The External Improvements to Walk-Up Blocks project is allocated £3.5m of Thornhill Plus You funding and will have a massive visual impact on the Thornhill environment, improving the environmental areas directly around 88 walk-up blocks in Thornhill.
What will the project do?
- Improve the immediate environment surrounding 88 walk-up blocks.
- Ensure sustainability through community ownership at all stages, from design through to implementation and maintenance.
- Raise the aspirations of Thornhill residents and empower them to have an influence on the development and delivery of a major project that will impact on their lives.
- Address major issues raised by Thornhill residents.
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.
What Did The Pilot Project Achieve
External Improvements pilot presentation (38mb download requires powerpoint) demonstrates some of the impact made by the Pilot Project. The residents in the two blocks identified their top three issues and gave their views on the suggested designs before the eventual design was successfully submitted for planning permission, enabling work to start in March 2007.
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