Newlon at Arsenal

development and community regeneration

An overview of one of Europes largest regeneration programmes providing the background to a unique partnership supporting the relocation of a Premier League football club and the creation of a new community.

Inside | The Regeneration Programme the buildings and the people living there

Overview of the Arsenal Regeneration Programme

Arsenal Football Clubs move from Highbury to their new home at Emirates Stadium was the catalyst for a ground-breaking project, combining the relocation of a Premiership team with a major programme of community regeneration. This programme is providing more than 1,400 new affordable homes in an area stretching from Highbury in the east to Caledonian Road in the west. Uniquely for a scheme of this size in inner London, more than 50% of the new homes being built will be affordable housing provided by Newlon Housing Trust. We are really proud that in 2008 this programme was awarded the Housing Corporations Gold Award for Delivering Joined-up Development.
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Pictured on front cover, from left to right: Amhurst Road, one of the first properties Newlon managed, Oakleigh Court, Murray Grove and Hornsey Street, 1-7. Pictured in background: Plans for the Tottenham Hale Village Hall development.

Newlon at Arsenal

In August 2006 Arsenal Football Club kicked off for the first time at Emirates Stadium, a quarter of a mile to the west of their historic Highbury home. Standing beside Emirates Stadium is the Ashburton Triangle, a landmark building designed by the same architects as the Stadium and home to 500 Key Workers and their families. The Triangle also houses a new community IT centre and the clubs Museum. Accessed by a new footbridge spanning the railway north into Hertfordshire, the Triangle is just 3 minutes walk from Arsenal tube station and is the most visible symbol of the affordable housing created by the Arsenal Regeneration Programme the partnership between London Borough of Islington, Arsenal Football Club and Newlon Housing Trust, created to deliver an integrated programme of affordable housing and community benefits in support of the Clubs relocation. The project is the single largest regeneration programme ever to have taken place in Islington and a cornerstone of the Local Authoritys overall regeneration strategy. It links in with existing borough wide initiatives such as the A1 corridor regeneration project and the regeneration plans for adjacent areas including Finsbury Park and the major regeneration programme at Kings Cross. It also links directly in with a range of programmes attracting strategic funding and support from a wide range of other organisations including the London Development Agency. The development of so much affordable housing has also involved the active participation of the Housing Corporation (now the Homes and Communities Agency) as a key partner and support from the Mayor of London.

Newlon Chief Executive Mike Hinch and other members of the Arsenal Regeneration project team are presented to HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The programme has created a whole new neighbourhood on what was formerly brownfield land. In line with the Boroughs vision for creating successful and sustainable neighbourhoods it comprises a mix of social rented General Needs housing, Shared Ownership and a uniquely high proportion of Intermediate Rent (below market rates housing for Key Workers), as well as privately owned housing. The programme is unique for a regeneration project of this scale in providing more than 50% affordable housing. The delivery of so much new housing stock and a new football ground, on time and to schedule, is proof of a successful commitment to joined-up development. However, the commitment at the start of the programme was about much more than relocating from Highbury and providing new housing. The opportunity to provide long-term improvements for local people were considered from the outset with provision for a Community Trust, with a minimum of 620,000 funding, being a cornerstone of the initial proposals. The Arsenal Regeneration Programme area covers four wards, each of which in 2004 was rated in the top 10% for deprivation in the UK, according to the Governments Index of Multiple Deprivation. The whole area has been totally transformed with the new stadium complex, a large number of new housing developments, provision for new retail units and Primary Care Trust space, as well as upgrades to existing housing stock and the creation of new green spaces.

Newlon at Arsenal

More affordable homes for Islington

First steps consulting the community
At the outset of the programme, when it became clear that Ashburton Grove had been identified as the likely site for Arsenals new home, Islington Council carried out a number of consultation sessions with the local community and a wide range of voluntary and public sector organisations. These sessions established a clear picture of the areas needs and ultimately led to the creation of Englands most extensive set of community planning provisions, directly linking the development of the new stadium to the needs of local people. This commitment led in turn to the creation of the Arsenal Regeneration Team (ART), a partnership set up by Newlon, Islington Council and Arsenal FC to lead the ongoing consultation around the new developments and to foster and manage a wide range of community regeneration initiatives.

