A Place to Live

The vision for the housing theme is to make the 3 Estates a location of choice, where people want to stay and choose to move to, and where a transformed housing environment underpins and contributes to the improvements in employment, education, health and community safety;

New Deal has supported many projects that has improved the physical environment on the 3 Estates, this has included working with Birmingham City Council, Housing Department on the New Futures Programme (see below for more detail on this) and projects which have provided new parks in the area, improvements to drying areas, bringing forward and enhancing Council House Improvements, a home energy efficiency project and other projects that have made small but required changes for local residents through the Neighbourhood Response Initiative.  
The  New Deal programme is now in its final year and many projects have come to an end, however there are some projects that are continuing to run and will provide services until the end of the programme.
Below are more details of some of the projects under the Live Theme Objective.
The Live theme actual spend from financial year 2001/02 to financial year 2008/9 is £12,137,750 and this includes the New Futures Programme. 

Projects

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKS AND ARTS PROJECTS – (SPRING GREENS)

From 01.10.2005 to 01.03.2009

Funding allocation: £966,000 (project now completed)

This project complemented the New Futures Programme and focused on the delivery of Environmental improvements which will not be changed by the wider longer term plans.

Work initially started in 2005 with 12 Feasibility Studies for potential physical improvements across the 3 Estates. As the result of the feasibility studies, projects were chosen to be taken forward and have been incorporated into a 3 year project which was approved from 2005/6 to 2008/09.   
                            
Sub Projects within the overall project were:
 
Hawkesley Hall Open Space, Shannon Road Local Park with a Multi Use Games Area, Edgewood Road with the provision of  trees and street furniture,  Millennium Green Open Space, boundary improvements, the provision of welcome signs and Living History and production of DVD.
The project was delivered by Landscape Practice Group, Birmingham City Council.
 

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING PROJECT

From 01.04.2009 to 31.03.2010

Funding: £120,000

The aims and objectives of this project includes:                        
                                                                                
To ensure that important and positive messages about the New Deal programme are communicated to people who have been identified as key audiences during the remainder of the programme.
 
Key methods of communication are:
  • Website
  • 3 Estates Life Magazine
  • Leaflets
  • Production of end of programme DVD
  • Production of end of programme Report
 

NEW FUTURES CANAL PROJECT

From 01.04.2009 to 31.03.2010

Funding: £200,000

The Worcester & Birmingham Canal is an attractive feature to have going through the 3 Estates.   People use the canal for walking and cycling, which has obvious health benefits.    To encourage further usage of the canal a project was developed, after consultation with both local residents, British Waterways and Birmingham City Council.

The project will provide physical enhancements to the canal and will include improvements to access points, towpath reinstatement, tree management, introduction of mooring bollards, sign posting and an information display board to interpret the tug turning point near Wast Hill Tunnel. 
 
This will improve accessibility and make the canal a safer and more welcoming recreational environment for local residents. 
 
British Waterways will deliver the physical improvements to the canal and maintain the work after completion of the project. 

     

 
 
 
 

HAWKESLEY PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS

From 01.04.2008 to 01.02.2010

Funding: £750,000 

Hawkesley is an area that will not have major changes and therefore the concentration of the work has been on Decent Homes and Environmental Improvements. One of the projects that is currently being managed by Landscape Practice Group is delivering the following activities:

 Improvements to Walkways in Hawkesley
  • 2 new Crossings on the 3 Estates
  • Improvements to lighting
  • Improvements to disused drying areas
  • Colourful bulb planting
  • Directional signage on the walkways
For further information contact
Landscape Practice Group
Iggy Smith, Landscape Architect, Birmingham City Council
Tel no. 303 4504
                                                    
Nicholas Doyle
Project Officer
Kings Norton New Deal
Tel no. 464 4968