Brief by Anna Malina - February 2017

The Current Government Initiative

Widespread Housing Crisis

Not enough houses built over recent years Housing market different in different areas. Rural areas attract second home buyers leaving little for

local people

Pace of housing development far too slow. Need to plan right homes in right places Build faster Diversify the housing market

Strategies needed to build the homes people need taking account of needs of different people

Community-led Emphasis

Research has been conducted over time and strategic emphasis has fallen strongly on estate regeneration underpinned by community engagement, local participation, innovation, a greater understanding of the opportunities and a wider awareness of methods, resources and support that can stimulate new thinking and cost effective solutions at community level.

Risks of no Regeneration

Poor quality housing often has a negative impact on health and educational attainment Badly designed and maintained public areas can increase crime and reduce social cohesion in the local area However, regeneration activity can potentially increase skills, enterprise and innovation at a local level, so helping to attract more investment.

The beginning of February 2017 saw the arrival of a new ‘Housing White Paper ‘ Fixing Our Broken Housing Market’ setting out the long and short term plans to reform the housing market and boost the supply of new homes in England.

Stakeholders tasked with developing policy and to work with local authorities

Community Land Trusts

Network LOCALITY Confederatio

n of Co-op Housing

Nationwide Foundation

Community Housing Alliance

Rural Coalition

Strategies

Support for home buying through ‘Help to Buy’ and ‘Starter Homes’ Help households priced out the market through investment in

Affordable Homes Programme Make renting fairer for tenants Action to promote transparency and fairness for leaseholders Crack down on empty homes and support areas most affected by

second homes Housing to meet future needs Help for most vulnerable – sustainable approach to funding

supported housing in future; help for disabled and older people in need

Help to prevent homelessness before things get too bad Help to reduce rough sleeping

Guiding Principles

Progress to be underpinned by three important guiding principles: Community to be engaged as partners Support and leadership of the local authority Willingness to work with the private sector to access

commercial skills and lever in investment

Supporting Organisations

Co-operative Housing

Community Land Trusts

Development Trusts

Self Help/self-build

Community-Led

Housing Associati

ons

Mutuals Almshouses

Key Points

Need to get plans in place asap Make plans easier to produce Assess Housing requirements Make land ownership and interests more transparent Make enough land available in the right places Bring brownfield land back into use Provide more homes on public sector land Provide support for small and medium sized sites, and thriving rural

communities Protect Green belt and amend only when all other reasonable options are

exhausted

Communities in the Driving Seat

Thought to be easier for Community-led housing organisations than traditional developers to broker support from residents and the wider community suits smaller projects, which may not be attractive

to larger developers.First time buyers are championed by local groups and

funding agencies are now in the driving seat, to deliver more affordable community-led housing in their own areas.

Work Together & Build Capacity

The challenge is for all stakeholders to work together and build capacity locally, eg. to improve technical skills, set up hubs to offer advice and business planning, and provide the staff to review local housing needs. Encourage holistic innovative approaches

Emphasis on ‘Place-Making’

Estate regeneration schemes are to transform social outcomes for local people and form part of a broader place-based approach to improve the life chances of residents, particularly those with complex needs Placemaking processes capitalise on a local community's

assets, inspiration, and potential, and results in the creation of quality public spaces that contribute to people's health, happiness, and well being.

 Neighbourhood Planning Groups to receive funding support, eg. to assess sites for housing

Resident Engagement & Protection

Need to ensure strong community support and protection Residents are the key partners in any scheme and should

be involved through all stages of the process.

Collaboration between landowners, residents, tenants and local groups will help everyone understand what is needed Training should be available

A Resident’s Charter should protect tenants and leaseholders and define commitments and opportunities Preserving a sense of community is important with thought

given to community links and family ties.

Involvement in Management of the Estate is to play a vital role

Key Role for Local Authorities

Local authorities have a significant role, eg. in promoting housing supply, commissioning services, providing wider place-based regeneration and local growth and supporting cohesive communities. Place making; strategic use of public sector land, design and

effective use of the planning system. Engaging the community, providing appropriate information

and and conducting public consultation is crucial Removal of worst landlords and ability to issue fines as

appropriate

Key Role for Enablers

Rural Housing Enablers eg. networking groups and landlords are to liaise with local authorities and other statutory bodies and with housing associations to identify suitable sites

Rural Landowners (RLs) have a crucial role to play in the provision of rural affordable housing by making sites available for development

Case studies highlight models of social investment in affordable housing for rural landowners ... these can be customised/adapted

Private rental sector to be more family friendly with longer tenancies promoted

Partnerships

Government has set up local and regional workshops to meet, bring together and discuss challenges in different places. Over 200 organisations have been involved in discussing good practice resident engagement, practice and design 70 Local Authorities. 60 Housing Associations. 30 charities and community organisations. 30 private developers, consultants and investors.

Financing Estate Regeneration

• Estate regeneration is complex and costly. • Different kinds of finance options are needed to tailor solutions to different challenges. • Innovative methods of private finance is an important route • Landowners are encouraged to look at different options to deliver successful schemes.

Funding

£60 million fund to help 150 councils tackle the problem of high levels of second homes ownership in their communities.

£5,945,896 available in the North West. Local councils will play a key role in distributing Government funds

Other investors eg. Big Society capital – £15m investment facility for social investors to fund large-scale community led housing projects

Community Buildings: Pre-Feasibility Grants

Community Buildings Pre-Feasibility Grant will help assess the feasibility of a community building project prior to submitting a Community Right to Build Order

Community Buildings Project Grant – will help pay for help to progress your community building project to the point of submitting a Community Right to Build Order

Loans and Enabling Grants

The Estate regeneration national strategy - £140 million of loan funding, £30 million of enabling grant and £2 million of capacity building funding is being made available to support estate regeneration. Financial support is directly targeted at de-risking the early

stages of regeneration schemes and providing support to areas for such activities as community engagement, feasibility studies, scoping of proposals and masterplanning.

Support is also available for preconstruction activities such demolition and moving residents.

3 Stage Plan – Prepare, Plan and Deliver

Hopes for the Future – Good Place making

Besides the obvious benefits of people gaining a home in their area, the hope is that local communities will become more vibrant and cohesive as a result of being more socially inclusive and interactive.

Key goal is to ensure smaller overheads and increased local accountability, more locally owned assets, jobs and economic improvement and social and cultural benefits, in essence, the creation of quality public spaces that contribute to people's health, happiness, and well being

Concerns

While the new measures are welcome, there remains some concern that second home ownership may continue to be a barrier.

The fear is that local vitality will continue to suffer in these areas.

Vigilence needed

Ongoing

Research and exploration of new case studies will continue Ongoing consultation remains part of the Housing White

Paper views needed on

changes to Planning Policy in relation to planning for housing, sustainable development and the environment

options for introducing a standardised approach to assessing housing requirements

Closes early May 2017