By Mary Wilson
With the decline in shipbuilding and heavy industry, many dockland and industrial areas became redundant in the latter part of the 20th century.
Pic: Oakmayne Plaza, by Oakmayne, Elephant & Castle
With thousands of jobs lost, the population migrated outwards resulting in swathes of land lying derelict until the time came for their regeneration. Then new life and new money – raised from private investment and government and local authority coffers - could revitalise these areas once more.
The regeneration of the dockland areas of both London and Cardiff are two notable successes with the run-down areas being transformed into new and vibrant residential and commercial quarters.
Elephant & Castle
One of the newest areas about to be resurrected is Elephant & Castle in southeast London. This £1.5 billion, 170-acre scheme will be one of the largest regeneration programmes in Europe and will create a new pedestrianised town centre, market square, green spaces, 5,300 new homes and over 4,000 new jobs. Elephant & Castle has always had fantastic transport links - it just lost its way, dominated by an unwieldy gyratory system, a labyrinth of subways and an unattractive 1960s shopping centre.
“What you see now won’t exist in 10 years’ time,” says Andrew Palmer of DTZ Residential, which is marketing several residential schemes in the area. Prices at the first development, South Central East, were around £350 per square feet.
The same developer, Oakmayne, has two more schemes – O Central and Oakmayne Plaza – on the go and prices are now around £500 per square foot. Oakmayne Plaza, which is soon to be launched, is mixed use with 219 homes, plus retail, commercial, hotel and leisure facilities.
DTZ will also be marketing Strata by Multiplex which is a 43 storey residential tower with 408 apartments and wind turbines to help reduce energy costs. Prices have yet to be announced (DTZ Residential, 020 7710 8111).
Liverpool
Liverpool’s regeneration started in the late 1980s, with Barratt’s warehouse development by the River Mersey. Since then, many pockets of the city centre and further tranches of waterfront have continued to be redeveloped. “The change has been quite dramatic over the last five years,” says Roxanne Stowell of Knight Frank. Prices have risen hugely with Georgian terraced property in the Hope and Canning areas of the city centre, for example, rising by 132% during that time.
Now, City Lofts is building its second waterfront development by the Royal Liver building. Half Tide Dock will have 121 one and two-bedroom apartments with interiors designed by Conran and Partners and will be launched on the 29th June (Knight Frank, 0151 236 1101).
Pic: Half Tide Dock, by City Lofts, Liverpool
And Gleeson has recently launched its second development, Northumberland Square, in Toxteth in the City South area – another region of current regeneration. Here, there will be 26 two, three and four-bedroom family homes from £124,000 (Homelife Estates, 0151 726 8437).
Sunderland
Sunderland is undergoing a £1-billion regeneration programme, due to be completed by 2016, by which time up to 21,000 jobs will have been created. The new Doxford International Business Park has already brought new companies to the area and the former shipyard areas along the River Wear has already seen huge improvement with new executive housing and a marina already built.
New projects include a 16-acre site in the heart of Sunderland, called Vaux, with over 1,000 new homes, new offices and a new central square being created. Alongside this will be Farringdon Row, a 15-acre site for 500 new homes and offices and at Sunniside, a 35-acre site with over 100 listed buildings, there will be around 930 new apartments, townhouses and lofts.
Just by the Vaux site, Thornsett is constructing Thornlea Court, a four-storey building with 28 two and three-bedroom apartments and four three-bedroom penthouses priced from £175,000 (Hackett Properties, 0191 510 9950).
East Cowes
And in the Isle of Wight, East Cowes is about to benefit from £250 million-worth of regeneration. East Cowes has traditionally lagged behind its famous counterpart, West Cowes, on the other side of the River Medina and where the annual Cowes sailing week takes place in August. But by 2017, some 40 acres of East Cowes’ town centre and waterfront will be transformed with a new marina, new community facilities, new roads and 500 new homes.
Barratt Homes is due to start a development on the edge of the regeneration area and currently for sale is Admirals Point by gp3 developments.
This is a flat-roofed, multi-winged building with nine large apartments and one triplex penthouse, which has a stunning, circular top floor split into a lounge/dining area and a kitchen/breakfast area.
Pic: Admirals Point, by gp3 developments, East Cowes
The building will be set in landscaped gardens with views over the Solent, private parking and state-of-the-art security. Prices start at £199,950 rising to £675,000 for the four-bedroom penthouse (Creasey Biles & King, 01983 527744).
In June, Barratt is also launching 13 contemporary waterfront homes at a development called Nautiqua on Mornington Road in East Cowes. These will range from a two-bedroom apartment up to a four bedroom house. Prices have not yet been announced (contact the sales office on 02380 273311).