Six on North Staffs housing renewal deal

Six contractors have made it on to the contractors panel for RENEW North Staffordshire’s housing market renewal pathfinder. Balfour Beatty, Keepmoat, Thomas Vale, Wates, local firm Toft Johnson and Rochdale-based Casey Group will be assigned major deals and compete for smaller schemes.

RENEW’s programme for the next two years includes: the refurbishment of 4,650 homes; other improvements to 6,203 homes; the demolition of 704 units; and the new build of 1,646 units.

RENEW has requested £70m from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the 2006 to 2008 period. This sum will be matched through other funding arrangements.

The first phase involves work in four "areas of major intervention": the Mear Estate in Stoke; the Knutton and Crossheath Estates in Newcastle-under-Lyme; the city centre south area in Stoke; and Burslem, Middle Port and Eturia Valley.

The major projects will have a lead developer assigned to them from RENEW’s developers panel, which comprises: Inspired Developments; Gleeson Regeneration; David Wilson Homes; Urban Splash; George Wimpey; Compendium Group (Riverside RSL/Lovell); and Keepmoat with FHM. Once a developer is assigned, RENEW will assign a contractor from the panel.

All individual schemes let by RENEW will set targets for contractors to meet in terms of the employment of local people and use of local companies in their supply chains.

Thomas Vale managing director Tony Hyde said: "We believe that all partners involved should join forces with local agencies to maximise available funding to support the training and employment agenda generated by this project."