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Housing and Regeneration
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New Tricks with Old Bricks
26th March 2008
"New Tricks with Old Bricks" is a study from the Empty Homes Agency, which compares the CO2 given off in building new homes and creating new homes through refurbishing old properties. The key findings are:
Reusing empty homes could make an initial saving of 35 tonnes of carbon
dioxide (CO2) per property by removing the need for the energy locked into new
build materials and construction.
Over a 50-year period, this means there almost no difference in the average
emissions of new compared with refurbished housing.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new homes fall into two distinct sources:
“embodied” CO2 given off during the housebuilding process, and “operational”
CO2 given off from normal energy use in the house once it is occupied.
The new homes each gave off 50 tonnes of embodied CO2. The refurbished
homes each gave off 15 tonnes.
Well-insulated new homes eventually make up for their high embodied energy
costs through lower operational CO2 but it takes several decades - in most cases
more than 50 years.
Embodied CO2 is not widely understood but this study shows that it accounts for
28% of CO2 emissions over the first 50 years’ lifetime of a new house.
Embodied CO2 is an investment in the environmental sustainability of a house.
Refurbished old homes have lower embodied CO2 and therefore a distinct head
start over new homes.
Empty homes in England provide an opportunity to create 150,000 new
sustainable homes.
If the rate of VAT on repairs and renovation had been 5% instead of 17.5%, it
would have cut the average cost of refurbishment by approximately £10,000 for
each house.
Many house builders claim that new homes are four times more efficient than
older houses. This study shows that refurbished houses can be as just efficient
as new homes.
The Empty Homes Agency is an independent campaigning charity, which exists to highlight the waste of empty property in England and works with others to devise and promote solutions to bring empty property back into use.
Eco friendly ratings for all new homes
Housing Minister, Caroline Flint
The Government's drive towards zero carbon housing took a major step forward today with the announcement that all new homes are to be rated on their green credentials from 1 May.
A rating against the Code for Sustainable Homes, which measures nine categories of sustainable design including energy, water and waste, will be required for all new homes. Homes which exceed the sustainable standards in existing Building Regulations will be awarded up to six stars. Those homes that have not been assessed against the Code will score a nil-rating.
Speaking at the Eco Build 2008 conference today, Housing Minister Caroline Flint said:
"We need to tackle climate change by improving how green and energy efficient our homes are. New build housing will play an important part in this, and we are already committed to all new housing being zero carbon from 2016. These measures are essential in tackling climate change.
"By requiring a rating for all new homes against the Code for Sustainable Homes in the run up to 2016, we are making the standards that different homes reach more transparent and are creating an important incentive for house builders to provide greener, more sustainable homes.
"Providing these ratings will also give buyers valuable information about their home, allowing them to make an informed choice and helping people to reduce their own household carbon emissions."
Welcoming today's announcement Paul King of the UK Green Building Council said:
"The Code for Sustainable Homes will fundamentally change the way we build and buy new homes in this country. Buyers of new homes, for the first time, will see how green their home is - not just on its carbon emissions, but on other vital issues such as water consumption and impact on biodiversity. This will help stimulate the market for green building as consumers demand more sustainable homes that have lower energy bills, are built producing less needless waste and that are great places to live.
"For industry, the Code plays a crucial role setting the trajectory towards the target of all new homes emitting zero carbon from 2016. This goal has brought about a fundamental change in mindset, galvanising the construction sector and is already producing really innovative design. We still have challenges to overcome to bring sustainable homes genuinely into the mainstream, not least in the existing stock, but this represents a vitally important step and one for which Government should be congratulated."
Ashley Jones of Bramall Construction who have built homes to Code level 4 said:
"Bramall Construction is committed to building sustainable housing and is proud to have built the first saleable homes to the Sustainable Code Level 4 standard. We have a number of additional projects in the pipeline that will also be built to the Code. We fully support the work that Communities and Local Government are doing and hope to continue working with them."
The Code for Sustainable Homes is the national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes. It measures the sustainability of a new home against nine categories of sustainable design including energy, water and waste, and will provide buyers and developers will have a common standard on sustainability to inform homes that they buy and build respectively. The Code is part of a package of measures aimed at improving the sustainability of new homes, which includes:
- Major progressive tightening of the minimum energy performance standards in building regulations - by 25 per cent in 2010 and by 44 per cent in 2013 - up to the zero carbon target in 2016. This will improve the energy performance of all new homes, and encourage the use of energy from renewable sources.