917 Hornsey Street

Putting Social Housing first

There are many significant construction milestones that feature in the Arsenal Regeneration story. These include the development of a new Waste Transfer Station with improved capacity to meet the needs of the new community and improve waste management; the completion of the Stadium on time and to budget and the two new footbridges that span the railway line to provide access from Drayton Park to the Stadium. However, at Newlon, we are proud that the first part of the whole project to be completed was our new building for Key Workers at 57 Hornsey Street. This building provides high quality rented housing for 300 Key Workers at about 300 a month below current private rates.

57 Hornsey Street

Newlon at Arsenal

A tour of our buildings

Newlon Housing Trust will be developing 10 new buildings providing more than 1,400 affordable homes in the Arsenal Regeneration Area. Come with us now on a brief tour of these developments. Work is now complete at Highbury Square, the site of the former Highbury Stadium. As part of this new development we have 69 homes, including 6 specifically designed for wheelchair users. Highbury Square was awarded silver in the Best Shared Ownership category at the What House? Awards 2009 and won Best Large Development at the First Time Buyer Readers Award 2010. Travelling west towards Emirates Stadium, we have a small block of 24 General Needs family rented homes situated on Drayton Park, two minutes from the new stadium. Average rents here for family accommodation are 120 a week. Identical properties in the adjacent private development are currently on sale for 649,000. If you take the steps up onto the northern footbridge, crossing the railway line from Drayton Park, you come out on the Stadiums podium level and pass directly between the Ashburton Triangle and Emirates Stadium. The Triangle provides 249 apartments for Key Workers 131 on a Shared Ownership basis and 118 for Intermediate Rent (below market rates rented accommodation for Key Workers). The Triangle is unique for a social housing building for a number of reasons. It was designed by HOK Sport, the same architects as the Stadium, it is also Europes largest zinc-clad building. Unusually there is no road access to the Triangle as it is situated on the Stadiums podium. In Queensland Road, at the south side of the Stadium, work has commenced on our tenth new building which includes 354 affordable homes. Our buildings on this site will also house the new Arsenal Sports Centre, which will provide sports training facilities for the Club and the local community. A few minutes west from Emirates, just across Holloway Road, is Hornsey street. This is effectively an entirely new street formerly a semi-derelict industrial area next to the mainline north from Kings Cross station. One side of the road includes 57 and 917 Hornsey Street, two major new buildings developed by Newlon, whilst opposite is the main concentration of private developments. In the midst of the private housing we also have 50 homes as part of the Carronade Court development. At the west end of Hornsey Street, our building 917 Hornsey Street is a mixed tenure building containing two blocks of General Needs family rented accommodation, and two blocks of Intermediate Rent and Shared Ownership homes. To the west of the new Waste Transfer Station we have 180 General Needs homes in Piper Close, running down to Caledonian Road. On Caledonian Road itself we have 3 new blocks of Shared Ownership homes and one of General Needs housing. These are situated just a few minutes from Caledonian Road underground station.

Ashburton Triangle

Newlon at Arsenal

Supporting the community achievements of the Arsenal Regeneration Programme

The increased capacity of the new stadium has already boosted inward investment in this part of Islington. In addition, the major construction programme has provided additional employment and training for local people and opportunities for local businesses to win new contracts.

The main achievements of the Arsenal Regeneration Programme to date are:

More than 1,000 affordable homes built and fully occupied between 2005 and 2007. 9 new buildings completed for Newlon Housing Trust, including the landmark Triangle building. In addition work is underway on 354 new affordable homes at Queensland Road, adjacent to the new stadium, which will also house Arsenals new Sports Centre. New stadium built on time and to schedule the increase in capacity from 38,000 to 60,000 has provided a major influx of capital to the surrounding area. New Waste Transfer station built to improve handling of refuse and improve recycling the Stadium and the Triangle stand on the site of the old Waste Transfer station. New Waste Transfer station includes a dedicated education centre to encourage recycling. Developing a new and mixed community. Attracting a high proportion of Key Workers has been an integral part of the Local Authoritys wider strategy of dealing with the historic shortage of health provision and supporting improved education in the Borough. The Triangle specifically provides homes for a large number of teachers for Islington. Increased inward investment it is estimated that an additional 8 million a year is now spent in the Arsenal Regeneration Area and that more than 2.5 million was won by local businesses in new contracts during 2006. Islington Business Enterprise Team set up to provide jobs and investment brokerage forming part of the Boroughs strategy to reduce worklessness. More than 300 new permanent jobs created. New Community IT Centre at the Triangle provides double the capacity for the community training learning programmes run by Arsenal FC and Islington Council. Small Grants Fund set up with Neighbourhood Renewal funding to provide support to a range of local voluntary organisations this is administered by Newlon Housing Trust. One organisation that has benefited is Transcend, a charity based a few minutes from Emirates Stadium which provides support for children with severe learning disabilities. Training Programmes including partnership with Islington Employment Service, the LDA and construction partners to deliver construction skills training for unemployed people from the Arsenal Regeneration Area. In partnership with Hyde Housing the programme has supported renovation work and the creation of new small business units on the Ringcross estate, which stands adjacent to new affordable and private housing, in the west of the Arsenal Regeneration Area. There was a reduction in all categories of crime in the Arsenal Regeneration Area for the 12 months from June 2006 to June 2007 compared to the previous year, even though several thousand more people now live there. Newlon Housing Trusts community regeneration team has worked with CEA Islingtons education service provider to run an ongoing support programme for young people excluded from school at Key Stage 4.

