Successful places
with homes and jobs
A NATIONAL
AGENCY
WORKING
LOCALLY
Buckland Mill, Dover
Dover Society Evening
Allert Riepma
Homes & Communities Agency
14 April 2014
Contents
 Introduction
 Buckland - Brief History
 HCA’s Role
 Buckland – Progress So Far
 Buckland – Future Plans
 Conclusion
 Any Questions
Buckland House Interior
Introduction

Allert Riepma – Senior
Development Manager HCA

Responsible for a number of HCA
Mixed Use Schemes in Kent &
Essex

Dover projects: Betteshanger,
Connaught Barracks, Aylesham
Workshop Units & Buckland Mill
Conqueror House & Buckland House in the background

Development Partner Gillcrest
Homes

Gillcrest Homes representative:
Alan Burns – Development Director
Buckland Brief History 1
Buckland Current
Projects in Phase 1







Paper Mill closed late 1990s.
Site fell into disrepair and remained unsold until 2002.
HCA’s predecessor, SEEDA, acquired site in 2002 and carried out
remediation works, installed fish trap and improved river flow.
Planning brief drawn up in 2004 and site taken to the market.
Gillcrest Homes were chosen as preferred development partner.
A Development Agreement entered into in 2006.
Down turn in 2007/8 housing market led to a revised planning
application with more housing units and more affordable housing
proposed upfront.
Buckland Brief History





Following detailed negotiations with
Environment Agency, Planning Authority,
Kent County Council and the Highways
Authority , planning was granted in 2010
for 406 units including 123 affordable units,
1,300 m² commercial space, a community
centre and an 80 bed care home.
HCA took over landholding in 2011
following closure of SEEDA.
First 56 affordable housing units sold to
Town & Country early 2013 for rent and
shared ownership units.
Buckland House , a grade II listed building,
renovated and refurbished mid 2013 and
marketed for commercial use.
HCA granted long lease in 2014 for the mill
buildings to allow Gillcrest to commence
conversion of mill buildings (1D & G) for
32 apartments.
Buckland Mill Conqueror House and Mill
Buildings
The HCA National Role

Government Agency Working with people and places to
enable them to deliver homes, economic growth and
jobs.

Delivering programmes of investment.

Making best use of our land and that of government
and other public bodies.

Undertaking robust economic regulation of social
housing providers.

Our Partners:
 Local Authorities (all tiers & LEP’s)
 Registered Partners (delivering affordable housing)
 House Building Industry
 Central Government & other Govt Depts
 Investment & Banking sectors
Current HCA national delivery context
•
•
•
•
•
Continued limits on public funding
Focus on economic growth
Risk – diversification and complex
environment (welfare reform)
Recoverable investment (loans)
HCA activity focused on five key
areas:
• Affordable housing
• Market interventions
• Public land
• Economic Assets Programme
• Regulation
HCA Delivery – Essex & Kent
Land Programmes 2012/13
Start-on-Sites: 313
Completions: 694
Private Sector investment: £143m
Reclaimed Brownfield: 13h
Employment floorspace: 412m2
Affordable Programmes 2012/13
3338 completions
469 start on sites
Estimated Overall HCA Investment in
Dover in 2013/14 (land/housing)
£18.7 million
Going forward – Recent National
Government Initiatives taken forward by HCA.
Affordable Housing
£3.3bn affordable housing funding over 3 years 2015-18
£400m Affordable Rent to Buy 2015 – 18.
 £6bn Help to Buy 2014 – 2018, mortgage assistance.
 £500m Building Finance Fund, loan for small to medium
size housing builders experiencing difficulty accessing
bank finance (19 March 2014 budget announcement).
Public Land
HCA to be disposal agency for surplus public sector land.
Govt to deliver c. £15 bn of asset sales 2015 - 20 inc at
least £5bn of land/ property.
Strategic Land Review to identify surplus or redundant
public sector land.
HCA land: our portfolio
OA
Total Area (ha)
% of HCA portfolio
E&SE
2,264
24%
Mids
2,452
26%
NEY&H
1,663
18%
NW
2,229
24%
773
8%
S&SW
HCA Land – 9,400 hectares
Greater London 173,790 ha
Birmingham
59,890 ha
Leeds
48,780 ha
Dover
31,400 ha
Bristol
14,440 ha
Milton Keynes
6,250 ha
Warrington
4,490 ha
Stoke-on-Trent
10,390 ha
The area of England is
circa 13 million hectares
HCA equivalent 9,400 ha
Brighton
8,940 ha
In England, an average of 7,000 hectares of farmland, countryside and green space were converted to
urban use every year between 1985 and 1998. This is almost the equivalent size of 9,800 football pitches.
Development Potential recorded in 2012/13
HCA land: portfolio value
The Book Value of HCA landholding portfolio as at 31 March 2013
was c. £726m.
HCA Role in stimulating Housing Market.
Current Constrains:

•
•
•

•
•
Demand-side barriers
Lending – banks are less willing to lend as the
perceived risk of house price bubble is higher.
To reduce banks exposure to this risk, higher
deposits have been demanded.
The cost of borrowing for banks has increased due
to uncertainty in the economy, and higher risk
aversion in the financial sector.
Supply-side barriers
The fall in house prices (until recently) has reduced
the financial viability of building, leading to stalled
sites.
Reduced access to investment finance, particularly
for smaller suppliers.
Current delivery context – the market from Nov
2013

Average house price in Dover £200,000
compared to England average of
£253,000 (Buckland Mill area £104,000!).

