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Curo abandons Foxhill regeneration plans following resident legal action
A housing association has abandoned its ambitious plans for the regeneration of an estate in Bath after residents took legal action.
Curo had intended to demolish 542 homes on the Foxhill Estate and replace them with 700 new builds.
However, the 13,000-home landlord told residents today it “will no longer consider demolition of homes” on the estate.
The plans – which included a net loss of 204 affordable rented homes – were facing a High Court judicial review brought forward by the Foxhill Residents’ Association.
Bath & North East Somerset Council approved the scheme in July, but lawyers acting for the campaigners claimed the authority had failed to apply its planning policy on the loss of social housing properly.
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In a letter to Foxhill residents dated 28 February, Victor da Cunha, chief executive of Curo, said he was “deeply disappointed”.
He added: “Residents have told us that they no longer want to live with the uncertainty of what may happen to their home in future.
“The recent legal action by a group of residents may result in further delays and uncertainty for 12 months or more.
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“Even if this legal action is unsuccessful, this would not promote the necessary consensus to deliver a truly community-owned, successful project.”
Curo has been planning its Foxhill scheme since 2013, when it purchased the site from the Ministry of Defence.
Mr da Cunha said community opposition, mixed political support and an absence of forthcoming government grant had scuppered the scheme.
Instead, the association will now invest in refurbishing the homes it owns at Foxhill.
A spokesperson for Bath & North East Somerset Council said: “We hope that Curo will take the opportunity to take stock of the situation and that they will continue to engage with their residents to give them more certainty over the future of the estate.
“The council will look at the implications of Curo’s decision in more detail over the coming weeks.”
The full letter is attached below.
