Dollis Valley Regeneration

Dollis Valley Regeneration Association worked with Barnet Council and Warden Housing Association on plans for major regeneration of the estate.

Dollis Valley estate in North London was built in the 1960s and is home to over 600 households. Although deemed structurally sound from a BRE survey, the flats have serious jointing problems, with cracks in walls and water penetration.

“In one flat you can see daylight between the panels. There’s no remedy. Well there probably is but it’s cheaper to start again. Some people want to keep their homes as they are but the majority want brand new homes.”

The estate is planned for major regeneration, costing about £200m, to include demolishing 450 flats, and replacing them with over 1000 new units. The new units will include around 450 houses targeted at existing residents and the rest will be flats for private sale. The regeneration of the estate is linked to the transfer of housing stock from Barnet Council to Warden Housing Association.

Dollis Valley Regeneration Association was set up 2 years ago in response to council requests for a residents’ regeneration steering group for the project. The group selected an independent tenant adviser, who provides regular help guiding them through the complicated redevelopment process. Residents were also involved with the selection of the housing association to work with in the redevelopment. After interviewing several organisations, they eventually chose Warden Housing Association. “Their initial plan was nasty. It looked like a prison block. They put up the least acceptable physical proposal but they seemed more interested in complying with what we wanted.”

Three members of the group went to the Places by Design course at Trafford Hall. During the course the group redesigned their estate with a new street layout following the contours of the valley, with a mixture of houses and flats. The group found that the course had come in handy for their negotiations with Warden. The group then applied to hold a Local Design Workshop event on their estate to pass on the ideas they’d picked up from the course at Trafford Hall. The Glass-House commissioned URBED to run the course and the group organised the rest, from venue to food.

In an area due to undergo master planning regeneration, those committee members who attended the course wished to engage wider committee members in training with designers. Several council workers and staff from Warden Housing Association came to the event, but the group failed to attract a large number of residents. They felt that the delays and complex nature of the regeneration process had left residents cynical about the regeneration process and unable to see the point of getting involved.

In spite of this, the event went very well and the people that took part enjoyed it. Two weeks after the event, Warden organised a fun day on the estate at which they exhibited all the models.

“The whole thing is brilliant. I like the trainer’s enthusiasm. It’s infectious and his bounciness carries you along.”

Neighbourhoods

Local design workshop

URBED