Beech Hill regeneration: Calderdale Council

What went in

• Priority area addressed: The overarching vision for Beech Hill was to create a residential neighbourhood of choice through a combination of stock improvements and new development to rebalance, increase and support the housing offer.
   
• Budget: £25.6 million. Funding secured through a range of sources, including West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), Homes England, Together Housing, the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Getting Building Fund and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Estate Regeneration scheme.
   
• Other resource needed: After forming the Calderdale and Together Housing Investment Partnership (CTHIP) in 2017, Together Housing Group and Calderdale Council worked together to unlock public and private investment to transform this challenging brownfield land to deliver ambitious housing plans; breathing new life into a plot of land which had previously been seen as ‘unviable’ and ‘impossible’ to develop on. The Beech Hill project has had significant stakeholder support and an established multidisciplinary project board.
   
• Timeframe to completion: Project Board set up 2013, completed 2024.

What came out

There was a clear strategic need for the development of Beech Hill and a shared vision to increase the provision of good quality homes for residents, bringing greater choice to local families. The project delivered several key outputs and outcomes for the local economy and community, leaving an impact that will have a lasting legacy. 

It has:

• Created new, quality, affordable homes within walking distance of the town centre, supporting Calderdale’s thriving towns and places priority.
• Met diverse housing needs .
• Contributed to CO2 reductions and worked towards tackling the climate emergency.
• Made homes warmer, healthier, and cheaper to heat, helping to reduce inequalities.
• Helped residents to feel safer and more secure in their neighbourhood.
• Supported economic growth through job-creation and training opportunities.
• Fostered community cohesion and supported vulnerable people to improve their quality of life.
• Complemented wider investment programmes to achieve continued growth outcomes for the borough and Leeds City Region.

Almost ten years in the making, the Beech Hill housing regeneration scheme is now successfully delivering almost £26 million of investment in Halifax to bring a former derelict gateway site back into use with 106 new affordable homes and the refurbishment of 70 on the adjoining mixed tenure estate. 

Backed by the Calderdale and Together Housing Investment Partnership, the unique approach has attracted investment and cross subsidy to unlock the Beech Hill site for development, supporting and helping to tackle several objectives for the whole borough, including reducing inequalities, providing thriving towns and places, and taking climate action. 

Previously, three empty, drab tower blocks – alongside a disused depot and nine ram-shackled garages – greeted visitors into Halifax. Now, after ten years of standing derelict and thanks to this unique partnership, the area is transforming. 

Due to the topography of Calderdale, costs often make affordable housing projects unviable for many developers. In addition, the Beech Hill site had widespread asbestos, and the buildings were contaminated. 

But the partnership’s ambition shone through throughout. All parties were determined to make this project a success. 

Beech Hill has a well-established, stable local community with diverse needs. The partnership wanted to create a development which embodied this, suited to the needs of local people. The team knew that they needed to harness the existing high levels of community spirit to make this project a success and there was a continued commitment to raise the profile of Beech Hill with funding bodies to attract the investment needed and illustrate how the project aligns with their strategic drivers.

The management of the project through the multidisciplinary project board (a subgroup of the CHTIP) has been key for project governance and oversight. Community voice was key; the contribution of two community representatives on the Board has been extremely valuable. Through volunteering their own time, they have played an essential role by representing the views of the wider community enabling the project team to listen and respond to resident issues.

CTHIP successfully leveraged for a total investment of £23.2 million to help transform the Beech Hill site, with £2.197 million coming from Leeds City Region Enterprise in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority through the Leeds City Region Growth Deal. This money has been used to demolish the area and develop 106 new-build homes in partnership with Esh Construction as part of phase one of the regeneration. 

Securing the funding to tackle the demolition and contamination and prepare the site for development was the first real challenge. The Board’s continued commitment and perseverance in communicating its vision for the site eventually led to a successful funding offer from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which was the catalyst in starting the demolition work.

The Phase 1 site was extremely problematic, challenges included: widespread asbestos (which resulted in one of the biggest asbestos removal contracts in the UK in 2019), over 30,000m³ of material was excavated, crushed, screened, and re-used on site, challenging ‘made’ ground conditions meaning that three different foundation designs were required. The demolition resulted in one of the biggest asbestos removals in the UK of the decade – taking two years and costing £6.6 million. In total, 780 tonnes of contaminated materials were removed. The process can be seen in this time-lapse video.

Recognising the need to protect the investment being made in Phase 1 of the programme, Phase 2 was established to deliver an external refurbishment programme for the seventy existing homes on the adjacent site. A comprehensive consultation programme was needed to engage all owners and tenants of Phase 2 to ensure maximum impact and 100 per cent buy in. Funding from multiple sources was needed to enable the scheme to go ahead, highlighting the complexity of the ask.

Throughout the entire programme, a carefully and sensitively managed communications programme really helped to engage residents in the existing community. This was especially challenging during COVID-19 imposed lockdown periods, which prevented the usual drop-in consultation events that normally take place on regeneration and development schemes. Instead, alternative methods were successfully employed including leaflet drops, questionnaires, telephone feedback, online consultation and door knocking to explain and discuss proposals and planning applications for the area.

The regeneration of Beech Hill is transformational and has been designed to provide a high-quality living environment, sympathetic to its surroundings and landscape, and reflective of the distinctive character of the area. 

The design has understood the topography and the partners desire to create an integrated and successful development. By drawing inspiration from the local character of Halifax and West Yorkshire, the development will integrate into the built environment, contributing positively to the existing community at Beech Hill.

Thanks to Beech Hill, 106 families now have a place to call home, and 70 more have received upgrades to their existing properties, making them warmer and reducing their fuel bills. With around 8,000 people on Calderdale’s housing waiting list, the need for affordable housing was clear. Beech Hill has demonstrated that through effective partnership working, great things can happen and lasting legacies can be created.

A key learning point was the importance of good community engagement, which we believe has made a massive positive difference to how the project has been perceived in the local area. There has been ‘talk’ of action on this site for more than 15 years, which had undermined the community’s confidence, so getting communication right was key. 

Quarterly newsletters have been sent out, community events have been held, the community has had representation on our project boards and sub-groups were put in place to ensure all matters were communicated properly to the community. Furthermore, we implemented a ‘lessons log’ to ensure we can rectify ‘issues’ on future projects before they materialise. 

With this, and many similar schemes, being previously seen as ‘unviable’ due to demolition costs, contamination issues and topography, its success is now setting a precedent for other ‘impossible’ sites in the region to be built on. Specifically, building in contingency time is important for any complicated projects like this. 

Rachel Collison, Housing Strategy and Growth Manager

[email protected]