South London YMCA is developing proposals to replace the existing hostel at Sylvan Hill with a better quality residential building - read more about the New YMCA Planned

Asset Management Strategy

The Asset Management Strategy agreed in 2006 is making good progress. Essentially, the sale of the Lansdowne site with the benefit of a 3 year lease back provided the opportunity to formulate a detailed programme of improvement and re-provision. The details have been agreed and developed in consultation with our key local authority partners, Croydon and Lambeth Council, and the Homes and Communities Agency who is providing grant funding to complement SLYMCA’s investment.

The designs reflect the Association’s commitment to involving residents and customers in all aspects of our work. Architects and other members of the project teams worked closely with residents and considered schemes developed by others so that we could achieve effective and sustainable designs that will be able to meet a range of needs.

The key elements of this strategy include:-

40-46 Stockwell Road

This project cost just over £3.0m and was completed in the spring of 2009. A mixture of new build and a conversion of the listed buildings to the street frontage, the 28 new flats - studios and one bedroom units - are being used to provide a Teenage Parents’ Service and supported housing for a range of other young people services.

33 St James’s Road and 86 St Saviour’s Road, Croydon

These two sites were in the Association’s ownership, but provided accommodation of very poor quality. A contract of just over £1.5m began in June 2009 to create two new schemes providing accommodation for 22 people. The designs are of a high quality, particularly in terms of their amenity and the emphasis on minimising energy use. Completion is scheduled for summer 2010.

Tripod House, Lansdowne Road

As the key element of the Lansdowne Hostel re-provision programme, Tripod House is being developed in partnership with Taylor Wimpey with whom contracts have been agreed. It will provide accommodation for 60 adult single homeless with a range of complementary areas for use as recreation and training. Work is progressing well, with completion due late 2010.

The design, as with other schemes, minimises shared accommodation and aims for a high quality of amenity and sustainability. In meeting a range of complex needs, the Association is pleased to be working in partnership with Thamesreach, one of the leading providers of services to homeless people in London.

South London Millennium Foyer

The existing building on this site was originally designed as a training centre for police cadets in the 1960’s (see image) It is ill-suited to meeting the needs of a much more vulnerable client group – single homeless young people – and falls significantly short of today’s standards. A redevelopment strategy has been devised to ensure that the site continues to focus on the needs of homeless young people, but with brand new buildings.

For the last two years we have been working closely with young people, Croydon Council Planning Department and the local community to develop a new Foyer on this site. With accommodation for 76 young people and a range of training and recreational facilities, the Foyer is keen to extend access to these resources to the local schools and community. Following a series of local community consultation workshops the design is being revised and a planning application will be submitted during 2010. It is hoped that work will begin in the spring of 2011, with completion the following year.

Young People's Assessment Centre

We are working closely with Croydon Council to create a scheme for up to 44 young people who will be accommodated and supported for an initial period while their needs are assessed. This resource is badly needed to ensure that the provision to which young people are referred in the borough is appropriate to their needs. A number of possible opportunities are being considered for this service.

Cornerstone

This 1960’s built 10 storey building in Dingwall Road, Croydon provides housing for 118 homeless people. Because of its poor condition and general lack of adequate amenities, its future is limited and work has begun on a complete remodelling of the accommodation to provide fewer flats of higher quality. We’re about to begin consultation on some draft designs and it is hoped that a planning application will be submitted soon.