- Introducing new minimum standards in Building Regulations to make new homes more water-efficient - it is estimated that by installing low flush toilets and more water efficient taps in new homes we could reduce household consumption by up to 20 per cent.
- The Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change, which puts climate change at the heart of the planning system - by ensuring that new communities are located and designed in a way which reduces the need to travel and makes best use of low carbon and renewable energy. The PPS will apply to all development, not just homes and makes clear references to the Code for Sustainable Homes.
- The stamp duty exemption for zero carbon homes, which came into effect on 1 October 2007 for houses will act as a further incentive for developers to build zero carbon homes.
Additionally, every home being bought and sold already needs an Energy Performance Certificate to show buyers how energy efficient it is.
The government is committed to continuing to monitor uptake against the Code and ensuring all those building new homes are both aware of the requirement to provide a Code rating to buyers and encourage them to build Code homes. To meet the initial demand for assessments the government has ensured that there are already enough trained and licensed Code assessors, and more will be trained in the coming months.
Ratings will apply to those homes being newly designed and built from May 2008, specifically when the builder reaches the stage of submitting a building notice, a full plans application or an initial notice for the purposes of building regulations after 1 April 2008. This will mean that builders can choose now to design and build to the Code and give themselves time to do so, rather than opting for a nil rating.
Uptake of the Code is being supported by our commitment that all Government-funded new homes will be built to Code level 3 and the Stamp Duty Land Tax exemption for zero carbon homes. At least one major developer has already stated that all their new homes will be reach a 3 star rating against the Code whilst others are demonstrating that they can obtain a six star rating such as the development at the Carbon Challenge site at Hanham Hall in Bristol. See: www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/carbonchallenge.htm (external link) for further information.
Want a home? Get a Job
David Orr Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation
19th February 2008
New Housing Minister Caroline Flint has shaken the housing world and infuriated some tenants' groups with her first major speech to the Fabian society, in which she proposed that tenants of social housing could lose their homes if they do not find work. Critics question why tenants of social housing are being singled out for this treatment, and not tenants of privately rented accommodation or owner occupiers, and say that it is government policy to sell off council homes that has left a residualised welfare role for social housing, in the process concentrating people who often suffer mulitple deprivation and greatest need, due to the process of rationing this diminished resource.
Caroline Flint used Foyers as an example of support that includes an element of conditionality. In Foyers young people are given accommodation on the basis that they abide by the rules and undertake training for vocational qualifications. David Orr Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation comments:
"Flint's central proposal, that "people in social housing, including those on council estates, should be expected to actively seek work as a condition of their tenancy", is unfair, unwise and unworkable. Threatening to make people homeless as well as jobless is counterproductive. If residents were unable to "prove" they were seeking work, they could be forced into insecure, overcrowded private rented accommodation many times more costly to the taxpayer.
Flint says that "despite the current slowdown in prices the plans to build n extra 3m homes by 2020 were not in jeopardy". I welcome this news, as this huge programme offers the government the chance to work with housing associations to ensure that among those who benefit are social housing residents, who could be taught new skills and employed. This would create opportunities rather than penalise those without them.
Flint referred to tenants on "council estates" and not those in "housing association neighbourhoods". This is interesting as housing associations house as many as councils, but are independent; this enables them to work more flexibly with local people. "
First eco-village announced
Housing and Planning Minister Caroline Flint has announced details of the housebuilder who will build England's first eco-village.
Barratt Developments PLC has been selected by English Partnerships, the Government's National Regeneration Agency, as the preferred developer to create a new community at the site of the former Hanham Hall Hospital near Bristol. Homes on the site will meet the Government's most exacting eco standard - Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
Hanham Hall was the first site identified under the Carbon Challenge, being run by English Partnerships as part of the Government's commitment to tackle climate change. The Challenge will deliver zero carbon homes and communities well in advance of this becoming mandatory 2016, and help the housebuilding sector demonstrate that the targets are feasible and can be commercially viable.
As well as zero-carbon homes this ground-breaking project will create eco lifestyles. It will hand over a listed building to community use, capture rainwater and include sustainable drainage, farmers' shops, a car club and bicycle storage.
Flint said:
"We have set a world-beating target that all new homes must be zero carbon by 2016. People said this couldn't be done, but, in fact, this first Carbon Challenge site shows that developers are already preparing to build the first major development of zero carbon homes.
