Karbon Homes: A bold new approach to place-shaping

Perched on a hilltop between Consett and Chester-le-Street lies Stanley, once a thriving town at the heart of North East industry and innovation.

But the last couple of decades have not been kind.

Shaped, developed and peopled by coal, steel and hard graft for more than a century, the once prosperous town has suffered a tough period of gradual decline.

But, with the support of local housing association Karbon Homes, Stanley is fighting back.

Karbon, which owns and manages one in four homes in the town, is targeting its resources at initiatives and projects that help deliver positive change.

Working in partnership with the community, it is developing a sophisticated understanding of the town, in order to help tackle its biggest challenges at the root.

“There’s a real sense of pride, identity and community in the town, and people have told us they feel there’s so much potential here,” says Victoria Keen, Karbon’s place partnership strategic lead.

She adds: “But there are many challenges too, and we want to play our part in helping Stanley tackle them to boost the prosperity of residents. “And as a housing association and an anchor institution in the community, I believe we’re well placed to help address these challenges.

“We’re used to thinking outside the box, and given our strong links with customers, we’re ideally placed to lead on a bold new approach.”

With a footprint that covers around 34,000 homes across the North East and Yorkshire, Karbon Homes’ work in Stanley is part of its ‘Fair Foundations’ approach to place-shaping, with the aim of tackling the challenges communities face to make long-lasting changes and support growth.

Victoria says: “Stanley is one of two impact areas where we’re concentrating our resources, the other being the Byker estate in the east end of Newcastle.

“These places have strong identities, strong communities, a strong sense of belonging and a pride that has perhaps taken a bit of a battering in recent years.

“We knew we wanted to focus on places where there were higher levels of deprivation and health inequality, but also where there is a strong community spirit and where we’re best placed to make a difference due to our high concentration of housing stock in the area.

“We already offer some fantastic customer and community support services, but a lot of the work we were doing was supporting people in crisis.

“This new approach looks at what we can do in the longer term that is offering a new conceptual approach to place, built on an area’s strengths and supporting sustainable economic prosperity.

“The priority has been to listen to residents, and to engage with local councils, businesses, charities and community groups.

“Change and transformation needs a collective.”

And there is surely no greater demonstration that Karbon is listening than the purchase of the blighted Stanley Board School on Front Street that laid unused and derelict for more than 30 years.

A symbol of Stanley’s decline has been removed and in its place will surely come hope, pride and prosperity.

Victoria says: “The community told us the high street was somewhere they wanted to see more investment.

“It used to be thriving, with good services and plenty of shops.

“It was a good place to live and work, and supported good quality of life, but that has declined, particularly in the last ten to 15 years.

“The biggest symbol of that decline was some of the larger buildings, which the residents saw as being left to go to rack and ruin, mostly by absentee landlords.

“They wanted us to do something about it.

“After in-depth consultation and engagement, and the creation of an action plan, the first intervention – and probably the bravest – was the purchase of the school site.

“This is a huge step in us helping to rejuvenate the high street.

“We’re still exploring a number of possible options for the site, but we’re confident its redevelopment will be a springboard for Stanley’s town centre revival.”

 

Karbon’s ambitions for improving the town stem from the top of the organisation.

Chief executive Paul Fiddaman is a proud Stanley man, a former Tanfield School pupil who understands the complexities of the town’s history and has a desire to shape its future more positively.

And while considering the future of the former school site, Victoria and her team have been implementing a number of other projects to further boost the vibrancy of Front Street, which include engaging with local artists and schools to design fresh shopfront shutters, and sponsoring regular food markets to help drive footfall.

Victoria adds: “We know we can’t revive the town alone, so we set up the Stanley Stakeholder Reference Group with more than 120 individuals that represent in excess of 60 organisations including the county council, town council, local charities, Durham University and Beamish Museum.

“We’re keen to work with partners who have a vested interest in Stanley and who are open to collaboration.

“I think that’s the positive thing about our place-shaping approach; we’ve shown we can do more if we focus our investment together, rather than working in silos.

“I’ve come to really love the place and the people.

“It’s not without its challenges, but Stanley has so much to offer and hopefully a bright future ahead.”

 

Karbon Homes

www.karbonhomes.co.uk

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