by Kim Pidgeon | Jul 27, 2023 | News
The Government announces a new era of regeneration, inner-city densification and housing delivery across England…
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove have set out further plans for tackling the housing crisis.
Regeneration
Following the Levelling Up White Paper commitment to regenerate 20 places, three areas were highlighted as next in line for targeted action: Cambridge, inner-city London and central Leeds.
The proposals for Cambridge are designed to see the city become ‘Europe’s science capital’. Plans will address the issues constraining that title, including expensive property markets, limited lab space and high commercial property prices.
Plans for Cambridge envision new sustainable neighbourhoods, a quarter for cutting-edge laboratories and commercial developments, and life science facilities.
The government will deliver as much of the infrastructure and affordable housing as possible using land value capture – with the local area benefiting from the significant increase in land values that can occur when agricultural land is permitted for residential and commercial development.
A Cambridge Delivery Group will drive the project, leading on identifying the housing, infrastructure, services and green space required – along with delivery. Immediate action will address barriers to plans such as water scarcity across the city.
In addition to Cambridge, the government also announced a ‘Docklands 2.0’ vision in east London for up to 65,000 homes across multiple sites of significant scale including at Thamesmead, Beckton and Silvertown.
The plan states London will also see the benefits of the government’s decision to allow the Affordable Homes Programme to be directed towards regeneration for the first time – with up to £1 billion available in London alone. £1 million has also been made available to push forward work with the Mayor to consider how the government drive housing delivery in London, including looking at innovative new ways that industrial land can be released for housing.
For Leeds, the government will accelerate work in the centre by identifying the remaining barriers to delivery for key housing growth sites within the city, including the South Bank and Innovation Arc.
Also outlined were plans to continue working closely with local partners in Barrow-in-Furness to help make it a new powerhouse of the North.
That includes £800 million investment from the £1.5 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land fund to unlock up to 56,000 new homes across England, and funding Homes England with £550 million. As previously announced, £250 million is being provided to Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities.
Densification
Alongside targeting areas, the government wants to unleash building on underused sites in high-demand regions via densification. They state that the country’s inner cities have much lower population densities than comparable Western countries, impacting our productivity.
The densification plan therefore includes: a consultation on new Permitted Development Rights (PDR). New and amended PDR would make it easier to convert larger department stores, space above shops and office space. The plan also supports farm diversification and development.
Taking steps to unblock the bottlenecks in the planning system with a £24 million Planning Skills Delivery Fund to clear backlogs, a new “super-squad” team of leading planners to unblock major housing developments, and increasing the amount developers pay in planning fees to ensure all planning departments are better resourced.
Building safely
The government says it will not be complacent in its approach to safety – recognising that, “as work progresses to densify our towns and cities, people must be given unimpeachable confidence that new homes are safe and decent to live in.”
The government confirmed the intention to mandate second staircases in new residential buildings above 18m. It states this new regulation cannot jeopardise the supply of homes by disrupting schemes that have been planned for years, saying the DLUHC will work rapidly with industry and regulators over the summer to design transitional arrangements with the aim of securing the viability of projects which are already underway.
They will also open the Cladding Safety Scheme to all eligible buildings, ensuring that no leaseholder will be out of pocket to fix dangerous cladding in medium or high-rise buildings.
by Kim Pidgeon | Jul 10, 2023 | News
The new developments will use brownfield sites across the North West
Housing provider Great Places has entered a partnership with housebuilder Stonebond.
The agreement will see the two partners initially deliver over 600 affordable homes. The agreement, however, provides a long-term strategic framework giving the partnership the potential to deliver further homes in the future.
The new homes will be delivered on multiple brownfield sites across Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
Great Places will provide the homes for affordable rent, social rent and shared ownership.
Great Places Housing Group has 24,000 homes across the North West and Yorkshire. The group encompasses: Great Places Housing Association, Plumlife – an affordable home ownership company with Help to Buy and Shared Ownership schemes and Cube – providing new homes for market sale and private rent.
