Impact of EHCGP - Five Lamps - Graeme Oram

Chapel Street, Evenwood – September 2013

Properties empty for 5 years and more

13 – 17 Chapel Street Now

Other properties external improvements

Inside No.9 Before

………..And After

No.9 Kitchen Before

……….And After

No. 9 Outside Before

……….And After

No.17 Before……………………………And After

Empty Since Fire In 2010

Now

No.17 Kitchen Before

………And Now

No.17 No Stairs…………………………………..Stairs

Five Lamps•30 years of social, economic and financial inclusion activities working with c25000 people each year•Empty Homes a strong strategic fit but securing capital was a challenge•EHCGP £1.27m •49 properties (1 purchase, 48 leases)•Darlington & County Durham•Opportunities for FL enterprise starts, employability clients and young people

Evenwood•Rural, former mining community in southwest of County Durham•Long-standing issue – failed bids previously•9 out of 17 properties flagged up for EHCGP•Only 3 properties being lived in•Anti-Social Behaviour a huge issue•October 2006 Property Selling for £65k - £71k•Over £50k as recently as 2008•£20k by 2011•Guide Price £5k in 2013 Property Auction

• ‘I don’t walk down there any more’• ‘Knock the bloody street down’• ‘This used to be a lovely street’• Considered a biomass heating system for all 17

properties• Delivery model just didn’t stack up ….. And it set us

back by 6-8 months• Despite everything still a challenge to get owners to

sign up

Result•A revived street …… and renewed sense of community•We’ve done 3, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 and 17•Another EHCGP deliverer has done 16•The LA cluster programme is looking to support 7 and 12•10 and 11 have improved their external appearance•‘It’s nearly like it used to be’•Without EHCGP it wouldn’t have happened•Five Lamps has a powerful appetite to do more.