Survey shows HMR investment makes Langley a better place to live
31st July 2006
Initiatives launched through Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Pathfinder are already having a dramatic improvement to the quality of people’s lives in the Langley area after only three years since the programme’s launch.
Prospective new tenants and buyers are flocking to rapidly improving neighbourhoods in the area such as Rowrah Crescent and existing tenants and residents are very pleased with improvements made to homes’ boundary fencing, railings and walls, according to a tenant satisfaction survey carried out by local social landlord Bowlee Park Housing Association.
In Rowrah Crescent, 24 properties built by developers Lovell were snapped up by buyers before building work had even been completed on them.
Furthermore, Bowlee Park Housing Association has received more than 800 applications for their properties from prospective tenants in the last three-and-a-half years.
This is a marked turn-around for Langley where housing demand was nil six years ago with nearly 1,000 empty properties on the estate.
Bowlee Park Housing is investing £40m in improving its 2,200 homes over a five year period to 2008. And Lovell will be building more than 500 homes for sale on a variety of sites in the area so that there is a mix of high quality homes for sale and rent.
Rowrah Crescent tenant Michelle Connolly was so impressed by the revitalisation of the area; she decided to move back there with her six-year-old son, Joe, after a 21-year absence.
The mother and son moved back from Yorkshire 18 months ago after visiting her mother and father who live in the area on several occasions and having liked what they saw. Michelle, who grew up on Bowness Road, moved back to the family home until moving to a Bowlee Park Housing Association three-bedroom refurbished terrace house a month ago.
Michelle said: “It’s amazing. The area has changed beyond recognition! Langley used to be a place no-one wanted to be in, but now it looks great and there’s a real sense of community here.
“The house is beautiful; it felt like a show home when we moved in! Joe loves playing in the front and back gardens, which are both really big. He’s really happy here – it was obviously a big change for him coming here, but he’s settled in well at his new school – St Mary’s – and is making lots of new friends there.
“Bowlee Park Housing Association have been excellent landlords too. They have been brilliant, I couldn’t really fault them.”
Bill Shaw and his wife, Mildred, have lived in the area for some 40 years and have seen a lot of changes in that time, but they can’t recall the neighbourhood looking and feeling a better place to be in than it is now.
Great-grandfather Mr Shaw said: “Since HMR started investing here and Bowlee took over the homes a lot of money has been spent on the environment and it looks smashing now; walls, railings, grass cutting of the greens and verges – these may seem small changes, but they make such a difference to us.
“The old flats have gone that looked a bit of an eyesore and they’ve been replaced with the smart-looking Lovell houses have gone in their place. It’s a massive improvement. It’s a very pleasant area to live in and we are happily spending our retirement here.”
Bowlee Park Housing Association Customer Services Manager Jeff Allen commented:
“The HMR input has really helped revitalise the area as a whole particularly in the Rowrah Crescent area and demand for our homes is very healthy. There have been problems here in the past, but now Langley has the lowest instances of crime in the township and it’s a really attractive place to live, thanks in no small part to the environmental improvements made by HMR.”
The dramatic sea-change has come about through a series of crime prevention and anti-social behaviour tackling initiatives that has seen burglaries from homes plunge by 90 per cent in the last decade.
In addition comprehensive HMR-funded environmental improvements have taken place concentrating on improvements to the external areas of homes as well as creating parking resolutions to help with traffic flow across the estate. And a new gateway park next to Furrow Community School and linked to Bowlee Community Park is due to open very soon which will contribute to the transformation of Langley.
A further £5m of HMR investment money is earmarked for the area in the next couple of years.
Thousands of pounds have been spent on initiatives aimed at tackling crime and anti-social behaviour
Steve Bloomer, Neighbourhood Programme Manager for Housing Market Renewal, said: “Langley really is a place on the up and up and there is a genuine sense of optimism and community here now. Yet the HMR programme in the area is really in its infancy with a comprehensive set of fundamental improvements being planned to leave a lasting legacy for communities of the future.”
Further enhancing the area’s appeal to residents is an extensive boundaries programme that has seen nearly 600 homes fitted out with new fencing, railings and walls in a variety of materials and colours through HMR funding.
Ten new car parks have been created for residents as well, creating an extra 100 car parking spaces as part of the scheme.
Residents have enthusiastically received these improvements with, according to a Bowlee Park Housing Association customer survey, 82 per cent satisfied with the overall work, 85 per cent happy with the efforts to minimise disruption caused and 80 per cent pleased by the standard of workmanship.
Images: Bill and Mildred Shaw enjoying their garden (above) and Joe Connolly playing in his back garden (below)
