Housing estate residents fear their family homes being bulldozed to make way for ‘gentrification’
Residents from the Uplands estate in Runcorn are up in arms over plans to regenerate their estate, which they fear would mean fewer houses than currently exist. The Big Issue went to meet them
Earlier this year, Southwark resident Aysen Dennis’s one-woman crusade against the demolition of her council estate successfully thwarted plans for the Aylesbury estate to be leveled – for now. That high court ruling also lit a fire almost 200 miles away in Runcorn, Cheshire. Residents of the Uplands Residents Group are fighting the regeneration of their own estate, fearing that the number of homes delivered will be fewer than currently exist. They wrote in to the Big Issue to ask us to meet them.
Glenys Cotterill wrote to us to highlight the situation. Image: Liam Geraghty
Riverside Housing Association’s plans to demolish 343 homes on the Uplands estate in the name of progress have met stiff resistance from residents who worry the development will not deliver the housing association’s promised 391 homes.
The project aims to transform the redbrick estate with new homes, including properties for veterans and a new local centre. Riverside say 80% of the new homes will be affordable, including social rent, shared ownership and rent to buy.
The work is part of a £80m regeneration project encompassing other estates in the area and is expected to last between eight and 10 years. A planning application for the Uplands is expected to be considered by Halton Borough Council shortly.
But some residents are accusing the housing association of ripping the heart out of their community. Many have lived on the estate since it was built in 1974. Others have accused Riverside of a “land grab”, hoping to force out homeowners to eke out more cash from renters.
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The Big Issue met 10 residents at the soon-to-be bulldozed community centre on the estate after they wrote in to the magazine following Dennis’s case.
Dawn Carrington. Image: Liam Geraghty
Among them was Dawn Carrington. The 60-year-old has lived in her home for 41 years, bringing up two children and living within walking distance of her five grandchildren.
Carrington works in a call centre on a zero-hours contract but the security of having a home she owns means she is not too concerned by her irregular shifts.
But with no savings, the prospect of losing her home and having to find another is unsettling.
“I have spent around £30,000 on the property. I just know everyone and everyone’s friendly and I don’t know any different,” she says.
“I’ve spent loads just on maintenance and I’ve done it on my own. I think: what if I get somewhere that’s rubbish?”
“So if I get 90 grand, what can you get? Nothing. Not like what I’ve got. To me £110,000 wouldn’t be enough to buy something decent. I’m not selling to move into rubbish. A house that hasn’t been looked after and maintained? I couldn’t move into something like that because it has taken me too long to get this and I’m too old for a mortgage.”
Some have already moved from the estate, accepting the offer from Riverside of market value for the home plus 10%. Renters who move will receive an unspecified “home loss payment”.
Carrington’s next-door neighbour is one of them: now the house stands empty with a block on the letterbox to prevent post.
Carrington is determined not to follow suit. “I’d be devastated if I had to move. Just talking about it I can feel it because it hurts,” she says.
For Carl Storey, the regeneration project could see him and four generations of his family forced out of their homes – his grandmother and his parents live on the estate alongside his partner and two children.
Carl Storey and his family have spent thousands on making their home wheelchair accessible. Image: supplied
As a landlord, he also has three properties on the estate and says they, too, will be caught up in the demolitions.
“My nan is 92 years old and she’s a badass,” says Storey. “My grandad died in that house and all her memories from the past 50 years are in that house.
“It was devastating telling her about this because she doesn’t know what she’s going to do, to be honest. Because I’ve got to sort this out for me, my mum and dad because they’re in their 70s. I’ve got to sort out where everyone’s got to go.”
Storey estimates he’s spent around £40,000 renovating his home to make it accessible for his disabled son. He fears that money has now gone to waste and worries about finding a new home because of the additional accessibility needs, especially if he is competing with his neighbours.
“You’ve got 20 to 50 people every six months – they say they can do 50 houses in six months – so where’s everyone going to find a house? It’s just ridiculous,” says Storey. “Gentrification is what I’ve put it down to because they want to get rid of all the old people, get them out and build a lot of new houses to get a lot of younger people in, but they’ll be starting afresh.
“I made this for the next 10 years so my son can get his wheelchair in and out and get around. That makes it even harder to find a new place to live. We also have the gardens open so we can get to my mum’s house next door. I’ll have to do it all again but the money’s gone now.”
Residents have called on support from Labour’s Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury, who coincidentally happens to be the shadow building safety and homelessness minister. He attended a meeting with them in March.
Residents in the soon-to-be demolished community centre. Image: Liam Geraghty
“As a Labour MP, I naturally welcome an £80m investment in an area of my constituency left behind over the years,” says Amesbury. “Investment in new housing, community facilities and the environment is desperately needed.
“However, I understand any regeneration has an impact on existing householders. That’s why the details of this vision must continue to be shaped by tenants, residents and owner occupiers. I have met with predominantly owner occupiers, who wish to remain in their homes. I made clear that, as their MP, I will support them and advocate on their behalf in discussions with Riverside.
“As shadow minister for homelessness, I will always champion the need to build genuinely affordable housing, within sustainable neighbourhoods, at both a national and local level.”
A spokesperson for Riverside told the Big Issue: “We want to reassure residents that we remain committed to working with them and listening to their feedback and concerns around our plans to regenerate the Uplands.
“We want to apologise to those who may feel concerned about the plans and appreciate the challenges that may come with moving home.
“We want to remind residents that we have a dedicated team who have been working with individuals and are available to provide a variety of personalised support and share any concerns or feedback with, including at our site offices.”
Ultimately, regeneration and retrofit is a necessity as the UK looks to tackle the twin challenges of the housing crisis and climate change.
Residential properties emit around 17% of the UK’s total carbon emissions and the UK also, famously, has the oldest, leakiest housing stock in Europe. Around 80% of the buildings that will be in use in 2050 already exist today. But the housing crisis has eroded the sense of community at the heart of housing across the country.
With private renters unable to put down roots and the loss of social housing, places like the Uplands are almost the exception now, not the norm.
Their campaigning serves as a reminder that the heart and soul of the people living in buildings is important to conserve, even if the bricks and mortar must inevitably change.
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