Introduction

The HMR Pathfinder project is a scheme to improve the housing stock in Oldham and Rochdale.

Objectives and target audience

The Pathfinder Project is aimed at improving the building stock and areas of open space in Oldham and Rochdale. Old and unsustainable housing will be improved or replaced, to help improve quality of life and reduce the environmental impacts. The areas targeted by this scheme are those where the housing market is not performing well.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

The project has been awarded £67.5 million for the years of 2006 to 2008. This is a 15-year project, which will aim to spend over £2 billion in the Oldham and Rochdale area over this period.  This will be a mix of Government funding and money from the private sector.
The Oldham Rochdale HMR Pathfinder is a very ambitious project. It requires the involvement of a wide range of partners. There is a Board which includes representatives of Oldham and Rochdale Councils. The North West Development Agency, English Partnerships, Oldham and Rochdale Local Strategic Partnerships, the police and the private sector. Expert contractors are utilised, including builders, property managers, surveyors, master planners, architects, engineers, community consultation staff and spatial planners.

Process

Currently in North Werneth a sustainability and energy feasibility study is being undertaken to identify the energy consumption of the site and the potential to reduce this to zero carbon by 2013. The work will investigate building design, orientation, district heating and CHP along with the potential to develop ESCO’s and MUSCO’s.

Results

Since 2004, more than 1600 existing homes have been improved, including improving the insulation. Many new sustainable developments have been built, including the award winning homes at Selwyn Street. Development partners have been selected, who will continue the construction projects in some of the neighbourhoods. Parking and community safety has been improved in some neighbourhoods.

Unexpected results have included the impacts on the economy. More than 260 people have gained from this training with many finding employment in local construction projects. A further 300 jobs will be created over the next three years. In the longer term, creating better homes and neighbourhoods will encourage new businesses to locate here, and raise the overall prosperity of the area, leading to new job opportunities.

All new build developments so far have been built to meet Eco homes very good and excellent standards, including the need to meet 10% of the sites predicted energy consumption from renewable sources.  There is difficultly in calculating the energy savings over exiting properties given that the new build properties are of different size, tenure and construction. PEPESEC energy planning will help identify how to undertake these calculations.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

The key factor for success is communicating the strategy to the local residents. There needs to be a two-way communication at all stages. Hundreds of residents have already got involved, through consultation events, meetings, exhibitions and road shows. We will continue to work closely with local communities throughout the lifetime of the project.