"We want to build more homes but also to higher standards. We've set up plans for ten eco-towns. These Carbon Challenge eco-villages are now leading the way, showing what can be done. This marks a revolution in the way we design and build homes."
Steve Carr, English Partnerships' Director of Policy and Economics, said:
"The winning bid isn't just environmentally sound - it brings people into the equation to create a truly sustainable community.
"We are meeting a dual goal - tackling climate change whilst improving housing quality. I am delighted that so many developers rose to the challenge. The winning bid by Barratt tipped the balance because they thought about eco-living not just eco-buildings."
Mark Clare, Chief Executive, Barratt Developments PLC said:
"Barratt fully supports the zero carbon objective and we want to make as big a contribution as we can as quickly as we can. We are delighted to be asked to deliver this ground-breaking project, which will be the first large-scale zero carbon community in the country. It will enable a family occupying one of these homes to reduce their entire carbon footprint by 60 per cent."
Hanham Hall is a 6.6 hectare former hospital site near Bristol, incorporating a Grade II listed building. It is anticipated that the site will support up to 200 homes, of which at least a third will be affordable, as well as retail floor space and employment space. The onsite biomass CHP plant will deliver energy to all homes.
Radical change needed
to avert climate change
Housing providers will have to make radical changes to existing housing stock if they are to cope with the realities of climate change in the next few decades, according to a new report.
The report was released this week at the Chartered Institute of Housing's east of England conference by Colin Wiles, chief executive of King Street Housing Society.
In it Mr Wiles said that many areas in the region were at particular risk from climate change. In addition to better coastal defences and building on land away from the sea, housing providers should consider setting land aside for flood management.
He said they should also look at building homes on stilts or consider some areas for canal streets, such as those in Venice. Existing homes near coastal areas would need to be considered for 'disposal, reshaping or redevelopment in the long term'.
'The eastern region is particularly at risk [from climate change],' the report said. 'The coastline is weak and the region contains many low-lying areas.'
This should influence investment decisions away from growth sites close to sea level which 'could be inundated within 60 years'.
Homes should also be 'climate-proofed' although Mr Wiles said few incentives existed for developers to put in measures to adapt to climate changes.
But the report also argued that the government's house building targets were unlikely to be achieved by protecting green belt land from development.
'This is where we face a fight with the countryside lobby,' it added.
Inside Housing 24/11/07
Keep it natural
Link to a Feature on natural materials as a system for sustainable building by David Kitching of Natural Deco Ltd. 6th August 2006
Wasteful homes 'risk eco-targets' |
Even the UK's most famous household is not immune to heat loss
Key environmental targets are "undeliverable" unless households cut the amount of resources they consume, a government-commissioned report warns.
The UK's 21 million domestic dwellings are responsible for 27% of CO2 emissions, consume half of water supplies, and produce 8% of all waste.
Retrofitting existing technologies is the most cost-effective way to reduce households' impact, the study says.
The report comes from the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC).
Taking stock
The efficiency of the current housing stock varies greatly because of a number of factors, including the age of the property, its size, and inhabitants' attitudes and habits.
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ENGLAND'S AGEING HOUSING  Built before 1919: 4.5 million 1919 - 1944: 3.9 million 1945 - 1964: 4.4 million 1965 -1980: 4.7 million After 1980: 3.7 million (Source: English House Condition Survey 2003) |
At least 75% of existing properties are still expected to be in use in 2050, the year by which the government hopes to have cut carbon emissions by 60% from 1990 levels.
That is why there is a need to focus on today's dwellings, rather than undertaking a widespread rebuilding programme, the report's authors say.
"You cannot possibly deliver a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by doing nothing to the existing housing stock," said Professor Anne Power, a member of the SDC and one of the report's authors.
She said there were promising signs within Whitehall that the efficiency message was getting through.
"In the last few months there has been a really big recognition, and almost every ministerial statement on what should happen next now refers to the existing housing stock," Professor Power said.
The report makes a range of recommendations, including:
- Setting enforceable standards for carbon emissions, water consumption and the reduction of household waste
- Encouraging the take-up of currently available technologies, such as insulation, improved heating systems and water/energy efficient equipment
- Making VAT the same for refurbishment and new building, ending the current distortion that encourages homes to be demolished rather than refurbished
- Better use of "smart meters" for water and energy to help owners make the link between greater efficiency and cutting bills
- Encouraging local authorities to provide high quality doorstep collection services for recyclable materials
The authors say "significant savings are possible" through their recommendations, suggesting that the average home could halve its demand for energy, reduce water consumption by 30% and cut the amount of waste ending up in landfill sites by 50%.
