Derelict site redevelopment: a rewarding challenge for new home builders
When the government of the time realised that it would not achieve the successes it had hoped to in this particular sector of the oil industry, it abandoned the idea of housing workers in Polphail so the building project was cancelled towards the latter stages of development and the settlement was never inhabited. This derelict village is now up for sale, the likelihood being that prospective purchasers would want to use it for building residential homes.
After reading this Polphail article, Quick Move Properties decided to investigate further and looked into the pros and cons of redeveloping derelict sites for new home builders and communities across the UK. What are the benefits of regenerating disused locations and what are the points for concern?
What are the benefits of building residential homes on a previously derelict site?
• If areas are desperate for more housing or governmental regulations state that a certain volume of houses must be created, developing derelict sites is a clever way for new home builders to secure extra land to build on without having to rely solely on greenfield land.
• According to land website buyingland.org.uk, developing greenfield land is ‘falling out of favour with the public because it is really eating into the green spaces around our towns’. As a result, builders working on brownfield sites will be more popular and will hopefully attract more buyers than other, greenfield developments.
• This website also says that the value of greenfield land is rising more quickly than the value of brownfield land and therefore smaller initial outlays and larger potential profit margins are available to builders buying and developing the latter.
• Using foundations on an existing site (as long as they are sound) gives new home builders a head start in construction, saving valuable time and money.
• By using the journey from dereliction to dream housing estate as a sales tool and intriguing background story, builders have the opportunity to impress prospective new home buyers and thus increase their sales.
• There is greater contrast between run down housing areas and brand new developments than there is between greenfield locations and brand new developments so new home builders developing derelict sites stand out against and captivate more buyers than other builders transforming nearby greenfield sites.
• An eye-sore is transformed into a modern development, making a local area more attractive.
• Wasted, disused land is given a new purpose.
• When an uninhabitable area is turned into a new community, it helps to boost an economy by providing jobs (not only during building work but also afterwards as schools, community centres and shops are usually included in the development plans) and attracting shoppers from neighbouring villages and towns.
• Public health and safety issues associated with disused sites (such as asbestos and crumbling buildings) are eradicated when builders regenerate an area.
• If existing foundations are unsound or a site has problems such as asbestos, depending on the extent of work required, it is more costly, difficult and time-consuming for new home builders to remove and replace buildings on a derelict site than it is for them to use empty land and start building from scratch.
• At times, derelict sites become snapshots of life. In its Polphail feature the Daily Mail quotes Philippa Elliott, a photographer who worked at the site and detailed what she saw: “Keys still dangling on a board waiting for tenants who would never arrive, coat hangers remaining in cupboards and rusting washing machines standing idle, dreaming of a first spin cycle that never came.” In some cases, local people may not champion building projects that remove a sense of history or nostalgia.
• If protected species (such as bats and certain species of owl) have made homes in derelict sites, development programs will be put on hold or cancelled. New home builders will lose time and potentially money if problems such as these arise.
Research into an area’s history and investigations into its existing structures help new home builders to assess the viability of a venture.
Tips for how to choose a rewarding location for redevelopment:
1. Speak to people living near the intended site to get a feel for how they would react to development plans and how successful new home sales might be. Would objections be raised against building? Who would be my target audience for new home sales?
2. Research the local area being considered for development to work out if a building project would be viable and profitable. Why was building work on this site abandoned previously? Why was this area allowed to become run-down? Do previous reasons for dereliction (such as problems within the local job market) still stand today and will they influence my building success?
3. Carry out structural investigations into the quality of existing foundations on the derelict site in question. Work out whether you could use these foundations or whether you would need to remove them and build from scratch. Look into the cost of each and how it will affect profit from your potential sales.
4. Look into whether grants and subsidies are available to you. For example, if you are regenerating historic buildings and giving them a new purpose whilst preserving their celebrated features, you may be eligible to receive funding from local Trusts, charities or councils.
5. Make sure you have a good chance of being granted planning permission by local government. Discuss your plans with councillors to gauge reaction to your intended development and speak to local land agents who may be able to give insight into an area and the likelihood of obtaining planning permission.
Derelict site regeneration in action:
Calderdale Council aims to secure a clean and safe built and natural environment and improve the district’s towns, villages and neighbourhoods. On its website it says: “one of the principle means of achieving these aims is through the redevelopment and regeneration of derelict and degraded land and buildings that are found throughout Calderdale.” The Council’s plan “to bring previously developed ‘brownfield’ sites and empty property back into constructive use, turning them from eyesores into assets” has been in existence since 2000 and is still one of its focuses today!
Building residential homes on derelict sites is not always the most profitable and beneficial option for new home builders or the local areas they are considering for development. Developers regenerate sites in accordance with the needs of the area they are operating within. For example, development company Casey is currently turning a derelict sand quarry in Norley, Cheshire into quality farmland. Although they still have eight acres to transform, fourteen acres are complete and already being used to grow potatoes for McCain!
Although challenging at times, creating new homes on run-down locations is a rewarding and beneficial exercise for builders. The only question that remains is – who will step forward to buy and redevelop Polphail?
Photographs are taken from the full Daily Mail article about the ‘ghost village’ of Polphail, if you would like to read this, visit
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2163246/Bonnie-view--need-improvement-Scottish-ghost-village-sale-abandonment.html
0 Comments:
Post a Comment