Britain’s cities love themselves more than ever before, according to property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper.
The firm is involved in a number of inner-city residential redevelopment projects – with several recently completed – but has noticed in each case there is something missing.
“The common factor is that there’s a marked reduction of litter, fly tipping, vandalism and graffiti – and a great deal of pride being shown by residents in regenerated and redeveloped housing estates up and down the country,” said Michael Thirkettle, Chief Executive of McBains Cooper.
“Three typical examples in which we are involved are Anderston in Glasgow, Shiregreen in Sheffield and Rose Hill in Oxford. Each has origins in eras when design and development considerations were not at their sharpest – but in each case the project outcome has been a massive improvement.
“The result is that each has generated a strong feeling of community and pride amongst residents – and by going the extra mile in each case, working with the developers, we have created residential areas the people want to look after. And that has a hidden benefit – an ongoing cost-saving arising from local authorities or building owners not having to constantly repair or replace damaged or neglected property.”
The Rose Hill Redevelopment – which involved replacement and redevelopment of poor-quality housing, and construction of 259 new homes - has been awarded Winner of the New Buildings Category at the Oxford Preservation Trust Awards. McBains Cooper is Employer’s Agent on the project.
The project was voted into top slot for demonstrating Oxford City Council’s commitment to housing and to improving Rose Hill for its community.
Oxford Preservation Trust's aim is to preserve and enhance the historic city of Oxford and its green setting. The Trust’s annual awards scheme recognises projects that make a significant contribution to the conservation and improvement of the built or natural environment of Oxford.
Meanwhile, McBains Cooper was part of the Sanctuary Housing Association team behind the “Streetscene” element of the project in Shiregreen, Sheffield, which involved a massive makeover of the public areas of the estate – a project which was shortlisted in The Sustainable Housing Awards “Transformation” category.
And in Scotland McBains Cooper are project managers on the five-phase residential rebuild of Anderston – notorious for its poor-quality tower-blocks - working with client Sanctuary Housing, where a sculpture of Billy Connolly is high up on the elevation overlooking Glasgow, and the well-kept first phase.
“Such was the attention to detail during the project as a whole that the team even designed one apartment specifically for the needs of one family, and the gratitude and delight of the residents at that sort of effort - plus the overall finished product – has been clearly signalled by how well kept the whole area is,” said Alan Hannah of McBains Cooper in Glasgow.
