The brief
Habinteg Housing Association is a registered social housing provider with over 50 years’ experience building and promoting accessible homes and communities. As a social landlord, Habinteg owns and manages more than 3,300 homes across more than 80 English local authorities.
Habinteg Housing Association’s mission is to create accessible homes and communities that welcome and include everyone by using thoughtful, high quality urban design to deliver new housing with minimum disruption to the surrounding existing neighbourhoods.
The design approach for its Lawson Court, Walsall scheme was guided by several key principles. The development had to:
• Optimise the number of residential dwellings the site could hold
• Offer a mix of living options, including six wheelchair-accessible housing.
• Achieve practical, well-proportioned, high quality homes.
• Protect the privacy and amenity of near neighbours.
• Have a distinct character and sense of place.
Head of Development, Matthew Kelly, said: “There’s currently a severe housing shortage for the specialist accessible housing that Habinteg provides, like wheelchair accessible homes, in these areas. Our developments will help to alleviate this.
“Making use of disused buildings and continuing to deliver much needed accessible housing is a key element of our development aspirations.”
The site
Lawson Court stands on the site of the Mali Jenkins care home, which closed in 2017. Habinteg purchased the site in early 2021 with the aim of redeveloping it into an 18 unit block of flats.
The site sits witin a leafy, suburban setting, and lies within 1.5 miles of Walsall Railway Station, which offers regular services to Birmingham.
The new development
Lawson Court is a development of 18 flats consisting of 12 general needs accessible and adaptable homes, and six wheelchair accessible homes. The site boasts a landscaped communal garden that provides a quiet space for residents to connect and unwind.
It was developed by local construction company, J. Harper & Sons, who has worked to deliver a highspecification development that provides local people with affordable and accessible homes.
The homes meet the requirements of Building Regulations Approved Document Moptional access standards M4(3) wheelchair user dwellings and M4(2) accessible and adaptable dwellings.
An accessible sustainable solution
Completed in September 2024, Lawson Court includes six fully wheelchair accessible properties, and is now home to local disabled people and families.
The development has an energy efficient design by Acanthus WSM Architects that will help reduce energy bills for its residents, glass balconies on its upper floors, and features a landscaped communal garden and a parking court.
The M4(2) accessible and adaptable homes provide:
• Suitable door widths to facilitate a wheelchair user.
• Ply-lined bathrooms to support future installation of grab rails.
• Drainage installed to the main bathroom at point of build to allow for future level-access shower installation.
• Switches, sockets and other controls in locations that are accessible to someone with reduced reach.
The M4(3)wheelchair user homes include:
• A fully wheelchair accessible kitchen with adjustable sections of worktop for the sink, hob and a side opening oven.
• A fully wheelchair accessible bathroom with a level access shower and accessible wash hand basins.
• Low-level windows to the principal living areas to ensure views of the outside.
• They include all the features of M4(2) homes.
Catalina Ionita, who moved into a wheelchair user home on the new development, said she will take full advantage of all the facilities and added:
“I feel incredibly happy. The flat has wider doors, a height-adjustable hob – which makes cooking so much easier now – and a wet room with no obstacles in my way. I’m really grateful to be living here as, now, I can live a truly independent life.”
Positive impact
Habinteg’s Head of Development, Matthew Kelly, said: “The scheme has delivered much-needed affordable, acessible homes to the neighbourhood. The great design by Acanthus WSM Architects has made a positive impact to the area by breathing new life into a building that wasn’t contributing to the community.”
Throughout the scheme’s construction, builder J. Harper & Sons achieved its target of 80% locally employed suppliers and subcontractors. In addition, the company worked closely with Walsall College to provide work experience site visits for Level 1 Bricklaying students.
Antony Rees, Group Managing Director of J. Harper & Sons Limited, said: “We’re delighted to see Lawson Court completed and occupied. Transforming a brownfield site into much-needed affordable housing has certainly benefited the local community by providing homes as well as employment opportunities.