November 2023
Welcome to Your Place, the newsletter about Placeshaping on Whitebirk
What is Placeshaping?
Placeshaping is what we call our investment in your community; not just building new homes but shaping the places around it so that the estate remains fit for the future.
We know it’s important to keep you up to date with Placeshaping work on the estate and that’s what this newsletter is for. We also send short updates by email. You can subscribe to this by visiting www.togetherhousing.co.uk/placeshaping or by following the QR code.
As you may know, we have been talking to some residents about the demolition of their homes –this is so we can deliver the changes that you have said you want.
Our investment in your community is a work in progress and we hope to be able to update everyone with much more detail in 2024.
If your home is affected by demolition plans, you will have heard from us by now. All affected residents have been getting and will continue to receive 1-1 support throughout the process.
Notices around Whitebirk
You might start to see some notices going up on lampposts. These are a formal legal notice called a ‘Prior Approval Notice’.
This is just the first step, and it does not mean that properties will be demolished straight away.
Activity will begin on the estate in 2024 starting with these demolitions. We will continue to work on plans to improve the park, green spaces, public areas and existing properties as these are the areas that residents highlighted as most important to them.
We will update you where we can and seek your views before moving on to the next stage of our plans.
Thank you for your patience at this time.
Got a question or comment?
Get in touch!
Drop in to our surgery and bring us your questions, comments or concerns.
Every Thursday 10am – 2pm 6 Monmouth Road
Send us an email via www.togetherhousing.co.uk/placeshaping
Call us on 0300 555 5560 and leave a message for the placeshaping team to call you back.
If you have a question, want to know more or want to get this newsletter by email visit www.togetherhousing.co.uk/placeshaping
You said, we did.
Your feedback play a big part in our Placeshaping works. Here are some of the ways we have acted or are acting on what you have told us you’d like to see.
There are issues with the condition of some homes, including subsidence and general maintenance issues.
This is part of our investment into some existing homes within Placeshaping work. We will do this by identifying the worst impacted properties and fitting new windows, doors, bathrooms and kitchens. Where issues such as subsidence have been reported, we are doing a programme of targeted demolition to open the spaces for future Placeshaping investment.
The park is in need of improvement with more play areas for children, improved lighting, better security, and improved cleanliness.
The plans for Placeshaping will involve improvements being made to the park. We will work alongside local residents to decide exactly
what’s needed and will show any plans to the community before they are taken forward.
Issues with parking and some park on verges creating problems. Wherever possible, we will create more dedicated parking across the estate as part of Placeshaping.
Issues with boundary hedges and fences. We’re looking at ways to improve boundaries, such as new fencing and maintaining existing hedges where we can.
Homes are cold in the winter and too warm in the summer.
As part of our Placeshaping works we will be upgrading some windows, doors, bathrooms and kitchens at hundreds of properties across the estate to help with thermal efficiency.
A community centre or youth focussed facility
We are looking at options to refurbish the 2000 centre to make it more suitable to the needs of the community. We will be consulting the community on any proposals before they are taking forward
If you have a question, want to know more or want to get this newsletter by email visit www.togetherhousing.co.uk/placeshaping