Communities

A mixed-use area will be created to improve interaction in the town centre

Events in New Orleans have added further fuel to the debate about community cohesion that followed the July bombings in London. Here in the UK, cohesion is already being addressed by the housing market renewal pathfinders.

Partners in Action, the Oldham Rochdale Pathfinder Partnership, outlines its 15-year programme of work in a prospectus whose title signals its objectives: Transformation and Cohesion. It recognises that the pathfinder faces the challenge of integrating communities that are segregated not only on the grounds of ethnicity and culture but also economically and by age.

The pathfinder area has a very youthful population with 26.4% of people aged 0-15 (compared to 20.2% for England and Wales as a whole) and 12.9% aged 16-24 (compared to 10.9% for England and Wales). It contains a relatively high number of ethnic minority households with 26% residents from non-white ethnic groups, compared to 8.9% across Greater Manchester. In the pathfinder areas, 15% of residents are Pakistani and 7% are Bangladeshi.

The pathfinder’s role, from the perspective of community cohesion, is to help create the conditions that will allow people to exercise choices in the housing market. Part of its emphasis is resolving the Victorian industrial legacy that has left many inner urban neighbourhoods with inadequate infrastructure, an overabundance of small terraced housing and an economy still largely reliant on older manufacturing. Over the lifetime of the programme, it is estimated the pathfinder will need to build 12300 new homes, demolish around 8600 and refurbish a further 4000.

Physical changes

East Central Rochdale is one of the first intervention areas in the pathfinder area. It has about 9000 residents, 40% of whom are white, 35% Pakistani, 20% Bangladeshi and 5% from other ethnic groups. The masterplan for East Central Rochdale, developed by architect Shillam + Smith, outlines the development of around 900 houses over the next 12 years. Barratt/ Artisan has been selected as main development partner. Physical interventions in this area include:

• A mix of type and size of new accommodation and integrated tenures to help foster cohesion. The forthcoming Dale Mill development incorporates 20 courtyard houses, including nine five-bedroom and nine two-bedroom homes. The smaller and larger houses can be joined to create nine seven-bedroom houses for occupation by large/ extended families. Remaining accommodation ranges from one-bed apartments to five-bedroom houses, so residents have maximum housing choice. Larger homes will help meet both accommodation demands and aspirations for status.
• Homes are being designed for flexibility – developer Barratt/ Artisan is working with OMI Architects and Proctor and Matthews Architects to develop adaptable housing types. For instance, a two-bedroom house is being designed so that it can be adjusted during construction to have three bedrooms – or can be easily extended later. Increased flexibility could help the area retain economically active younger people who might otherwise choose to move out.
• A mixed-use area will be created adjacent to Rochdale town centre, including residential, office, leisure and accommodation for small independent retailers. This will increase the community’s sustainability, give opportunities to improve interaction and help provide shared experiences.
• The provision of safe green and attractive public spaces will play a similar role. A new riverside walkway will open access to the River Roch to the community. A series of linked spaces will improve the area’s connection to the town centre, bringing potential economic benefits. Such measures will also help to break down misconceptions and negative stereotypes.
• A cluster of new services will be created at a point where neighbourhoods converge. Services will include an enterprise centre with 18 business starter units, a training suite, nursery and a cafe, plus a health centre. These facilities will provide a further focus for integration and will directly foster economic activity.

The local community has been consulted in drawing up these proposals to ensure that they are what residents want. The designs that have come out of this process balance people’s desire for more spacious homes with the need to keep the same number of people living in an area so that local schools, businesses and services are economically viable. The plans evolved so far will continue to be informed by market demand and further community consultation