Full Steam Ahead For Green Man

Estate redevelopment given go ahead

The Green Man estate in is to be transformed with new homes and community facilities after Ealing Council gave the green light to a massive £136m regeneration project.

The Green Man Lane estate regeneration team, which includes local housing provider A2Dominion, developer Rydon and architect Conran & Partners, was granted outline planning permission for the masterplan and detailed planning consent for phase one of the scheme.

Ealing Council’s planning committee made its decision at a meeting on September 1, 2010.

Residents, neighbours and other stakeholders have worked for over a year with the regeneration team to help shape plans for the project, giving their input into a range of areas including design, community regeneration and neighbourhood management.

Demolition will get under way in early 2011 of the estate’s 464 existing homes and a multi-storey car park, to make way for the first of 706 new flats and houses for a mixture of affordable rent, shared ownership and outright sale.

The first phase of the regeneration will include:

* 154 new one, two, three and four-bedroom homes split across two blocks, ranging in height from three to eight storeys
* A community café, set to be run by local people
* Enterprise employment units and community floor space
* New roads and parking spaces
* Play space for children
* An energy centre to provide energy-efficient heating and energy to the new neighbourhood.

Nicholas Yeeles, A2Dominion’s Executive Director (New Business), said: “This is fantastic news for local residents, who have worked hard over a long period of time to get the new high-quality homes they want and need. Our aim is to create a place where people feel proud and safe to be, and we feel confident that the regeneration will achieve this. However, this project will go far beyond simply providing new homes, with the creation of community facilities supporting the long-term sustainable revitalisation of this neighbourhood. We look forward to continuing to work with the local area as plans for this exciting project move forward.”

The regeneration team has been working not just with the residents of Green Man Lane but the wider community as well, to ensure the whole of West Ealing benefits from the regeneration. Initiatives such as the Green Man Lane history group, an arts project and plans for the community café are giving people from across the local area the opportunity to get involved.

Mark Mitchener, Rydon’s director responsible for regeneration, commented: “We are really excited about this outstanding project which will benefit so many people. We look forward to continuing our work with the residents and the community and to offering work and training opportunities to local young people and trades as we deliver the transformation of the estate that is so needed.”

Paul Zara, Director at Conran & Partners, said: “The redevelopment of Green Man Lane is of vital importance both to the area and to the people that live there. The opportunity to provide high quality homes for the current residents alongside new homes for sale and rent is a great responsibility and one that we have taken very seriously. We want this to be outstanding architecture that raises the spirits of those who live there. Our aim is to set new standards in Ealing and create a place where people will be proud to be a resident.”

Councillor Hitesh Tailor, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: "I'm sure local residents who have been involved in the development of this project will be delighted to get the go ahead to regenerate their estate."

A2Dominion has been awarded grant funding of just over £13 million by the Homes & Communities Agency towards the building of the affordable homes for the first phase of the regeneration of Green Man Lane.

All new homes for the Green Man Lane estate have been designed to achieve Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Other sustainability measures include water-saving devices in the homes and rainwater collection.

The development will be fully Lifetime Homes compliant, and in addition 10 per cent of the new homes will either be adapted or adaptable to wheelchair accessible standards.

September 2nd, 2010