That was the year that was
Filed Under Country Curtain | Posted on January 12, 2008
We look over the key events of the last twelve months in the housing sector.
Well, another year over, and what a year its been for those in providing affordable housing and tackling the rising housing crisis across the UK. Twelve months ago, when I sat writing the 2006/07 version of this very analysis, Tony Blair was prime minister, Ruth Kelly had just taken over as the new saviour of social housing in the newly created DCLG (since truncated with little fanfare to the more succinct CLG) and the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships were leading a twopronged assault to regulate the supply of housing and free up the public land to build it on.
Twelve months on, Blair is no more, somewhat ironically installed as the great white hope for peace in the Middle East (exactly how those who suffered under the UK truculence in the region during Blairs previous tenure is as yet unknown); Kellys short-lived role at CLG is over she has gone on to transport, while Yvette Cooper has stepped in to assist in the %26lsquo;Brownite-isation of Kellys erstwhile department, and the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships, although they still exist for now, are winding down ready to hand over to a new independent uberregulator, which will be charged with overseeing Browns pledge to create 3,000,000 new homes by 2020.
Of course that was big news too. Its no trifling target, and while the promise was largely welcomed, if in a qualified sense, by agencies such as Shelter, there was opposition too groups like the CPRE warned of imminent concreting over of huge swathes of Britains countryside, while those of a cynical persuasion were also prone to question where the infrastructure for the new homes was to come from, citing Spanish examples where rapid house building had led to lack of water and power cuts. Even Adam Sampson, chief executive of Shelter, was keen to emphasise that the homes would only help if the government ended its apparent obsession with ownership and loans, and ensured that enough of the homes were made available for affordable rent, while Alan Walter, chair of Defend Council Housing, went a step further, blaming years of successive government %26lsquo;privatisation of social housing for the crisis and adding that: Part of the reason we%26#39;ve got a housing crisis is that the private sector just hasn%26#39;t ever delivered the decent, affordable, secure homes that people need. That%26#39;s why people fought for council housing in the first place.
Following hot on the heels of the pledge for more homes, the changes to the planning system provoked a similarly bipolar argument. The government and its supporters claimed that the new rules would enable quicker development of new homes, and thus help to ease the crisis. Its opponents, however, were more inclined to view the new system as a %26lsquo;developers charter, allowing big business to ride roughshod over local, infrastructure or environmental concerns in favour
of making a quick buck.
Time will tell on that one, it seems. In principle, less time and expense spent seeking and achieving planning permission for new homes can surely only be a good thing. Looking at the chickens that seem to currently be coming home to roost from Mr Browns predecessors government dealings with big business, however, one cant help but wonder if the current incumbents of Westminster are likely to prove ideally placed to ensure that both sides of the planning debate are heard equally in future, particularly if one side holds the trump card of filthy lucre.
Elsewhere, it was a year of reports and reviews. First among the heavyweights, in February, the Hills Report called for a step change in approach to the way social housing is viewed, saying: If social housing is to fulfil its potential, new approaches are needed. We need to move beyond an approach where the key function is one of rationing and trying to establish who is not eligible for social housing to one where the key question is: %26#39;How can we help you to afford decent housing?%26#39; and %26#39;Here are your options%26#39;.
%26quot;Within this, housing in itself is not the only issue. The overall policy aim may remain achieving %26#39;a decent home for all at a price within their means%26#39; but historically we may have given too little attention to the last part of that doing enough to support people%26#39;s livelihoods and so boosting the means to their disposal.%26quot;
The report also found that affordable rents have remained affordable, while the quality of social rented stock has improved greatly in recent years. More worrying was the finding that social tenants were likely to be dissatisfied with the area they live in as a whole, with regular reports of drug users or dealers creating a social problem, and some 18 per cent of tenants on flatted estates saying they feel unsafe outside, and indeed at home, even in daylight.
Its a commonly heard mantra that fear of crime is invariably worse than it should be, when held up against actual crime figures, but such statistics should not be taken lightly. If ASBO-Britain isnt removing the fear of crime, then perhaps its time to try a new approach, and Hills preferred method here seems to be a push for genuine mixed-tenure, mixed-income communities.
Next up, launched at the CIH conference in June, the Cave Reviews biggest call was for an overhaul of regulation within social housing. Caves plans seemed to receive widespread backing at the conference, with the majority of delegates seemingly supporting a brand new, and independent, regulator. There was also lesser, though significant, support for a regulator dominated either by the Audit Commission or the Housing Corporation, however, and the exact nature of the new body remains unknown for now. Meanwhile, at least one dissenting voice could
be heard amongst the crowd, with the National Housing Federation accusing the review of %26lsquo;short-changing tenants, despite accepting the need for regulatory changes. Chief executive David Orr commented: %26quot;The aim of the Cave Review is, or should have been, to create a system of regulation that improves services for tenants, rather than bureaucrats.
Its been a busy year here at the magazine too. Aside from keeping you updated every month, the website at www.housingexcellence.co.uk has gone from strength to strength following its launch at the very end of 2006, and has clearly become a favourite stop-off for those seeking news from within the sector. The tie-in with TPAS, meanwhile, has seen two highly successful regional Tenant Awards events, with more to follow next year, and the inaugural Women in Construction Awards, in conjunction with our sister publication Builder and Engineer, look set to grow even bigger next year. The Housing Excellence Awards, meanwhile, having already established themselves as a key date in the industry diary, attracted record numbers in May, and tables are already selling quickly for next years event.
With the reverberations from the changes in Westminster still to be felt for some time to come, it looks like next year will be anything but quiet, and of course well be here as ever to keep you up to speed with developments as they come along.
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