A cycle of decline; Your Say.

WHILE everyone agreed the influx of investment into the Westfield Estate at Loftus was to be welcomed, the public's ideas and expectations expressed at consultation meetings before the outline planning application was submitted were largely ignored by Coast & Country in their documents.

A cycle of decline has happened since the estate was first built in the '70s. Notably people wanted a "thinning" of the number of properties to avoid under occupancy and vacant properties. The subsequent placement of "problem" tenants into vacant properties meant an increase in anti-social behaviour. This in turn led to good tenants wishing to move out, thereby leaving more properties vacant.

Thinning out the number of properties would retain green open space within the estate with consequent benefits to the community.

Quality of housing and quality of environment including services was central to people's aspirations for the area. It now transpires after the majority of residents have been "decanted" that most of the houses on the estate are to be demolished rather than retained and refurbished.

It seems Coast & Country's strategy was to create division amongst the residents of the estate by providing four options for development.

Next they cleared out as many residents by a 'decanting' process. Remaining residents became demoralised and driven out by uncertainty. Plans were changed without further consultation. Finally their board decided to demolish most of the properties that were to be refurbished. Blight also leaves the few isolated owner occupiers with property they cannot sell.

Phase 1 will provide approximately 100 new homes and will commence on site in March 2010. Now expressions of interest are sought from suitably experienced house builders/developers with the aim being to select a preferred development partner during December 2009.

The selected development partner will enter into a form of partnering development agreement with Coast and Country, to provide in the region of 360 new homes incorporating a range of mixed tenure housing.

Moving from a total of 274 existing properties Coast & Country intend to build in partnership with a contractor 360 new homes - an increase of 33% and retain about 40 other homes in Cedar and Ash Walks, bringing the total increase to 45%.

70% of the estate is to be in private ownership and 30% for tenants. Properties will be hard to sell to owner occupiers so will probably go as 'buy to rent' properties or remain empty. Will the cycle of decline last another generation? The original outline planning application did not stipulate this level of housing principally so they could understate the level of traffic generated by so many properties. The access roads to the estate will not sustain that level of traffic, especially North Road/Hummersea Lane as it is only a narrow single carriageway.

JOHN STOCKWELL, Loftus Community Forum