Redevelopment of Penrhos Polish Village - Newsletter - October 2021

REDEVELOPMENT OF PENRHOS POLISH VILLAGE

CLWYDALYN.CO.UK

BACKGROUND Penrhos Polish Village is set in 20 acres of beautiful grounds on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north Wales and was originally an RAF air base in World War II. Following the end of the war, the site was used as a demobilization camp for Polish servicemen and women and then in 1949 the Polish Housing Society was formed. Over time, the wooden barracks were replaced by purpose-built accommodation for elderly people requiring sheltered housing, residential and nursing care.

Unfortunately, over time the Polish Housing Society faced several challenges, including a changing regulatory environment and a long period of financial uncertainty, which meant that urgent action needed to be taken to prevent insolvency of the care home. After exploring all options, the Polish Housing Society took the difficult decision to close the home to secure the long-term future of Penrhos Polish Village.

In September 2020 the Polish Housing Society transferred to ClwydAlyn Housing as part of a merger arrangement. The site at the time, included the 42-bed care home, 90 sheltered homes, a church, dining area, communal lounges, and a small shop.

A collaboration between Gwynedd Council, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and ClwydAlyn supported the phased closure of the care home, working closely with residents and their families to look at the best options for their future care. ClwydAlyn and Gwynedd Council worked together to support any staff affected by redundancy and where possible helped them find alternative employment opportunities. The equipment in the care home was gifted to either the resident’s new care provider or to other care homes in the community.

Work was completed to bring the existing sheltered accommodation up to a safe standard and residents were supported to transition onto a new affordable rent tenancy with ClwydAlyn, while plans for the site are developed.

CURRENT HOMES AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE The current homes at Penrhos Polish Village are for people aged 55 years and over, accommodating residents from the Polish community as well as people from the local area. Residents live as independently as possible, safe in the knowledge that there are staff on site to provide support and advice should they require a little extra help as their needs change.

The aim is to build on the rich heritage and vibrant community that exists at Penrhos to ensure that it remains a safe and happy place for residents to retire to for many years to come.

Due to the age and construction of the existing homes, many need significant investment to bring them up to standard, including improvements to the energy efficiency of the buildings. The best option is to demolish the existing structures and build new energy efficient homes.

All partners are committed to exploring an innovative new care model, which includes building a new care home on site (subject to planning being agreed by key partners and funding secured).

The aim for the Penrhos site is to provide the whole spectrum of care from low need support to high /end of life care, which would include social care and health care provision. This will enable us to deliver our vision for the care of older people which is about providing quality services, which are effective, sustainable and close to home. As well as care home provision this will focus on enabling and supporting independence for as long as possible, helping people to live their life in the way they want to.

ClwydAlyn is committed to celebrating the history and the Polish and Welsh heritage of the site in the new development, enhancing the real sense of community that has been built over the years.

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP A Project Board has been established for Penrhos Polish Village to guide and oversee the re-development and delivery of housing and related services.

The Board is made up of representatives from Gwynedd Council, Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board and ClwydAlyn.

THE PROJECT BOARD

Re-Development Design Group

Re-Development Commissioning & Service Group

Stakeholder Engagement, Communications & Marketing Group

POLISH TRANSITION COMMITTEE The Polish Housing Society Transition Committee was also established to provide feedback and assurance on: Service change and improvement

following the Transfer of Engagements;

The long-term vision and

plans for redevelopment of the Penrhos site

Resident engagement and

resident involvement in any changes

Plans to create and deliver

a lasting legacy to the Polish community at Penrhos

Members of the committee include two board members of Polish Housing Society, one Board member of ClwydAlyn who acts as Chair, two resident representatives and one staff member who transferred to ClwydAlyn from Polish Housing Society.

The committee is serviced and supported by the ClwydAlyn Governance team, and with the Chief Executive Officer, Exec team and other ClwydAlyn staff in attendance.

WORKING WITH RESIDENTS ClwydAlyn has been working closely with current residents and their families, providing them the opportunity to help us shape our plans for the site in a range of ways; from resident meetings, newsletters, and surveys, to arranging regular opportunities to ask questions, share their thoughts and feedback on our plans.

The development plans are still at an early stage due to the importance of the site and the number of partners involved in this innovative development, but as we progress, we will provide regular updates and opportunities for residents to have their say.

TELLING THE STORY OF PENRHOS POLISH VILLAGE It is important that the proud Polish and Welsh heritage at Penrhos is preserved and brought to life in the new development, which is why we have been spending time talking with residents and others to learn more about the history of the site and the stories of the families that have called it home over the years.

The aim is to capture these stories in a short film, as well as creating an historical timeline of Penrhos Polish Village, identifying significant milestones in its history, and preserving important documents and originals which we’ll be offering to the Sikorski Institute and Polish Library in London.

THE VISION FOR PENRHOS POLISH VILLAGE ClwydAlyn believes that everyone should have access to a good home that they can heat properly, afford the food they need to stay healthy, and live in a community where they can achieve their aspirations. We want to make this a reality for residents living at Penrhos Polish Village and meet the needs of the people of Gwynedd.

ClwydAlyn has been working closely with staff and residents since the merger to help us understand the needs of residents and the wider community so that we can shape future care and support services and develop high quality new homes that will preserve Polish and Welsh heritage.

