Telford: ageing badly

Telford & Wrekin council's predicament is, if not unique, highly unusual. Little more than 40 years old – it was designated a "new town" in 1968 – Telford is ageing fast.

The town's infrastructure and housing, which was built relatively cheaply and quickly in the 1960s, is nearing the end of its life. Some of its wards are among the 10% most deprived in England.

Regeneration, particularly of estates built to outdated layouts, has become one of the council's top priorities. The fear is that without immediate intervention, the housing market could slide into decline.

But, as ever, cash is tight. "In any other town, these wards would immediately be targeted for regeneration," says Telford MP David Wright. "Certain estates can be clearly identified as regeneration priorities but no central government support can be accessed."

To make matters worse, the council's direct influence on housing is limited: in 1999 it transferred its 13,000 homes to Wrekin Housing Trust.

But by copying some methods being used in the nine housing market renewal areas, Telford council, Wrekin Housing Trust and English Partnerships have started to address the problem.

Last week, the final challenge to the compulsory purchase of properties in a 360-unit block of flats on the town's Woodside Estate was thrown out. The flats – about half of which were owned by Wrekin Housing Trust and had become a focus for crime – will be demolished and the land taken on by EP for possible future redevelopment. The scheme will cost about £60m, with the cash coming from the council, housing trust, EP, regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and the Housing Corporation.

"A lot of the regeneration has focused on estates in the south of the town but we've realised there is wider need," says Mike Atherton, head of housing and consumer services at the council.

"We want the government to recognise that the problems are outside the scope of the current funding regime. We're trying to encourage the government to put together a national market renewal strategy that can be applied beyond the pathfinders."

With the prospect of a national strategy and all the money that might go with it still far off, the council has put together plans to correct at least some of the design problems affecting estates.

The Woodside estate is encircled by a main road, yet has no roads running through it. Residents, who were widely consulted, wanted this to change, so road links are an important part of the plans. A new central square including community buildings, a post office and, it is hoped, a supermarket will also be built.

The council plans to give a retailer permission to develop a store in a wealthier part of town if they agree to open a shop on the estate.

"Woodside is the main focus of the current regeneration work because people feel most isolated there," says Nicola White, housing enforcement and renewal manager at the council.

The estate has large areas of unkempt open space and a profusion of lonely alleys between housing blocks. These problems are being tackled by a range of improvement works – partly funded by £1.5m from the Department of Transport's Homezone package.

The relatively low cost of housing has led to an influx of private landlords, and the council has responded by launching an accreditation scheme. "Twelve landlords with 70 homes have signed up this year, and we're aiming for 20 by the end of the year," says White. "It's an example of the kind of partnership working we've used to improve things."