The council has approved funding to demolish Menin House's 24 flats on Privett Road and build new affordable homes. The site is allocated for up to 50.

Fareham Borough Council has agreed how it will pay to knock down Menin House, a block of 24 council flats on Privett Road, Fareham Park, and replace it with new affordable homes. The council’s Executive approved the funding on Monday 12 October.

The decision takes effect on 24 October, once the period for councillors to call it in has passed. It is recorded in the council’s decision notice, published on 14 October.

The Executive agreed three things:

  • the funding arrangements for redeveloping Menin House and the land around it
  • that the Director of Housing and Health can appoint a contractor to demolish Menin House and its garages once they are all empty
  • that the same director can appoint a contractor to build the new homes, once there is planning permission

How much it will cost is secret. The figures sit in a confidential appendix. The council says publishing them would harm its ability to get best value when it tenders the work. The press and public were excluded while the Executive discussed them.

Why the council wants to rebuild

Menin House is a three-storey block built in 1966. The council first named it for redevelopment in March 2021, in an appendix to its Housing Regeneration Strategy. That document set out the building’s problems:

  • the internal soil and vent pipes are asbestos cement, which causes maintenance problems that are “very difficult to rectify”
  • asbestos cement rainwater pipes built into the concrete are failing, damaging the concrete and its steel reinforcement
  • the electric heating and water systems are old and inefficient
  • some kitchen layouts do not meet the Decent Homes Standard
  • half the flats are bedsits, which the council says are harder to let

It estimated that keeping the building would need around £600,000 over 30 years just to fix the structure and update fixtures and fittings. It said a full modernisation would cost “far greater”.

The 2021 appendix also said the site is in “one of the highest areas of affordable housing need in the borough”.

How many homes

The council’s latest report does not say how many homes will be built. An architect has only recently been appointed to draw up the design.

The adopted Local Plan sets the expectation. It allocates the 0.37-hectare site as HA49, with an indicative yield of 50 homes, a net gain of 26 on the 24 flats there now. The plan also says:

  • the main road access should be from Privett Road
  • buildings should be no more than four storeys
  • there must be an ecological buffer next to Henry Cort Copse, a wildlife site to the west
  • the mature trees along the southern edge should stay

The 2021 appendix gave a wider range, of 30 to 50 homes. It said the final number would depend on whether the scheme is mostly flats, houses or a mix.

What has happened since 2021

The council’s report to the Executive says it has been buying back the parts of the site it did not own:

  • all three leasehold flats are back in council ownership
  • of five privately owned garages, one has been bought, two purchases are nearly complete and prices are agreed for the last two

Officers have been “working with affected residents to explore suitable alternative housing options”, the report says. The 2021 appendix promised a Decant Policy, setting out how council tenants would be rehoused and what financial help they would get.

What happens next

The report sets out the order of events:

  1. surveys, so the block can be demolished quickly once it is empty
  2. a tender for a demolition contractor
  3. public consultation on draft designs
  4. a planning application, decided by the council as planning authority “on its own merits”
  5. a tender for a building contractor, if permission is granted

The council says it wants to demolish quickly because empty buildings bring security risks, fly-tipping and health and safety concerns. No dates are given for any stage.

The new homes will be let through the council’s housing register.

Menin House is a short walk from Henry Cort Drive, where the council is also planning a new Fareham Park Community Centre.

What it means for you

  • If you live in Menin House, the council says officers are working with residents on alternative housing. Your housing officer is the first contact.
  • If you live near Privett Road, you should be consulted on the draft designs before any planning application goes in.
  • If you are on the housing register, the new homes will be allocated through it, under the council’s allocations policy.
  • If you want to see the papers, the public report and the decision are on the Executive meeting page.

Sources