Policy Exchange visit Stanhope with Moat

13 October 2011

On Tuesday 11 October, think-tank Policy Exchange visited Stanhope in Ashford, Kent. Moat played host for the visit as the housing partner within the Chrysalis consortium; who signed a 30 year PFI contract with Ashford Borough Council in 2007 to regenerate the Stanhope neighbourhood.

The visit highlighted how the regeneration of a neighbourhood can lead to better opportunities for its residents. Discussion mostly focussed on employment issues, and how landlords, Work Programme providers, policymakers and other stakeholders can work more closely together to give residents the support they need to find work.

This massive regeneration project has already seen the refurbishment of 323 homes and by May 2012, seven blocks of original apartments will have been replaced with 442 new high quality homes. The final phase began in April of this year and will deliver 32 affordable homes at a cost of £3,170,000. Moat is committed to provide housing management at Stanhope for the next 30 years from their Neighbourhood Office based at the Stanhope Centre, also home to the Stanhope Library.

Local residents have been involved in the project from its inception. Through Ashford Borough Council's planning exercise conducted in 1999, residents voted to demolish all flats and relocate the shops, and to develop a low rise development with a significant proportion of houses to apartments. Denne Construction provides the National Skills Academy for Construction (NSAfC) at Stanhope. This provides apprenticeship opportunities for local people and a wide range of engagement activities to support local schools.

The results speak for themselves, with the percentage of residents at Stanhope either very or fairly satisfied with the service they receive from Chrysalis at 90% in a 2011 survey. Add to this that the total number of crimes recorded annually has decreased by 200 over the last ten years; and it is clear that this regeneration is about more than bricks and mortar.

Alex Morton, Senior Research Fellow at Policy Exchange, says; "It was interesting to see how Moat have worked at Stanhope to improve the community. We also had a useful discussion about how housing associations can help get residents who are able to work, back into jobs. We want to continue the good work already being done around the country, and will be looking at this in future research."

Moat's Chief Executive, Brian Johnson, says; "We're proud of the successful regeneration at Stanhope and the main driver behind this success is our partnership with residents. Without their incredible commitment to their community and passion to create a safe and improved neighbourhood, we would have little to show here.

However, we know there is more work we can do to help residents into work - not only in Stanhope but across our area of operation, which will no doubt include closer working relationships with Work Programme providers. We therefore genuinely appreciated the opportunity to discuss employment issues with Policy Exchange, who are clearly a leading think tank with much to contribute in this area."

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