Following 2008-09 national average
price has increased by 12.5%.

Total number & value of house
mortgages sold have gone up since
summer 2012.

Expectation that prices will rise 20% over
2013 – 17.
HCA Role in stimulating Housing Market.
Government, ‘Easing’ of Current Constraints:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Demand-side
The Help to Buy scheme, enabling households to access 20% equity for
mortgages for new build homes.
Creating a debt guarantee scheme for up to £10 billion to support affordable
housing and private rental homes.
Supply-side
Builders Finance Fund to unlock stalled building sites.
Supporting the release of public sector land and reducing planning delays to
accelerate major housing projects.
Affordable homes programme with new affordable rents.
Increasing the maximum discount available for Right to Buy – for the first time,
all the additional sale receipts will be recycled back into new affordable rented
homes.
HCA Role at Buckland Mill - 1

Threefold:
1) Landowner seeking maximum benefit for
the taxpayer in terms of monetary returns,
balanced mix of affordable and market
housing, good standards of design,
commercial units, jobs created and wider
community & environmental benefits.
2) Investor to improve attraction of site to
house builders, retailers, community
enterprises and future home owners and
tenants in turn increasing private and other
public sector investment (leverage).
3) Serve local people & businesses to build
up a new vibrant community at Buckland
Mill.
Buckland House Interior
HCA Role at Buckland Mill - 2

HCA investment in Buckland Mill so far:
– £4.38 m in site acquisition,
remediation, demolition, consultant
fees and on going estate
management.
– Affordable Housing Grant £2.8 m.

Estimated private sector investment in
Buckland Mill:
– £2 m in site preparation works and
construction so far.
– Total private sector investment for
Buckland estimated to be in excess of
£30 m.
Buckland House Frontage
Buckland Mill Future Plans 1
•
Buckland Mill Masterplan in Four Phases totalling 406 housing units
plus commercial space
19
Buckland Mill Future Plans 2
Buckland Mill Buildings June 2013




Buckland Mill Buildings Phase 1D April 2014
Find suitable occupier for Buckland House. Planning Application
submitted for potential educational use.
Advanced discussions for new Health Centre at block 1H
Ongoing marketing for retail use in mill buildings with interest received
from a number of supermarket retailers.
Re marketing phase 1A for Care Home use with encouraging new interest
from care home operators.
Buckland Mill Future Plans 3
Phase 2
Detailed Planning Application expected later
this year.
Mixture of housing and apartments.
Phase 3
Detailed Planning Application expected
March 2016.
Mixture of housing and apartments.
Phase 4
•Detailed Planning Application expected
March 2017.
•Mainly Housing.
Consultation
•HCA/Gillcrest Homes keen to
gain.communities’ view during each planning
application phase.
Conversion works block 1D and platform for new playground
Buckland Mill Future Plans 4

Risks/Threats
– Relatively low sales values in
Dover (and Buckland Mill area in
particular) mean viability of the
scheme remains a delicate
balance.
– Rising construction costs within
the context of an improving
economy.
– Relatively low levels of demand for
housing/retail in Dover.
– New AHP not available for S106
sites generally.
Conqueror House
Buckland Mill Future Plans 5
View from roof terrace at Conqueror House

Opportunities/Strengths:
– Quality and good design will always sell.
– Masterplan flexibility for future phases allows scheme to respond to future market
changes.
– Improved transport links such as High Speed 1
– Early signs of increased development activity in Dover such as Pentland Homes
scheme, CPO activity in Dover Town Centre and Discovery Park.
Conclusions
 After a slow and difficult start, Buckland Mill
development has now gained momentum.
 HCA & Gillcrest are committed to the long
terms success of the project, recently re
affirmed by parties having signed up to an
updated Development Agreement last month.
 Further challenges ahead in terms of rising
costs and reduced funding but also new
opportunities such as improving economic
climate and development activity in Dover.
 Development can act as catalyst for community
regeneration in this part of Dover and the wider
area.
Buckland House Interior
Successful places
with homes and jobs
A NATIONAL
AGENCY
WORKING
LOCALLY
Thank you.
Questions?