Estate regeneration opportunities are becoming smaller and more complex as the larger and more high profile opportunities are built out, according to experts in the sector
“The opportunity now is to consider other estates that are not in need of physical regeneration, but may have been designed in an era of generous space,” said Jonathan Seager, executive director of policy at London First.
“Those estates have infill development potential, but to bring them forward is very challenging.”
Infill is difficult not least because existing communities, and councils, must be convinced that increasing the density of estates is a good idea.
Simon Vevers, director at the Hyde Group, which owns a limited number of estates, says infill programmes have been hard work, though necessary.
“Each one of those has been incredibly tortuous in terms of getting through the planning system,” he said.
However, more and more developers are looking at estate regeneration as a way to access a long term pipeline of development in partnership with a public sector body who can take on some of the risk.
Kate Ives, development director at Wates Residential, said the difficulty is that while estate regeneration works very well for a business when it is looking for longer term returns, the upfront costs of CPOs and master planning are expensive.
“But local authorities are starting to see the kind of housing they can develop. I do think it will more about partnerships between the public and private sector.”
She also said new development models are evolving to adapt to the opportunities, for instance where councils put forward two sites, one difficult and one straightforward, in the same development contract.
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