Communities), major consultation events took place for residents to identify the major issues to be addressed through the programme. These were recorded during the first delivery plan, “Stepping Out” and were used to inform the Thornhill Framework for Change study carried out by Terence O'Rourke in 2003/4. This document identified potential projects, such as the External Improvements to Walk-Up Blocks project, for implementation by the Living & Built Environment team.
What are the key issues to address through this project?
- Problems of privacy
- Lack of security/external lighting
Lack of safe areas to play/gardens
- Litter problems
- Problems with parking/garage courts unused
- Lack of appeal to front entrances
- Drying areas unused
- Paving problems
- Conflicting use of space
- Lack of definition between public and private spaces
- Blocks appear lost in space and unattractive to the eye
- Residents have limited sense of ownership over their blocks and immediate environment
A total of £90,000 was allocated to a pilot scheme involving two blocks (28 flats): 2-28 Jerome Court and 167-193 Byron Road. This took place between October 2006 and April 2007, with a further grant of £10,000 from the Studies Fund agreed to support the consultation element and develop a consultation framework/strategy to be used for the main project.
External
Improvements pilot presentation (38mb download requires
powerpoint) demonstrates some of the impact made by the Pilot
Project.
The £3.46m Better Neighbourhood project (formerly known as the Environmental Improvements to Walk-Up Blocks Project) was funded by Thornhill Plus You New Deal for Communities (NDC) and managed by the Housing Management division in Southampton City Council. It aimed to improve the areas around 88 walk-up housing blocks across Thornhill, all of which were owned by Southampton City Council. This represents nearly a third of Thornhill’s homes (about 1,300 out of about 4,500). The works included developing parking provision (135 car parking spaces were created), planting, landscaping, improving pathways, improving bin areas, and addressing a need for play areas and greenways.
Its target outputs were as follows:
- To improve 88 blocks;
- To ensure 50 per cent of properties in each block are engaged in consultation;
- To increase the number of Block Representatives to 59 through an additional 26 individuals becoming Block Representatives;
- To create three employment opportunities for residents;
- To create 15 training placements for residents.
For the purposes of the project, the 88 blocks were grouped into 17 geographical clusters and five packages (A-E). An equal amount of funding (approximately £30,000) was allocated to each block. A pilot phase, covering two blocks in Jerome Court, took place between October 2006 and April 2007. The remaining 86 blocks were addressed as follows:
- Phase 1 (20 per cent of the project’s value) covered 12 blocks (four in cluster 1 and 8 in cluster 2) forming package A, and completed on 13th March 2009;
- Phase 2 (40 per cent of the value) started on 14th April 2009 and covered package D & E;
- Phase 3 (40 per cent of the value) started on 5th June 2009 and covered package B & C.
The project ended in February 2010.
Click here to read the Better Neighbourhood Final Evaluation Report - produced by Papworth Research & Consultancy Ltd.
Please click here to read the Better Neighbourhood Interim Evaluation.
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