Midlands Quarterly Partner Meeting

Homes and Communities Agency Birmingham Office

23 April 2012

Agenda

Looking back… Midlands Performance – a successful year’s delivery Looking forward… The Housing Strategy – an update Delivering growth through land In the Spotlight:

– Rural Housing in North Warwickshire – Delivering homes for the travelling community

Notices and reminders

Looking back

What a year!!

April - Feb March!

Having said that…

Below: Work progresses on the leisure offer at Walsall Waterfront North

Above: The future vision of Friary Outer and;

below: SOS at Friary Outer, Lichfield and

Eastern Gateway, Loughborough

Work progresses at Park View scheme, Longbridge

Above: Work gets underway on second phase at High Street, Brownhills

Foundation stone laying at Hagley Extracare Village, Birmingham

Left: Work progresses on new homes at Longbridge

Local children design site safety posters at Hayes Road, Bedworth

Time capsule burial and SOS for the next phase at Spirit Quarters, North Coventry

Opening of Manor Farm, Leicester

New residents prepare to move into homes at Brailes in the Cotswolds

New residents to rural homes at Claverley, Shropshire

Ecology schools project at Telford Millennium Community

Kemble Housing Association signed up to rural housing pledge

Performance 2011-12

Kerry Hebron, Head of Strategy, Programmes and Performance

Performance – key highlights

£322m was invested in the Midlands last year Nearly 4,200 housing starts were recorded, including

over 2,000 starts for the AHP Over 8,800 new homes were completed*, including 508

rural homes Over £170m private sector investment was leveraged

through HCA investment/ enabling

* Includes Mortgage Rescue and FirstBuy

Expenditure & Receipts

Programme 2011/12 Outturn Expenditure (£m)

2011/12 Outturn Receipts (£m)

NAHP 105.45

Property & Regeneration 51.60 42.1

Decent Homes Backlog 51.57

AHP 37.44

Economic Assets 24.64 18.54

Mortgage Rescue 19.72

FirstBuy (shared equity) 11.81

Kickstart 10.38

Other 8.96

TOTAL 321.57 60.64

Housing starts

Programme Unit Type No.

NAHP

Rent 172

223LCHO 51

AHPRent 1,752

2,072LCHO 320

Property & Regeneration

Affordable 286

1,874Open Market 1,588

Empty Homes 12

TOTAL 4,181

Housing completionsProgramme Unit Type No.

NAHPRent 3,461

4,480LCHO 1,019

(of which) Rural 508 -

AHPRent 436

568LCHO 132

Property & Regeneration

Affordable 721,019

Open Market 947

Empty Homes 5

Mortgage Rescue 298

FirstBuy 663

LA New Build 214

Kickstart 1,568

TOTAL 8,815

Other outputs

Measure No.

Employment floorspace generated (sq m) 70,659

Brownfield Land reclaimed (Ha) 27

Private Sector Investment (£m) 171.98

Jobs Potential 1,649

Land Brought Back into Beneficial Use 104

HCA programmes update Economic Assets

– Stewardship Packages have been grouped by LEP geography, and disposal strategies currently being agreed

– Plan to dispose of all sites across 10 year strategy with:

• Non–strategic sites or those with previously agreed strategy being disposed earlier; and

• Using those receipts to de-risk remaining sites for disposal as soon as possible

Affordable Homes Programme Still a couple of LA’s not in contract yet Developer Deed of Adherence is required to confirm units developed by an

un-registered body Agreements in draft for Empty Homes (12-15 programme), and finalised for

Homelessness Change and Travellers Pitch Funding Travellers Pitch Funding – CME open so please speak to your local contact

with details of any new schemes Right to Buy – Secretary of State agreement with LAs for comment and likely

to be sessions on how agreements will work Strong delivery required from partners on FirstBuy to ensure that we meet

21012-13 targets – delivery is key to retaining allocation

- According to HBF - market conditions appear very strong with enquiry rates doubling and over 1,000 new firm reservations achieved Nationally in February alone

IMS will re-open on 20 April 2012

- Automatic calculation of a blended grant rate if changes agreed to no of units of funding

Looking forward

Challenges Opportunities Priorities Government thinking

Progression of the Housing Strategy

Anne-Marie Simpson,Head of Midlands Central

Housing Strategy – Progress since launch in November 2011

Increasing Supply by Supporting Delivery;

Financial Mechanisms

Use of Public Resources

Creating opportunity for

Housing Development

• Growing Importance of

Housing to LEP’s

Completion, Crocodile Works, Newtown

Financial Mechanisms

•Get Britain Building - £570 million nationally

•Growing Places Fund

• Supports delivery of local

strategic priorities

•Newbuy – mortgage indemnity

scheme

First time buyers at Windsor Road, Redditch through Kickstart Programme

Using Public Resources •Public land – using value and availability

•Reinvigorated Right to Buy

• Homeownership and unlocking capital

•Empty Homes

• Recycling existing stock

• Midlands programme £15.5 m

• 1289 units

•Community led development

•Encouraging reconsideration of S106 agreements

Creating Housing Development Opportunities

•National Planning Policy Framework

•Locally Planned large scale development

• ATLAS, Local and neighbourhood plans

•Custom Build

• Self build appetite and opportunity

•Private Rented Sector

• Emerging models nationally

• Investment interest

• RP role??