While the report focuses on existing properties, it also acknowledges that demand for new housing continues to grow.
Tens of thousands of new homes are set to be built over the coming years, especially in the South East.
To prevent extra burdens on landfill sites and local water supplies, the authors call for any increase in CO2 emissions or water use by new housing to be offset by reducing it in existing homes in the same area by a similar amount.
Efficiency ratings
The government, in its recently published Energy Review, listed efficiency as one of the key areas for action. The review's recommendations include improving public awareness and encouraging the take-up of energy efficient measures.
From June 2007, people in England and Wales selling their home will have to obtain an "Energy Performance Certificate". It will grade a property's energy efficiency between A-G, similar to the system already used for electrical goods.
Domestic energy use accounts for 27% of the UK's CO2 emissions |
The National Home Energy Rating (NHER) scheme - whose members include local authorities, housing corporations and energy suppliers - welcome this development.
"The provision of information to the consumer on the energy efficiency of their home is essential if we are to reduce the carbon emissions from housing," says Austin Baggett, head of the NHER.
"Not only that, but with increasing energy prices, consumers have a right to know how much their home is going to cost to run."
Price savings
The Energy Saving Trust estimates that the scheme will see a £300 reduction to the average household's energy bills.
"As energy prices have risen so astronomically in recent years and are unlikely to come down, knowing that you can halve the energy use in your home by doing some relatively simple things is quite appealing," says Professor Power.
"Energy saving ratings on fridges have had a very big impact on the sort of models people buy."
She says if a similar rating was applied to the UK's current housing stock, it would fail miserably.
"It would be long way below OK; the existing stock is very, very poor on energy efficiency. But if you insulate an old terraced home, you can dramatically improve its energy efficiency and get it way above OK."
The report was submitted to ministers earlier this year, but ahead of its official launch on Friday the SDC warns: "Savings in household energy use are absolutely necessary if we are to be on track to meet [the UK's] commitment to deliver a 60% cut in carbon emissions by 2050."
Ministers are currently reviewing the UK waste strategy and are expected to publish their findings later this year, while the Energy White Paper is set to be unveiled in early 2007. |
Source - BBC
Minister Announces Independent Assessment of Social Housing
23rd June 2006
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has announced an independent assessment of social housing to look at the role of social housing in the 21st century.
Full text of speech at the Chartered Institute of Housing
First wind turbine for Brum home
10th June 2006
The first domestic wind turbine has been put up in Birmingham on one of the city's first eco-friendly homes.
The turbine has been installed at a Victorian terrace property in Edgbaston by a local housing association.
Family Housing Association (Birmingham) Ltd said it had introduced a number of innovative features to the property in Summerfield Crescent to demonstrate that social landlords can take the lead in promoting energy efficiency.
Tim Sewell, chief executive at Family Housing, said: "We've considered every angle when building this house.
Rural Carbon Neutral Development
9th June 2006
The Housing Corporation has published details of two model designs for affordable, sustainable, carbon neutral houses that can be replicated on rural sites throughout Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The designs were funded by the Corporation’s IGP grant. For details of the project, and the designs: Housing Corporation
Respect Committee Approves
Housing Benefit Sanctions
A cabinet committee chaired by Tony Blair has agreed that tenants guilty of antisocial behaviour will lose housing benefit if they also refuse to take state help to address the underlying causes of their bad behaviour. The approach will be piloted in 2008.
For the DWP press release:
<http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2006/jun/fmc075-050606.asp>
For Guardian coverage:
<http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1791149,00.html>
For details of a successful Shelter project to work with families guilty of ASB:
<http://england.shelter.org.uk/home/home-624.cfm/pressreleaselisting/1/pressrelease/240/>
Housing a Low Carbon Society
The Green Alliance has published a 40-page pamphlet, "Housing a Low Carbon Society", which calls on the new Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG - formerly the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister -ODPM) to take on a leadership role in tackling climate change. The paper outlines the challenges in meeting the Government’s target to reduce CO2 emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 and the crucial role housing can play in achieving this goal. There are 28 signatories supporting the paper, including Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), The Chartered Institute of Housing, the National Trust, and the RSPB . The report highlights how the location and density of housing can determine whether people have access to local services, sustainable transport and energy infrastructure, thus enabling them to lead a low carbon lifestyle.