Newlon at Arsenal

Living in the Arsenal Regeneration Area

Hazel NKube, Senior Nurse in the Gynaecology Department at the Whittington Hospital, was one of the first people to move into 57 Hornsey Street. I really like living here says Hazel, its only a minute to the tube and the shops, and the apartments are so much better than other hospital accommodation. Also, I would have to pay about 300 a month more to rent something similar privately, so Im really pleased to be here. Jan Kellner is a science teacher at a secondary school in north London. He and his fianc have taken the first step onto the property ladder by buying a share in their flat at 917 Hornsey Street. Jan says I really like it here, because the flat is new I feel I can really make it my own and there are good opportunities to progress in teaching in this area. We plan to stay here for the long-term. At the Ashburton Triangle quite a few people have already shared this confidence by moving from Intermediate Rent to Shared Ownership, as have some of the residents at 917 Hornsey Street. This fits with the Councils vision for helping to solve the historic shortage of provision in education and health services by ensuring the professionals who work in these sectors can afford to live and stay in this area.

Hazel NKube, Senior Nursing Officer, lives at 57 Hornsey Street.

Science teacher, Jan Kellner, happy to have taken a step on the property ladder.

Newlon at Arsenal

Supporting a greener community

There are only a few spaces for car users in Newlons Arsenal Regeneration Area developments. We have a small number of specially designed bays for wheelchair users, but otherwise our residents have effectively committed themselves to living without cars. In the Triangle in particular there is no physical vehicle access, so those people that have bought into Shared Ownership have made a real choice to support the environment. This fits with the Councils aim to reduce traffic use and pollution in the Borough. The Arsenal Regeneration Area is very well served by public transport making it easy for our residents to travel around London and beyond. The Triangle and all our other large buildings also include secure cycle stores. Other environmental initiatives include green roofing at the Triangle, nesting boxes for swifts in Hornsey Street and the development of Europes largest solar array at Highbury Square. This will provide hot water and under floor heating for the whole development.

Installation work on the solar array at Highbury Square.

It doesnt stop when the builders go

The Arsenal Regeneration Programme is about more than providing new homes. It is also about developing a new and vibrant community. We now have 3,000 residents living in the Arsenal Regeneration Area and we work in active partnership with a wide range of organisations to support this community through providing training and employment opportunities. Newlon continues to administer the Small Grants Fund set up to benefit local voluntary organisations. The Community Trust, founded by the Arsenal Regeneration Programme, is now working to award larger grants to support major programmes that will provide long-term benefits to local people. The Learning Zone IT centre based in the Triangle building now has more than twice the capacity of their previous space at Highbury. The team at the centre provide IT training courses to local people, including young people on Arsenals Double Club programme which gives them sports coaching combined with IT training. The Arsenal Regeneration Programme is one of Europes largest regeneration schemes. It is unique in its scope and we believe that it provides a blue-print that many other local authorities can follow to help deliver much more than physical reconstruction to their local communities.
The Childminders Group at Highbury Roundhouse, beneficiaries of a small grant from the Arsenal Regeneration Team.

The i-recycle centre at Hornsey Street.

Newlon Housing Trust is a charitable housing association

Newlon House, 204 Hoxton Street, London N1 5LH | Tel 020 7613 8000 | Email info@newlon.org.uk | Website www.newlon.org.uk Newlon Housing Trust, registered with the Tenant Services Authority L0006, HMRC Charity No. X21906/1, Industrial and Provident Society 18449R.