The framework is a first for Stonebond’s recently-opened Manchester operation. The branch is set to deliver up to 200 homes per annum by 2025 – a significant contribution to the group’s target of 1,000 homes per annum by the same year.
Commenting on the agreement, Nick Gornall, Great Places’ director of development, said: “Partnership working is at the heart of Great Places and we’re excited to be working alongside Stonebond to deliver much needed affordable homes with a focus on brownfield sites within Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
“The values of our businesses align and early collaboration has seen the teams create a shared vision of how our developments will look and feel which in turn has led to us securing a strong pipeline of sites.
“600 affordable homes under this partnership is just the start as we continue to deliver our Homes England Strategic Partnership programme.”
Andrew Cornelius, group chief executive of Stonebond, added: “This partnership is a major milestone for not just our Manchester operation, but for Stonebond’s overall growth plans.
“Our professional relationship with Great Places has been built over 15 years thanks to our founders Richard and Graham Cherry. Our two businesses share the same ethos and approach to affordable housing delivery, as well as build quality, and together we can make a major and long-term contribution to the North West’s affordable housing provision.”
by Kim Pidgeon | Jun 28, 2023 | News
Greenoak expands
Housing provider Stonewater has transferred 640 homes across Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex and Berkshire to Greenoak Housing Association.
Greenoak became a subsidiary of Stonewater Group at the end of 2022.
Greenoak will be responsible for providing housing management services to customers while Stonewater will continue to manage the maintenance of the homes. The Greenoak Direct Services Team will then take over responsibility for responsive repairs on a phased basis.
Marcus Canning, Interim Director at Greenoak, said: “From the outset it has always been the intention of the partnership between Greenoak and Stonewater to transfer these properties into our control.
“Residents will be minimally impacted and will benefit from the expertise and experience of two forward-thinking housing associations.”
LFC regains Melwood
Torus has sold Liverpool Football Club’s (LFC) former training ground Melwood back to the club.
The North-West affordable housing provider and developer acquired the site in 2019 – with the men’s first team moving to the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby in 2020.
Upon re-acquiring the ground, LFC has announced plans for Melwood to become the new training base for Liverpool FC Women’s first team and their Professional Game Academy.
LFC also plans to use the site for community outreach facilities as well as for offering education to young people via the Fowler Education and Football Academy (FEFA).
Chris Bowen, managing director at Torus Developments, added: “All our developments are designed to help transform places and inspire growth. We believe Liverpool FC is best-placed to use this location to support the growth of women’s football and to maximise the benefit of the site to the wider community.
“Although we will not be delivering this development, Torus will continue to seek other opportunities to develop affordable homes in Liverpool and to help local communities thrive.”
WDH back on the streets
Social housing provider WDH is underway with their second ‘On Your Street’ project.
WDH has over 32,000 homes across the Wakefield district and wider operating area across the north of England.
In 2022, the inaugural year of the project, the WDH On Your Street team made 40,953 visits and phone calls (because not everyone is home first time.)
13,535 surveys were completed either in person, over the phone or online. 5,749 people asked for support from the team, with 549 needing emergency support.
The team responded to 675 requests for money, benefit, and debt advice from customers.
Among the improvements made as a result of the visits and comments to the survey were: installing swing gates to reduce anti-social behaviour; providing off street parking in places where it was possible; holding ‘days of action’ with groups and other agencies to make improvements to estates and increase recycling; and increasing security in and around some apartment buildings.
Clarion transfers 400+ homes to Housing 21
Housing 21 is continuing its portfolio expansion with an acquisition of 445 properties from Clarion Housing.
Housing 21 is a not for profit provider of Retirement Living and Extra Care for older people of modest means. It operates in 240 local authority areas across England, managing over 22,800 Retirement Living and Extra Care properties and providing over 38,000 hours of social care each week.