Full story on low carbon housing
Feature on Bedzed houses
Noisy neighbours drive
500,000 from their homes
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| ABOUT half-a-million people in Britain have been forced to move home in the past year because of noisy neighbours, researchers have found.
More than a third of people (36%) claim that noise made by those around them had a detrimental impact on their lives, with those living in London and those in rented council accommodation suffering the most.
Children, noisy cars, car alarms, motorbikes and neighbours arguing are the most annoying, according to an Ipsos Mori poll commissioned by the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NSCA).
The poll of just under 2,000 people aged 15 and above shows that 14% of the public have been woken up at night by noisy neighbours. Women are more likely than men to be kept awake.
About 5% of those who responded to the survey said they had argued with their neighbours in the past year over noise issues, while 1% claimed they had been forced to move because things had got so bad. |
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Sunday Times - 21/5/06
Home Green Home
For the prospective home-owner, Langport has a lot going for it: good schools, proper shops, Somerset countryside on the doorstep. Yet when Lynn Shorthouse decided to move here from Bristol, the town itself hardly registered. Instead, she was focused on a cul-de-sac of 12 new homes. "I came here for the development, not the town," she says emphatically. So much for location, location, location.
Shorthouse, 50, is one of the new residents of Great Bow Yard, a former wharf on the river Parrett, made up of attractive, cedar-clad apartments and family homes. The development's unique appeal, however, lies in its green credentials (see panel opposite). Not only is it a blueprint for mainstream builders, according to its developers, the Somerset Trust for Sustainable Development, but it could become a model 21st-century community.
Guardian - 11/5/06
New Energy Efficiency Regulations
Regulations that improve the energy efficiency standards of new buildings have been laid in Parliament this week, in a development that along with other changes to strengthen the Building Regulations could raise efficiency by 40%. The new measures call for building developers to use the latest energy saving techniques, such as high-efficiency boilers and low or zero carbon systems such as solar, where possible.
The new regulations, which come into effect on April 6th, also cover air pressure testing, simplifying the process for calculating a building’s energy performance. A large-scale training programme has been launched by the ODPM to help builders and building control authorities to adapt to the changes.
"By increasing energy efficiency standards by 40% our changes to building regulations make a significant contribution to the Government's effort to tackle climate change and offer householders reduced fuel bills too,” said Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper. "Alongside making new homes more sustainable we are also looking at further measures to improve the sustainability of existing homes and new planning guidance to further promote micro-generation and tackle climate change."
Law lords reject gypsy case
Law Lords have ruled against a family of travellers in a row that could have stopped evictions around Britain.
The family had argued their human rights were breached when they were forced to leave a recreation field owned by Leeds City Council.
Last year the Court of Appeal dismissed the case, saying councils were legally entitled to take back their own land.
Seven Law Lords unanimously backed that decision, saying the land could never have been considered a home.
The Local Government Association, an umbrella organisation for councils, said the ruling was a "huge relief".
The land was a recreational space used by local people, rather than an official traveller site.
Leeds City Council began standard eviction proceedings, saying it had a right to take the land back because the encampment was entirely unauthorised.
Source - BBC - 9/3/06
New overcrowding standard announced
The government has finally agreed to change the outdated overcrowding rules as part of a package of measures aimed at increasing the supply of family homes. Housing minister Yvette Cooper has pledged to redraft the 70 year old statutory standard, which she admitted caused the ridiculous situation of kitchens being counted as bedrooms.
Campaigners hailed the move as the first official recognition of overcrowding as a critical problem. The first step in the drive to reduce overcrowding will be delivered through the Housing Corporation's new affordable housing programme, which will see 35 per cent of all new homes in London built with three or more bedrooms.
The government is, however, considering a staged approach to changing the overcrowding standard, indicating an attempt to limit the high cost of the move.
Cooper commented:
'As part of our strategy to address child poverty we have to address the fact that too many children are living in overcrowded accommodation in the capital and elsewhere....... It is really crazy that we could have families, in the extreme situation, where someone is sleeping in the kitchen and it isn't regarded as overcrowded.'
