'City-centre apartments could save countryside' says Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation today announced plans to proceed with its first CASPAR development - City-centre Apartments for Single People at Affordable Rents - in Birmingham; plans are underway for a second, in Leeds. These high density developments, with a relatively low level of car parking will not receive public subsidies and are targeted at middle income single people. £6m has been set aside by the JRF for investment in CASPAR projects.
Presenting evidence to the House of Commons' Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, the Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Richard Best, said: "It is probably unrealistic to expect families with young children to flock back to the city centres from the suburbs and beyond. But it makes very good sense all round for single people - those who have not married or are divorced/separated - to live close to places of work and leisure. It is the growth of households occupied by only one person mostly those in middle age and older - which has increased the requirement for new homes. Targeting these households with a rented option helps job mobility and provides flexibility to cope with changing circumstances."
He added that developments of the CASPAR kind would bring environmental benefits, in cutting down on the congestion and pollution of commuter traffic; they would also have important social consequences. "If our older cities are to revive they need economically independent people to provide a better mix of incomes and skills, changing the image of the inner city.
"And by developing on brownfield, recycled land, we can reduce the need for greenfield development in the countryside. Coupled with the opportunities for residents to walk, cycle or use public transport for work and pleasure, the CASPAR option is extremely 'environmentally friendly'."
It is several decades since investors put their money into new apartments built for rent, not sale, in the UK. "Although all American cities, and most of those in Europe, contain blocks of apartments catering for those who can exercise choice in the market, the same is not true in the UK," said Richard Best. "Outside of London opportunities for market renting are scarce and those able to exercise choice are likely to live well away from the centre."
A competition is currently taking place between five leading firms of architects to develop the Birmingham site, close to the canal on the edge of the Jewellery Quarter; if approval is received for the CASPAR project in Leeds, the same teams will be asked to prepare designs for a second scheme there.