Impact and Importance of Housing

•Increasingly prioritised by Government and LEP’s – LEP / City Deals

•Investment Plans for Growth

• Use Local Delivery Plan refresh to

create LEP wide delivery plans / investment plan

•Aligned delivery plans across partner organisations

• AHP Indicative Supply

•Create holistic delivery plans to support inward investment and growth

Unlocking growth through land

HCA Development and Disposal Strategy

Published 3 April 2012 Sets out objectives for how HCA will deal with its land holdings Some issues:

– Market context– Planning– LA & LEP involvement in use of HCA land– De-risking– Use of receipts– Value for money

Disposal Pipeline of sites to be brought to market over next three years– Both residential and commercial opportunities, including EAP

assets

Midlands Disposal Pipeline

http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/land-and-development-opportunities

HCA land ownership at March

Operating Area Area (ha) %

East and South East 2,080 28%

London 230 3%

Midlands 2,600 35%

North East, Yorkshire and The Humber

630 9%

North West 1,430 19%

South and South West 460 6%

Total 7,430 100%

Delivery Partner Panel

Current DPP runs from 2012 to 2013– HCA: 12,000 homes being procured on 38 sites– HCA partners: 100 partners signed up; 12,000 homes

being procured on 73 sites

Reprocurement of panel has commenced (DPP2)– Will run for four years (2013-2017)– OJEU notice published end March 2012– PQQ submissions to be returned 8 May 2012

Contribution to the Housing Strategy

Disposal Pipeline Accelerating release of public sector land Transfer of Milton Keynes assets Private rented sector Custom Build Land auctions

Discussion session

In the spotlight:

Rural Housing

HCA Midlands context Supporting rural economies and housing is a priority in our Business

Plan – Around 80% of our land mass is rural

– Midlands rural economy contributes some 40% towards total Midlands GVA

– Acute affordability needs

AHP agreements in place to deliver >900 rural homes across 18 providers

We will be working with partners to ensure this delivery (potentially more?) – we don’t expect partners to ask for a reduction in the number of rural homes they have contracted

We are working to establish a strong pipeline of rural schemes We know partners are successfully delivering rural housing…

Rural Housing and Partnership Working between North Warwickshire Borough Council and Waterloo Housing Group

Background to North Warwickshire

• North Warwickshire is a predominantly rural Borough with no large town or natural “centre”.

• The largest centres of population are Atherstone, Coleshill and Polesworth - all with populations of less than 10,000 and they all have market town status. Two thirds of the Borough lies within green belt and the rest is open countryside.

• The Borough is surrounded by urban areas – Birmingham, Solihull and Tamworth to the west, Coventry to the south and Nuneaton to the east.

Rural Housing Events

• In North Warwickshire, we have held two events in conjunction with Waterloo Housing Group.

• In June 2010 we ran a workshop called ‘Making It Happen – Rural Housing Delivery in Practice’ and this was very well attended by other Rural Housing Practitioners.

Rural Housing Week

• During Rural Housing Week 2012, we ran a workshop for County, Borough and Parish Councillors on the future of providing affordable housing and what they perceived their role to be. Again, this was very well attended and was well received with councillors asking for more workshops to be held throughout the year.

Workshop for Councillors• I was delighted to be afforded the opportunity to participate in a

workshop facilitated by NWBC together with its partners, Waterloo Housing to look at all aspects of rural housing. The timetable was always going to be challenging as it is such a wide-ranging topic but it was nicely broken down into manageable “bite sized” pieces starting with an “ice breaker” quiz to establish how much (or, in many cases how little) we know about the topic and ending with a showing of Waterloo’s DVD highlighting their successes in reinvigorating rural communities across the Midlands. In between these we were bombarded with the views, aspirations and concerns of officers and guest speakers. One thing was for certain – by the end of the afternoon we all knew a lot more than when we arrived and, perhaps more importantly, we had been given food for thought and the ambition to delve deeper into the subject. I look forward to the next presentation.

• Cllr John Moore• Deputy Chair of Housing• North Warwickshire Borough Council

WHG Developments that have been completed within North Warwickshire

• 1995 to current completed 459 dwellings• Most HC/HCA funded

WHG Developments that have been completed within North Warwickshire

• 56% of which were in settlements < 3000• Includes rented/ shared ownership/ outright sale• New build/ refurb(traditional/PRC’s)/P&R’s

Development – Hill Top• Refurbishment of 33 ex

Coal Board properties.• Originally built 1909.• Our Green Street –

completely modernised with energy saving features, super- insulation and underfloor heating

Development – Hill Top

Development – Hill TopHomes are highly insulated

and have the benefit of a

ground source heat pump

or solar water heating

Development – Hill Top

• Veg beds/fruit trees/herb

plants were provided

• Encouraged to grow

their own fruit/veg

Development - LANB

• Built on old garage sites.• 25 new rented homes

-14 x 2/3 bedroomed

houses & 9 bungalows

- in 4 rural settlements• Built to Code 4• Lifetime Homes• Photovoltaics• Local homes for local people

Rural Housing

The wellbeing of rural areas relies on local people being able to afford to stay living in their community and supporting village life.