Source - Inside Housing - 10/3/06
Eco show homes
A plan to build an eco-village of up to 45 low impact homes made from natural and recycled materials has gone on show in Carmarthenshire. A group called Lammas aims to create a largely self-sufficient settlement with community centre, shop, workshops and hostel on 100 to 250 acres of land. It is looking for a suitable site in south west Wales, with the village a "blueprint for sustainable living". The concept is to create 30 to 45 dwellings situated around a traffic-free central village green.
Each would have vehicle access to the rear, on the other side of which would be a series of agricultural and forestry plots as well as wilderness areas.
Paul Wimbush of the Lammas core group said: "It would be sustainable living at its cutting edge.
"The houses will be purpose built by the residents themselves and we envisage a wide range of materials and designs using stone, wood, straw, turf and recycled materials."
He said the settlement would become integrated with the local community and would be a source of affordable housing for local people. Preliminary discussions have taken place with local councils and Lammas is looking for a suitable location either in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire or Swansea and Gower.
Source BBC 18/2/06
Government announces new housebuilding code -
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) resigns in protest
As the Government announces a new code for "green" standards for new houses, the WWF has resigned from the Government body concerned in protest, claiming that the new code actually lowers standards. Labour's last election manifesto promised that all new homes receiving government funding would have to follow a new "green code".
English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation who channel government funds into housing - insist that by April all new homes should save more than 25 per cent as much energy, and 40 per cent as much water, as laid down by building regulations.
But the new code will not make this compulsory. It will also scrap requirements to build houses near public transport, and to assess the ecological value of land before it is developed.
Robert Napier, chief executive of WWF-UK, said:
"It's madness. Instead of charting the way forward, the code is going backwards."
Pioneering Development Evacuated
There has been a blow to those who advocate modern methods of construction as a means to delivering cheaper housing. The pioneering Joseph Rowntree ‘Caspar’ development in Leeds has had to be evacuated following a structural report that revealed a risk of collapse in exceptionally high winds. Lord Richard Best director of the Joseph Rowntree Trust said that the “construction was very much at the cutting edge of new techniques and the results have been very disappointing indeed."
30 Year Squats to be Demolished
Police have now completed the eviction of the longest standing community of squatters in Britain. The homes of a unique enclave of 100 Rastafarians, said to be the capital's oldest squatted street - are to be demolished to make way for a social housing development. The 22 houses are in London's St. Agnes Place.
At their temple, the UK headquarters of the International Rastafarian Movement, Sister Nzingha said they were victims of gentrification. "We took these properties on when they were rat-ridden, without electricity, without gas and without windows. We made this place habitable."
Officials on Lambeth council claim the redevelopment is necessary to regenerate a rundown area plagued by crime. .
Government U-Turn on Housing Benefit direct payment
The Government has signalled a U-turn over its proposals to pay Housing Benefit direct to tenants in social housing. A survey for Inside Housing found that 98 per cent of housing associations were opposed to the idea.
The Government's proposal was piloted at Circle Anglia, but they was rent arrears double and people getting into serious financial trouble. Payment direct is seen as a recipe for disaster by many working in the social housing sector as instead of ensure housing payments go direct to the landlord they paid them direct to tenants with the inevitable temptation to spend the rent money on something else and treat their rent account as interest free credit
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Regeneration Links
www.odpm.gov.uk- The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister page on creating sustainable communities
www.housingnet.co.uk - a private collection of housing data
www.jrf.org - website of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a charitable trust that do a lot of research on social issues.
Regen.net - offers a gateway to sources of information on regeneration and a means of sharing experience and good practice.
www.tso.co.uk - The Government's Stationery Office online bookshop
www.regeneration-uk.com - information resource for urban regeneration, economic development and community renewal
www.regenerationuk.gov.uk -UK Trade & Investment’s regeneration website.
www.bura.org.uk- The British Urban Regeneration Association.
Sustainability Works - for anyone interested in adopting a sustainable approach to housing development and regeneration.
www.cyberium.co.uk - a site featuring "design and content for the real world", seeking to support disadvantaged people.
Sustainable Homes - Organisation promoting sustainable development issues, and encouraging HA's to adopt sustainable policies and practices.
www.newstartmag.co.uk- An independent magazine, providing news, comment and analysis for all concerned with regeneration.
www.englishpartnerships.co.uk - the government’s national regeneration agency.