The purchase includes a total of 11 schemes located in London, East Anglia and the South East and follows the acquisition of 472 properties from Notting Hill Genesis in February this year.
The schemes moving across in the transfer from Clarion to Housing 21 include Windmill Court, Redmayne View and Duncan Court.
by Kim Pidgeon | Jun 10, 2023 | News
Suggestions made to future-proof key council services
Westminster City Council has agreed to all 31 recommendations in the Future of Westminster Commission’s Housing Review.
The council’s Cabinet agreed to the key suggestions and is now looking at how to take those forward, do further development work, or consider as part of other plans.
The Future of Westminster Commission was tasked to review and make recommendations on the delivery of key council services.
Within the Housing Review, which was conducted by residents, experts and local leaders, three lines of enquiry were created for the Commission to advise on:
• increasing the supply of genuinely affordable housing to meet housing need in the city;
• options for improving the way the Council responds to homelessness and housing needs;
• the quality of services provided to the Council’s own tenants and leaseholders.
Recommendations from the review include property MOTs for vulnerable residents, a tenants’ charter and a stricter definition of affordable housing. The report also outlines where changes could be made to better support those experiencing homelessness and those sleeping rough in central London.
According to the report, on current estimates the council must plan to have at least 3,200 good quality Temporary Accommodation (TA) units by 2024/25 and capacity to place at least 650 households each year into TA.
Of the current 2,800 households in TA, around 1,150 are in Westminster, 1,650 are out of borough, including 90 out of London.
The report identifies that Westminster is reliant on leased private sector properties to provide TA (75%). Only 10% of TA is owned by the council itself. The report notes the council has made a huge commitment to acquire permanent properties for use as a TA, worth £168m between 2023-2027, but says the council should go further if it can to maximise the General Fund capital budget available.
The Commission recognised many of the new policies the council has adopted in recent months, namely, shifting the emphasis away from building intermediate homes toward creating more social housing and the creation of a Corporate Housing Improvement Programme which will enable the authority to adopt many of the recommendations set out in the review.
The Future of Westminster Commission’s Housing Chairman, Steve Hilditch, said: “Our review of Housing contains a really positive progress report on what the council, supported by the Commission, has achieved in the first year of administration.
“But we’ve also sets out some challenges for the future. It is vital to keep up the pace of reform, an excellent first year needs to be followed by even more intensive action, delivering all the initiatives that have been started, especially in housing supply where the council’s mission must be to make sure that no opportunity to provide social rented homes is missed.
“Investing in homelessness services will be critical because numbers are likely to continue to rise. The key areas are prevention, making sure decision-making is as good as it can be, and providing more support to households in temporary accommodation.
“It’s also vital that we see investment in services to tenants and leaseholders, especially repairs. The council is doing innovative work on damp and mould but must ensure that the scale of activity meets the scale of the problem.”
by Kim Pidgeon | May 25, 2023 | News
What are the new reforms and what do they mean for the private rented sector?
The Renters’ Reform Bill was introduced to Parliament this month promising to deliver an overhaul of housing laws to ensure ‘safer, fairer and higher quality homes’.
The bill balances increasing protections for both the eleven million private tenants across England and the two million landlords.
Among the headlines of the new bill is the abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will allow renters to challenge poor landlords without fear of losing their home.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: “Too many renters are living in damp, unsafe, cold homes, powerless to put things right, and with the threat of sudden eviction hanging over them.
“This government is determined to tackle these injustices by offering a new deal to those living in the private rented sector; one with quality, affordability, and fairness at its heart.
“Our new laws introduced to Parliament will support the vast majority of responsible landlords who provide quality homes to their tenants, while delivering our manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.
“This will ensure that everyone can live somewhere which is decent, safe and secure – a place they’re truly proud to call home.”
Tenants will also be given the legal right to request a pet in their home, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. Landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.
