Carnarvon Road Protest
A developer is currently interested in replacing the now disused college site adjacent to the Civic Centre with a 15-storey block of flats. Below, we reproduce a leaflet outlining the arguments against this development.
Outline for our objections to the plans for the old college site, Carnarvon Road
Excluding the London Boroughs, Southend is the seventh most densely populated are in the UK1, 2, with 38.8 people per hectare, compared with the national average of 3.77, and has the second highest deprivation score in Essex. Victoria Ward, along with the Kursaal, Milton & Southchurch Wards fall within the 10% most deprived areas in England1.
Southend residents would like to see affordable dwellings, student housing, keyworker and some flats, although not an excessive number of 1 or 2 bed flats and there was opposition to tall buildings, although there is a case for limited number of landmarks and taller buildings to enrich the urban landscape3.
National policies focus on delivering sustainable, mixed communities ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to live in a decent home which they can afford in a community in which they want to live. 1 & 2-bed properties are more prevalent than average due to the concentration of flats in Southend compared with the surrounding 5 local authorities, however demand is strongest for three and four bed semi-detached and terraced properties, with entry-level & mid market family housing2
Currently 18% of the population are over 65 and 18% are under 15 years old. Over the next fifteen years, the aging population is set to increase by 14.4% for over 65’s, and 12.2% increase for the over 85’s1. Housing need is defined as “the quantity of housing required for households who are unable to access suitable housing without financial assistance”2. For the regeneration of the town, as envisaged by the Masterplan3, housing needs have to match the populations’ demands.
These demands on housing are to maximise residential development on previously developed sites and to provide a sufficient proportion of affordable, keyworker and family dwellings, with regard to the type & size necessary to meet these demands. High quality design and public realm, with protection and enhancement of the built and natural environment must be taken into consideration for the creation of a safe, accessible town that ensures the needs of all the residents are catered for3.
There is a high level of vacant properties within Southend, including those used of social rent, standing at 4.8%, indicating some potential to better use the existing stock to meet market demand. There is merit on providing a choice of appropriate housing for older people, which may encourage some to downsize or move into accommodation more appropriate to their needs, thus releasing a supply of larger homes for younger households. This will help to make the best use of the existing stock, and using Empty Dwelling Management Orders to bring vacant private sector housing back into use2.
Conditions in the neighbourhood and conditions in the home can have a big impact on health and quality of life. How we plan our towns, the location of services and access to green spaces are all important issues to the overall well-being of the population. Overcrowding and living in high-rise flats is associated with psychological symptoms such as depression. The Government’s health strategy Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation recognised the importance of good housing in reducing stress and it associations with other factors such as poverty, pollution, crime and poor access to facilities1.
For all of the above reasons, we object to the current plans for the old college site on Carnarvon Road (SOS08/01581/FULM) on the following grounds:
- Victoria Ward is already recognised as socially deprived – does adding another tower block into the mix help the current or future residents?
- Over-development is proven to have a massive impact on the health & quality of life – is the short term commercial gain worth the long term effect on the health care system?
- Of the 267 units planned, only 14 are 3-bedded with small gardens – will this really make an impact on the need for more family housing?
- There are 131 x 1-bed and 122 x 2-bed units planned – do Southend residents need any more of this type of housing?
- The tower block is mainly 2-bed units right up to the top level – does this make a suitable home to raise your family or for your parents to live in?
- The current built environment is made up of bungalows, 2, 3 and 4-storey housing – what impact would it have on us to be towered over by such a mega-structure? – loss of natural light of loss of privacy, to say the least
- There will be roughly as many new residents as there are currently in the immediate vicinity – will we be able to retain the sense of community with the personal safety for the young & old that brings with such a vast influx of people?
- There is provision of 267 additional car parking spaces – how are the roads going to cope with that increase in noise, pollution and highway safety issues?
- The drains already flood regular, with inadequate sewerage pipes because of the age of the streets – what impact will another 267 toilets, showers, washing machines & dishwasher have?
- Southend is supposed to be a place of renaissance, regeneration and education – haven’t the social housing disasters of the 1960’s scattered around the town taught us anything?
We want re-development on this site & those empty blocks in Victoria Avenue, but it has to be appropriate to the needs of the people who will live there without detriment to the lives of the current community
1 – Southend Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, Apr 2008
2 – Strategic Housing Market Assessment, Thames Gateway South East Executive Summary, Aug 2008
3 – Southend Central Area Masterplan consultation draft, Sep 2007