Housing and Regeneration
Job Vacancies
www.insidehousing.co.uk
www.allhousingjobs.co.uk
www.charityjob.co.uk
Housing Links
www.cih.org - The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)
www.insidehousing.co.uk - the news magazine of the CIH
www.regen.net - the excellent "Regeneration and Renewal" magazine
www.society.guardian.co.uk- the Guardian’s Society Page
www.york.ac.uk - The Centre for Housing Policy - based at York University. Has a lot of research papers.
www.shelter.org.uk - The website of the homelessness and housing charity Shelter
A1 Council Exchange - Home exchange website for council and housing association tenants.
Architecture Centre Network
Independent body which coordinates, supports and advances the work of architecture and related centres in the UK.
Building and Social Housing Foundation -
Independent research and education institute which conducts research into residential housing.
Care & Repair England-
Charity set up to improve the housing and living conditions of older people and disabled people.
Catholic Housing Aid Society
Christian housing charity which campaigns on homelessness issues and offers housing advice services.
Communities Scotland
Executive Agency of the Scottish Executive with responsibility for housing and community regeneration.
Confederation of Co-Operative Housing
The UK organisation for housing co-operatives, tenant-controlled housing organisations and regional federations of housing co-ops.
Dataspring -
Local Housing Markets Database containing information on rents, house prices, and other socio-economic data.
Emerging Role of Sheltered Housing - ERoSH - National consortium for sheltered housing providers, working to increase awareness and knowledge of sheltered housing.
Empty Homes Agency -
An independent pressure group tackling the problems of England's empty homes.
Federation of Master Builders
The FMB is the largest trade association in the UK construction industry representing over 13,000 small & medium sized building companies.
Foyer Federation -
National organisation which represents, supports and promotes the work of Foyers.
Habitat for Humanity - Great Britain
Christian housing charity working with volunteers and communities around the world to build affordable housing for people in need.
HOMES - Housing Mobility and Exchange Service
Organisation which works with councils and RSLs throughout the UK, offering a range of services that help people move home.
Housing Advice Northern Ireland
Housing advice website developed by Shelter, the Housing Rights Service and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
Housing Corporation
Public body responsible for funding and regulating housing associations in England.
Housing Corporation - Public register of social landlords- Database containing contact details and stock information about RSLs in England.
Housing in Wales
Website for news, views and links to welsh housing related issues.
HousingConnections.com
Social Housing website featuring events, jobs, news and best practice information.
Housingnet- Housing information resource site including a comprehensive directory of RSLs in the UK.
Independent Housing Ombudsman
The Independent Housing Ombudsman Scheme deals with disputes between landlords and tenants in England.
London Tenants Federation
Organisation which aims to represent and provide a voice for London's council tenants.
Mutual Home Exchange
Bulletin Board website offering houses for exchange nationally.
National House Building Council
The world's leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes, setting standards and providing protection for new home buyers.
National Housing Federation
Membership organisation representing the independent social housing sector.
Northern Ireland Housing Executive
NIHE is the regional housing authority for Northern Ireland.
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
The ODPM housing website provides a wide range of housing policy information including consultation papers, research and statistics.
People for Action -
National network of housing and regeneration organisations.
ROOM@RTPI Associations -
A forum for those involved in housing, planning and regeneration.
Royal Institute of British Architects
Membership organisation for architects whose purpose is to advance architecture and promote excellence in the profession.
Royal Town Planning Institute
Membership organisation for professional planners which aims to to advance the science and art of town planning.
Rural Housing Scotland- Charity which helps rural communities across Scotland develop practical solutions to local housing problems.
Rural Housing Trust -Charity providing affordable housing for local people in English villages.
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations- Membership organisation promoting the work of housing associations and co-operatives in Scotland.
Scottish Letting Agency- Property lettings site with content aimed at Landlords, Tenants & Service Providers within the Scottish property market.
Tenant Participation Advisory Service - National non-profit making organisation providing information, advice, training and consultancy on tenant participation in housing.
The House Builders Federation
Trade federation for private sector housebuilders and voice of the house building industry in England and Wales.
Womens Aid -
National charity working to end domestic violence against women and children.
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Visit The Green Network
Number of affordable homes lowest in 20 years
The number of affordable homes being built will soon reach the lowest level for 20 years according to social policy research charity, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. A spokesperson for the Deputy Prime Minister disputed this, saying that the Homebuy Scheme, a shared ownership programme that comes into effect next year, will “substantially increase” the number of affordable homes.
