Wainwright House, Nottingham

Our team have assisted the regeneration of Robin Hood Chase in Nottingham by working with Asra Housing Group to build 45 homes for those over 55 years old.

This included 44 one bedroom apartments and one, two bedroom apartment, with a big communal ethos supported by a large lounge area and roof terrace.

Transformation

Robin Hood Chase off St Ann’s Well Road saw a steady decline with under-occupied shops and maisonettes.

That changed with the old health centre removed and replaced by the new St Ann’s Valley joint service centre which opened four years ago, incorporating the library, a number of City Council services, local GP practices, NHS Nottingham City clinics and Nottingham City Homes.

Now Wainwright House which we built has created new shops – including a One Stop supermarket and two smaller shops – and a housing scheme owned and managed by Asra Housing Group which has proved a great success with the residents. The homes provide independent living with support on hand, and communal facilities including a roof terrace.

Wainwright House

Community focus

As part of our role, we worked with trainees from New College Nottingham on foundations (see below) for a new community building on St Ann’s Orchard - giving them first-hand experience of working in the construction industry.

Community is at the heart of Robin Hood Chase project

Considering the community is an overriding priority for us as we build the 45 high quality apartments. We quickly engaged with several local groups in the St Ann’s area of the city and hosted a number of successful events.

Build Manager Stuart Partlow :

“The buildings were situated at the heart of the St Ann’s community and it was really important to make sure that local people were involved.”

The team worked with the following groups:

• St Ann’s Heritage Gardens; constructing foundations for a straw bale building which is going to be a community centre for outdoor activities.
• Inviting local schools and community groups to produce images highlighting safety on construction sites. Their fantastic response led to the site gaining a runner-up prize.

We enhanced lives of local residents with work-based placements or regular work, providing 72 local people with the following opportunities:

• Working with Nottingham City Council Employment Hub and New College Nottingham (NCN), we enabled 35 work-based placements for the unemployed, 18 of whom worked on the site’s allotment project. These candidates were also given a reference and have since found employment through local connections.
• Working with Nottingham City and Central College Nottingham,we provided work-based placements for 22 college students, again providing references for their future employment. Sixteen of these students redecorated a community café for Sneinton Tenants Outreach Programme (STOP TRA).
• Assisting the Nottingham Boxing Club (Switchup), to find a new gymnasium and supported its work helping youngsters avoid falling into gang culture by providing three work placements and career references.

“We have wanted to see this site redeveloped for some time and, once finished, it will be a great community facility for the people of St Ann’s.”

Councillor Collins, ward representative, St Ann’s