It’s our job to deliver regeneration where private developers won’t

The estate’s Radburn layout, consisting of back-to-front houses, hidden walkways and limited natural visibility, made it feel like an island, disconnected from the wider neighbourhood. An unusually high number of homes acquired through the Right to Buy also left it fragmented, with many privately owned properties beyond our direct management.

By 2015, it was clear that leaving things as they were would only deepen the decline of the area. In 2016, Stonedale was chosen for a Department for Communities and Local Government (now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) pilot project analysing the ‘cost of doing nothing’. In 2017, Cobalt secured funding to develop a resident-led masterplan that set out to tackle the estate’s challenges.

The cost of addressing years of limited attention – through demolition, infrastructure changes, public space redesign and resident relocation – was considerable, but the cost of inaction would have been greater.

“New homes and upgraded public spaces bring investment, create jobs and attract a wider range of residents to the area”

Delivering regeneration isn’t just about bricks and mortar. It’s about aligning funding, trust and community support to create lasting social impact. We use social return on investment (SROI) methods to measure outcomes such as better health, increased safety and stronger community bonds, revealing the broader value behind every pound invested.

Tackling outdated layouts and poor housing conditions goes hand-in-hand with creating healthier lives, more welcoming public spaces and a neighbourhood people are proud to call home. This transformation also unlocks opportunity.

New homes and upgraded public spaces bring investment, create jobs and attract a wider range of residents to the area. In turn, local shops, schools and services are supported better, helping Croxteth grow into a thriving and diverse community where people of all ages and backgrounds can live, work and build a future.

None of this would have happened without funding partners that understand the challenge. When we lost early regeneration money, we did not stop. We kept going with site assembly, demolition, design and community conversations, because we knew our partners would back us when the right funding appeared. Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority did exactly that. They recognised that tackling deep-rooted viability barriers needs long-term relationships and flexibility.

Our regeneration journey in Croxteth began with the successful delivery of two earlier phases: Altbridge Park, completed in 2022 with 57 new homes, and Waterdale Gardens, which added 88 homes to the area. These projects laid the groundwork for genuine resident partnership and co-design, informing the mix of homes planned for Stonedale Crescent’s ongoing transformation.

“When we lost early regeneration money, we did not stop. We kept going with site assembly, demolition, design and community conversations, because we knew our partners would back us when the right funding appeared”

In the coming days, we’ll sign a contract with house builder Lovell to deliver 70 new social rent homes, backed by £8.4m from Homes England and £1.62m from the combined authority. Their support shows what’s possible when trust is built through long-term commitment and collaboration.

The new homes will meet the Future Homes Standard, featuring air-source heat pumps, solar panels, mechanical ventilation and electric-vehicle charging. This future-proofs the properties against rising energy prices and evolving environmental regulations, creating homes that are comfortable, affordable to run and resilient for decades to come.

This has come at a cost. The total investment will reach around £25m, with 60% coming from our own reserves. It has required careful prioritisation, but our board has been unwaveringly supportive, recognising that strong partnerships only succeed when someone is prepared to stay the course during difficult times.

That investment also meant swallowing a particularly expensive, if necessary, bitter pill: buying out private landlords who had benefited from the Right to Buy but were now letting their properties privately. To rehouse their tenants and bring these homes back into community ownership, we had to pay well above current market values to compensate for their loss of yield. It was a tough financial decision, but one that was essential to create the cohesive, sustainable neighbourhood our residents told us they wanted.

Planning is only half the story. We dedicated a full-time member of staff to supporting tenants on Stonedale. She worked one-to-one with households through every move, building relationships residents describe as “like [having] an adopted granddaughter”. That level of trust does not happen without a genuine partnership with the people who live here.

At a 2017 resident workshop, people were asked what the best possible Stonedale would look like. They spoke of a safe, open estate, free from fly-tipping, a place of choice, with better green spaces and opportunities for jobs and education. That vision is ours too, and now it’s becoming reality.

For me, Stonedale perfectly illustrates what place-based regeneration truly demands to succeed: enduring partnerships, a landlord deeply rooted in the community, and funders ready to share risk when the market turns its back.

Together, these forces have transformed a place once written off into a community with a real future. This is the ultimate test for levelling up – and we’re up for the challenge. 

Claire Griffiths, chief executive, Cobalt Housing