Things they say
Baroness Scott to the House of Lords on her frustration with bureaucratic jargon in the ODPM consultation document “Planning for Housing Provision”-
“The kindest thing I can say about it is that it is without doubt the worst document of its kind I have ever read, and the competition is fairly fierce.”
Mixed Communities under threat from "Buy to Let"
There has been a growing call for mixed communities when new estates are built to satisfy housing demand. However new research from the Rowntree Foundation has discovered that in some areas this is being undermined by wealthy investors block buying the "private" homes on new estates and them leasing them back to Councils, which then rent them out to homeless families in temporary accommodation.
On one estate in Woolwich (Rushgrove Gate), the entire sale portion was purchased by investor Imagine Homes, and leased back to Greenwich Council.
Plans for more affordable homes are also threated by the new legislation that allows higher tax earners to include second homes in their pension plans (SIPPS), which seems certain to push house prices higher as demand increases for the very limited supply of new homes.
Riots blamed on regeneration failure
A lack of regeneration funds has been blamed for the riots between blacks and Asians in Birmingham, by a local Councillor. John Hunt, chair of the Council’s education scrutiny committee said that the incidents indicated “deep-rooted problems” that had not been tacked by regeneration funding. The disturbances occurred in the Lozells and East Handsworth ward, one of the most deprived areas in the UK. However the area is already the focus of a £40million Single Regeneration Budget programme, and is in a Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder zone.
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JUNE 13 2007
WOODLANDS BOOST THE ECONOMY, NEW STUDY WILL SHOW
Report says greenspace is helping house prices in depressed areas
SCHEMES to create and regenerate woodlands across the Northwest of England are boosting local economies, according to one of the region’s District Valuers.
And a report into the effects of these green schemes has also revealed they are helping house prices in depressed areas to pick up.
That study, completed in 2005 and carried out by the District Valuer’s Office in Merseyside, confirmed that the creation of woodland on the former colliery and power station at Bold by local environmental organisations Groundwork and The Mersey Forest Partnership together with St Helens MBC has added approximately £15million to the value of nearby properties in a part of St Helens that had suffered from extreme deprivation in the past.
Now, in line with the new ‘Regional Forestry Framework’ (which sets out the vision for woodlands and forestry in the Northwest for the next 20 years) a new report has been commissioned, looking at six recent woodland regeneration projects, which partners in the Framework hope will support the findings of the earlier Bold Colliery study.
Before the mid 1980s, Bold Colliery employed more than 800 local people. The colliery’s closure in 1985 resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs and created 130 hectares of derelict land. However, as the District Valuer’s study showed, the inspiring initiative to give the land back to the local community by creating a green space has gone on to spearhead a programme of economic regeneration in the area.
Not only did it dramatically enhance the value of existing properties, but the project also contributed to new property developments amounting to £75million of fresh investment in the area.
Importantly, these figures were reached with full consideration of all other factors that could affect house price rises – to ensure that the increase attributed to the woodland development is accurate and unrelated to any other variable.
The District Valuer has now been asked to look at other similar woodland regeneration projects across the region and see if they are having the same positive effects on their communities.
All the sites to be considered in this new report have been developed under the £23million land regeneration scheme, Newlands (a partnership scheme between the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Forestry Commission). It is as part of the Newlands scheme that this new report has been commissioned.
Newlands is highlighted within the Northwest Regional Forestry Framework – (called ‘Agenda for Growth’) which brings together a broad range of organisations who are all committed to creating and regenerating woodlands and demonstrating their wider socio-economic and environmental value.
There are six ‘Action Areas’ highlighted in the Framework; Newlands, for example, is helping to deliver Action Area Two – ‘Regional Image’, which calls for derelict land to be brought into use as community woodland and bring with it socio-economic benefits. Action Area Six of the Framework – ‘Supporting and Resourcing the Sector’, also links to the recent plans for the District Valuer reports, as one aim of this Action Area is to show how woodlands can carry wider, public benefits.
Keith Jones, Regional Director of the Forestry Commission, one of the organisations behind the Regional Forestry Framework, said: “The Forestry Commission, having together with the District Valuer created the model tested with Bold Colliery, is now going to apply the model to the sites being developed under the Newlands programme as funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency. We hope that the trends highlighted by research into the St Helens scheme will be repeated.”
Paul Nolan from Mersey Forest, another RFF partner, added: “We’re increasingly being asked to show the real benefits of creating community woodlands. We have always known that the economic value of such areas was there, now these studies will give us the figures to prove our case.”
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