CLWYDALYN WILL: • Put residents at the heart of everything

we do and develop ‘Lifetime Homes’, enabling residents to live independently for as long as possible.

• Replace all existing accommodation on the

site, over a period of 3-5 years, which will be completed in 3 phases; minimising disruption to existing residents and meeting the housing need of the local community.

• New homes will meet and exceed the current

regulatory standards: Welsh Government Housing Quality Standard, Welsh Government Development Quality Requirements and Welsh Government Beautiful Homes and Spaces standards.

• Create a new, energy efficient, sustainable

village, with all homes meeting an EPC ‘A’ rating enabling low-cost energy bills for residents.

• Bring to life the history of the site in the new

development in line with the Beautiful Homes and Spaces Welsh Government Standards whilst supporting the Placemaking Wales Charter.

Safeguarding the church as the community hub and enhancing walled memorial garden.

PLACEMAKING WALES CHARTER ClwydAlyn are signed up to the Placemaking Wales Charter Pledge which represents our commitment to support placemaking in all relevant areas of our work and promote its principles in the planning, design, and management of new and existing places.

Putting quality, sustainability, and community at the heart of planning. www.dcfw.org/placemaking/ placemaking-charter/

DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Fifty-five people are currently living at Penrhos Polish Village and are still welcoming new residents as homes becomes available. An architect was appointed towards the end of 2020 to carry out a development master planning exercise for the site and a design team has been formed, which includes the following specialists: • Architect

The homes and buildings that didn’t meet standards and were unhabitable have been vacated and secured ahead of development work starting, and we are creating a phased development plan for the entire site. Other buildings on site have received improvement works and safety tests have been completed to ensure compliance in the short term.

• Landscape Architect • Engineer • Ecologist • Arboriculturist • Planning Consultant • Cost Consultant

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ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY VISION ClwydAlyn’s aim is to tackle fuel poverty and help minimise the impact less energy efficient homes can have on people’s health and wellbeing, reducing the wider impact on health care services and our communities.

ClwydAlyn is working on effective responses to climate change and exploring ideas, for low carbon homes, innovative designs and using local supply chains so the homes built, have extremely low running costs giving residents direct savings on their energy bills.

Some of the energy efficient methods being explored are:

• Innovative low carbon heating systems like Air and Ground source heat pumps

• A fabric first approach using ‘Modern Methods of Construction’, using as many natural and sustainable materials as possible

• Sourcing materials from local manufacturers

and suppliers, keeping the associated carbon foot print low

• Homes positioned to maximise solar gain and

ClwydAlyn is leading on ground-breaking low carbon initiatives.

This includes using new technology to build innovative, low carbon new homes, as well as leading on establishing a Zero Carbon Housing Performance Hub in Wales, which will work with other housing associations, local authorities and third sector organisations to share knowledge and best practice to accelerate learning and innovation.

The hub will play an important role in supporting the housing sector in Wales to meet low carbon and net zero targets for homes by 2050.

natural daylight levels, with the potential for solar panels and battery storage maximising solar energy

• Passive stack ventilation systems which

automatically measure air quality and adjusts the rate of air exchange, vastly reducing operational carbon emissions

• Electric car charging facilities • Maximising green spaces to increase biodiversity

Neutral

EMPLOYMENT

In 2020 ClwydAlyn completed 38 timberframe homes in Llanbedr, funded through the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme.

The whole-life zero carbon homes are built using modern methods of construction, using Welsh timber and local supply chains to support the green recovery. The project surpassed the embodied carbon target set by RIBA in their 2030 Climate Challenge campaign, beating it by a huge 16%.

”

We are committed to building more high-quality homes in factories here in Wales.

In Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd, ClwydAlyn have shown what we can achieve together.

With local suppliers, they have built 38 timber-framed, low carbon homes with extremely low running costs which will put more money in tenant’s pockets.

JULIE JAMES MS, M I N I ST E R FO R C L I M AT E C H A N G E

”

The development will create a significant number of job opportunities within the area.

The partners are committed to working with contractors and partners to create job opportunities for local people.

ClwydAlyn is also working with Creating Enterprise’s Employment Academy (a Social Enterprise part of Cartrefi Conwy) to develop an employability programme to support residents into work.

The programme will provide a combination of work-based skills development and support to help residents overcome their barriers to employment.

BENEFITS Through the investment in the site, it will help strengthen the local economy, by providing jobs and supporting local supply chains.

ClwydAlyn will invest locally. Using its procurement processes to support local business, create jobs, offer training, and focus on the value created by what it spends, and not just the cost to achieve: Substantial economic benefits Affordable, high quality and energy

efficient homes Significant support from Welsh Government The creation of job opportunities Contribute to lowering carbon emissions

FUTURE UPDATES

The Project Board and sub committees will continue to work with partners and industry experts to develop the innovative plans for the village and will provide regular updates on progress. If you or any of your colleagues would like to be part of our stakeholder engagement plans then please let us know by emailing communications@clwydalyn.co.uk

Freephone: 0800 183 5757 Email: help@clwydalyn.co.uk

@ClwydAlyn

ClwydAlyn.co.uk

72 Ffordd William Morgan St Asaph Business Park St Asaph Denbighshire LL17 0JD ClwydAlyn is a Charitable Registered Society