An update for our customers in Lower Falinge - 13th March 2025
Before Christmas, we told you that we were looking at what the next stage of the regeneration of Lower Falinge would look like. We wanted to hear your views about what we should focus on, and how you would like to be involved in the future.
Thank you to everyone who came to our drop-in sessions, spoke to us on our recent walkabout, or completed our survey. This has really helped us as we look at our future plans.
We have always promised to let you know first, as soon as we have any news that may affect you. We have completed a full review of options on seven maisonette blocks in Lower Falinge; these being Zedburgh, Ollerton, Newstead, Romsey, Quinton, Ullesthorpe, and Vaynor. Having assessed all options, we have concluded that the only affordable option is to demolish all blocks and build new homes in this area.
As a result, we want to let you know that we are now planning to demolish the six blocks that are currently empty - these are Ollerton, Newstead, Romsey, Quinton, Ullesthorpe, and Vaynor. We also plan to demolish some of the nearby empty commercial buildings, the former RSPCA buildings, and the former car wash on High Street. We will also be seeking to demolish Zedburgh block within the next 18 months.
We aim to complete the demolition of the six empty blocks and the commercial buildings within the next 12 months and will be seeking planning permission in the coming weeks. We plan to carry out preparation works soon, so you will see some increased activity around the blocks. Once we have appointed a contractor, we will provide another update which will give you more specific timescales for this work.
After demolition, these sites will be temporarily grassed while we work with the community and our partners to consider the next projects in the regeneration. We have some more work to do before we can share the next stage, and we will make sure that we let you know as soon as we can about how you can get involved in the design of these projects. The things you told us in December have been helpful, including your preference for more housing in the area, making Lower Falinge a safer place to live and more community projects. We look forward to working with you in the coming years to design and deliver these projects.
We will make sure that we keep you updated regularly. If you have any questions or concerns, including any about how the demolition may affect you, please contact the Regeneration Team on towncentre.regen@rbh.org.uk or by calling them on Freephone 0800 027 7769 and selecting option 5.
We look forward to working with you all on the next phase of the regeneration.
