Bellevue Mansions, Clapham Road

Skip days - Friday 5th and Saturday 6th July

Following resident feedback, we've arranged for two skips to be provided for the residents of Bellevue Mansions to get rid of large unwanted household items. You can use these to dispose of any household items without having to drive to the local recyling/refuse centre.

The skips will be dropped off in the parking area on the afternoon of Friday 5th July, and will be picked up in the early afternoon of Saturday 6th July.

We appreciate that this won’t give you a lot of time, but it’s to avoid opportunist rubbish dumpers from out of the area filling the skips up.

Please avoid putting mattresses, fridges, consignment notes, monitors, gas bottle, chairs or sofas inside the skips. If you do have these items and are struggling to dispose of them, place them just outside of the skips and they will be collected separately.

Potentially toxic waste such as plasterboard, asbestos, petrol, fire extinguishers, explosives and batteries should not be placed in the skips under any circumstances.

Let us know if there are any other similar services we could provide that might be helpful for you.

If you have any questions, get in touch with us at [email protected].

Background

Our priority is that our customers live in a high quality home that's safe, decent and energy efficient. Based on both residents’ and our maintenance team’s feedback, we don’t believe Bellevue Gardens provides this in its current condition. Unfortunately, residents are currently suffering with issues around damp, the condition of the communal areas, windows, the cost to heat their homes, security issues and the layouts of some of the homes.

What is Hyde proposing for Bellevue Mansions, 289-307 Clapham Road?

The first option we are looking at is to refurbish Bellevue Mansions. This means carrying out repairs to bring the homes up to current building standards, which would improve the issues currently faced by residents.

The second option we are considering is regeneration of Bellevue Mansions. This would mean the demolition of Bellevue Mansions and building new homes in its place.

Our preference at this stage is the regeneration of Bellevue Mansions. The main reasons for this are:

Refurbishment would not ensure that the properties would meet the high standards expected for new homes. The cost of keeping the properties warm in the winter, designing out antisocial behaviour, and replacing gas boilers with more environmentally friendly sources of power would all be difficult to achieve.
Refurbishment would be expensive, and leaseholders would have to contribute to the costs of this work.
Lambeth is an area of significant housing need, and we believe that through regeneration we could increase the number of new homes on the site. This would provide new affordable homes that are desperately needed in the area.

What happens next?

Refurbishment or regeneration are not quick processes, and it will be a few years before any work would take place.

We are currently developing both options; this means understanding more about the work required to Bellevue Mansions if we were to refurbish it and looking at possible designs for new buildings if we were to regenerate it. Residents are part of this process, as part of a steering group and wider consultation activities.

Once we have worked up both options, we will ask residents to vote in a ballot. If residents vote in favour of regeneration, then it is at this stage that we would start to work through detailed design to submit a planning application. If residents vote against regeneration, then we would need to consider the alternative option of refurbishment.

Bellevue Mansions – frequently asked questions

What do you mean by ‘refurbishment’ and ‘regeneration’?

By refurbishment we mean updating various components of the buildings, including electrics, heating system, insulation etc, to bring it up to required modern standards.

Regeneration would mean demolishing the building entirely and rebuilding it.
Why does Bellevue Mansions need to be refurbished or regenerated?

Issues such as damp, the insulation of the building and how easy (and costly) it is for residents to warm their homes are our main concerns. In addition to these issues, an older building like Bellevue Mansions, which was built in the 1800’s, becomes harder to maintain as time goes on. There are also now more requirements from the Government for us to use sustainable energy for heating and hot water and to significantly improve safety across all housing. Meeting these expectations in Bellevue Mansions is going to require significant work and cost, whichever approach we take.

We want residents at Bellevue Mansions to live in a high quality and safe building and so action must be taken in some form on the building. Our responsibilities as a landlord mean that there is no ‘do nothing’ option. We need to carry out some work at Bellevue Mansions in order to make sure that all of the accommodation in the building is up to required standards.
What has Hyde done so far?

We’ve carried out a survey of the building to find out what work would be needed and what the likely cost would be. We’ve also reviewed the site and completed a very high-level assessment of what we might be able to build on the site. We’ve also completed a financial assessment to make sure that we can afford the work we need to do.

We do not have a design or plan in mind for the regeneration. It is very early days and much more design work would be needed before we can say what a new building could look like.
What is the resident ballot?

Residents will need to vote to show if they support, or are against, the regeneration proposal. No vote has taken place yet and it will not take place for about a year. The resident ballot will be carried out by an independent agency, not Hyde.

Regeneration will not go ahead unless there is a majority vote (51% or more) from residents. If the ballot is lower than 51% in favour, then the proposals to regenerate the estate would not go ahead. Following this, we would have to look at the refurbishment to Bellevue Mansions.
What is the steering committee’s role, and should I join it?

A steering committee is a group of residents who would work with us to develop new designs, and the policies that set out your rights as current residents. We encourage all residents to consider joining the steering committee as these are vital aspects of the project that will affect everyone. Having a diverse range of views will mean that we are more likely to reach a consensus that suits the majority. If you’re interested in joining, please let us know. Our email is [email protected].

It's important to us that residents are included in decisions wherever possible. This is why we’re involving you at an early stage so that we can decide the future of Bellevue Mansions together.

Meetings are likely to be online via Zoom, and roughly every two months.

What this means for customers who are renting their homes from us (Hyde)

Will I be made homeless, and will I have to move?

You will not be made homeless.

If Bellevue Mansions is refurbished, you are likely to remain living in your property.

If Bellevue Mansions is regenerated, then tenants will have to move into a temporary home while the new homes are being built. After this, you will have the right to return to a newly built home. While the homes are being built, we’ll do our best to re-house tenants in Lambeth Borough and as close to Bellevue Mansions as possible.
What will happen to my existing tenancy agreement? Will my rent go up?

In either situation we’ll try to keep the terms of your existing tenancy agreement the same, including rent and service charges. However, we cannot guarantee this.
We are overcrowded in our current accommodation. Can we get a bigger home?

If the estate is refurbished, it is likely that you will remain in your current property, and the layout will stay the same. If the estate is regenerated, then you will be able to move to a property more suitable to your household's needs.
I don’t want to keep moving. Can I move away permanently?

We can consider this if we’re able to find appropriate alternative accommodation for you.
Moving house is expensive, who will pay for these costs?

We will pay tenants a fixed amount to compensate for the disruption caused by moving, which is set by the Government. Currently this is £8100 but it changes in-line with inflation each year. So, it is likely to be more than this by the time we know if we are refurbishing or regenerating the building.

We’ll also pay for removal costs and other disturbance costs such as mail redirection and reconnection of ovens and hobs.

What this means for leaseholders

What will happen to my home?

If Bellevue Mansions is refurbished, then you and your household can remain living in your current home. There will be some disruption as we carry out the necessary works to bring the building up to the standards required.

If Bellevue Mansions is regenerated, then we’ll offer you an option to return to the regenerated estate if you’d like to. The specific terms haven’t been worked out yet, and we’d like to work with leaseholders in developing the offer so that it provides you with the best outcome possible.
Can I move away permanently?

You can also sell your property back to us and move permanently if you wish. We would buy your home at the current market rate and would offer you disturbance payments, and 10% compensation. For landlords our offer would be disturbance payments and 7% compensation.