The reforms will make it easier for landlords to recover properties when they need to, for example: to sell their property, accommodate a family member, or when tenants wilfully do not pay rent. Notice periods will also be reduced where tenants have been irresponsible – for example breaching their tenancy agreement or causing damage to the property.
The reforms will strengthen powers to evict anti-social tenants, broadening the disruptive and harmful activities that can lead to eviction and making it quicker to evict a tenant acting anti-socially.
Smoother processes
The court process will also be reformed alongside the new tenancy systems to ensure for a more aligned and faster process for both landlords and tenants. A new Ombudsman will provide quicker and cheaper resolutions to disputes, while a new digital Property Portal will enable landlords to understand their obligations and help tenants make better decisions when signing a new tenancy agreement.
This aims to give confidence to good landlords, while driving the criminal minority out of business.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com said: “We have long needed a statutory single private rental Ombudsman – so I’m pleased to see it in the legislative plans.
“After all, disputes are often between two individuals – landlord and tenant – rather than between companies, so it can be very personal and difficult to sort. Crucially, it won’t be voluntary, all private landlords will be required to join the Ombudsman, and it will have legal authority to compel apologies, take remedial action and pay compensation.”
The government will also bring forward legislation as part of the Bill to:
- Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time, giving renters safer, higher quality homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes in local communities.
- Make it illegal for landlords and agents to have blanket bans on renting to tenants in receipt of benefits or with children.
- Strengthen councils’ enforcement powers and introduce a new requirement for councils to report on enforcement activity – to help target criminal landlords.
The Bill follows the wider housing reforms in the Social Housing Regulation Bill and Building Safety Act. These address the systemic issues identified following the Grenfell Tower tragedy on improving the safety and quality of social housing and how tenants are treated by their landlords.
Dan Wilson Craw, acting director, Generation Rent, said: “The Renters’ Reform Bill is a huge opportunity to improve the lives of the eleven million people who now rent from private landlords in England.
“Arbitrary Section 21 evictions make it impossible for tenants to put down roots and report problems about their home with confidence. Abolishing them will take away much of the stress of renting and improve communication and trust between tenants and landlords.
“The new Property Portal and Ombudsman have the potential to make it much harder for criminal landlords to operate.”
by Kim Pidgeon | May 12, 2023 | News
Planning permission granted for 102 social rent flats
Ealing Council has given the go ahead for a new women’s-only social housing tower block in the borough, close to Acton Town Underground station.
The 15-storey tower will replace the existing 1930s building, Brook House, located on Gunnersbury Lane. The original estate, which also included additional blocks made in the 1970s, is not suitable for refurbishment.
The approved plans will replace the existing buildings and 39 homes on site to create 102 social rent affordable flats for single women, particularly those who face inequality, abuse and disadvantages, especially in the housing market.
The application is supported by Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH), who are only one of two such specialised housing associations in the country, and L&Q, one of the largest social housing provider in the UK.
The proposed new women’s-only flats, which will be for new tenants as well as existing ones wishing to return, will have dual aspect and a balcony. Works are expected to start on site this summer, with the design also including a range of recreational spaces for residents.
Women’s Pioneer Housing work closely with women’s refuges, homelessness agencies and women’s organisations to provide long-term safe, secure and affordable homes for women.
The organisation says the Brook House project comes amid rising levels of inequality for women in the UK, particularly those who are older, have a disability or are BAME women. Adding there is a huge existing demand for this type of housing; in Ealing alone there are over 600 single women on the social housing waiting list.
The scheme is brought forward with support from L&Q, through their initiative Build London Partnership (BLP), which seeks to find a tailored solution to London’s housing crisis.
Through the BLP, L&Q partners with smaller or specialised housing associations to work in collaboration to develop small, disused, infill and challenging sites across the capital.
WPH says this ‘helps unlock key sites in London and deliver much needed affordable and social housing, often for hard-to-reach communities’.