‘I never dreamed I would live in a house again, and certainly not one of my own,” said Ron Martin, previously a Waterloo tenant, who bought a home through shared ownership at Meadow View, Wood End

Lucy’s StoryLucy was born and bred locally. Her parents still live just down the street. Lucy has strong ties to the community.

Being able to stay within

the village, she is able to

access support from her

parents and enjoy life

with her family and

established friends

throughout the village. 

Winning Hearts and Minds

• Community consultation is at the heart of developing affordable rural homes.

• Local concerns

must be addressed.

• Feed back is used

to shape plans.

• Local support V

NYMBY/BANANA

Sustainability and Neighbourhood Events

• Importance of

Community events

• Sustainability –

fuel poverty

• Advice and support

Apprenticeships

North Warwickshire BC and Waterloo are very proactive when looking at apprenticeships.

We ask all developers with HCA funding to look for apprentices who live within the North Warwickshire area, so that we can enable on the job training for our youngsters seeking to work in a trade.

Recently, North Warwickshire Borough Council has been in discussions with our local training college in Nuneaton about setting up a Shared Apprenticeship Scheme which allows local people to go through the college and they will be guaranteed a placement on a site within North Warwickshire for up to 12 weeks at a time to get work experience to go along with their course.

Why is Rural Housing a Priority?

• Rural Exception Sites – Housing Needs Surveys to prove the need and Neighbourhood walks to find a suitable site.

• Increased NIMBYISM at the start.• NPPF – Open Market vs Affordable

Housing.• Localism Bill/Neighbourhood Planning

• Is this a new tool for blocking developments?

Rural Housing Website

• Please remember that many of the issues that we have discussed today can also be included on the Rural Housing Website so that we can all share expertise and experiences.

• www.ruralaffordablehousing.org.uk

Any Questions

• Paul Roberts – Housing Strategy & Development Officer – North Warwickshire Borough Council.

• Helen Newbury – Group Head of Programme and Performance – Waterloo Housing Group.

Thank you for listening.

In the spotlight:

Houndsfield Lane, Bromsgrove

Rooftop Housing Group -

David Hannon, Development Director

Juliana Crowe, Director of Housing and Communities

Tony Henderson, Gypsy and Traveller Project Manager

Kevin Singh, Architect (The Space Studio)

Houndsfield Lane, Grand Designs ?Presentation to the HCA Partner Meeting

The starting point

• “By 2017, in the South Midlands and Gloucestershire, provide a range of high quality accommodation options and

services to support 100 Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) households (approx. 600 residents – 25% of identified

needs for new pitches) improving health and well-being, educational attainment, social and financial inclusion;

developing and promoting positive practice and equality”.

• Rooftop Corporate Objective 2012

Worcestershire – public view

Worcestershire’s citizen panel 2007

Worcestershire Challenge

Last Comprehensive Needs Assessment 201?

Nationally • 21% GRT living in caravans are

homeless (no lawful place to

park their caravans)

• 55% ‘sites’ located near rubbish tips, sewage farms, runways or close to major roads.

• Less than 25% of Gypsy Children in school achieve 5 GCSE’s A*- C

• High incident of mental illness reflected in above average suicide rate (even higher for ‘housed’ Gypsies)

• Life expectancy is 10 years lower than the national average

Challenge for Housing Associations • Significant BME (perhaps largest in

Worcestershire).

• Vulnerable community with significant needs.

• Lack of GRT Culture by mainstream services mean needs go unsupported and leads to exclusion.

• Racism towards Gypsies and Travellers is still regarded as socially acceptable, fuelling discrimination and increasing their distrust of support services.

PCSO Steve Thomas – member of Gypsy community

Rooftop Housing Group • Undertook Research

• Generally good relationship between Travellers and non Travellers

• Most found transition to house difficult

• Need to offer a range of accommodation choices that reflect cultural needs

• Piecemeal approach was not sufficient

• Sought to understand their needs and included them on Ethnic Monitoring forms

Worcestershire GRT Partnership

• Partnership Church, Police, Local Government, Health, Museum and HA.s

• Annual event at Hartlebury Museum

• Publications

• Presentations

• Input to consultations (Homeless, Housing Supporting People)

Houndsfield Lane, Wythall

• Houndsfield Lane

August 2010

Life and conditions at Houndsfield Lane

• The cold, the damp, and the mouldy

• Rainy Gravy

• Fuel poverty

Welcome to your Shed !

Decent Homes must have past me by

Why do we have the ‘sheds’ ?

Presentation to the HCA Partner Meeting

Houndsfield Lane - The Concept

Gypsy & Traveller Site Grant Programme –

2009/2010 • Total scheme cost - £1.2m.• Grant received - £ 999,600.• Cost per pitch – 52k.

• Net borrowing £300k but G and T activity is not accepted as security by Lenders so EPHA using own resources.

• 18 pitches replaced, 5 new pitches – DDA compliant.

• Partnership working, innovation and design.

An ‘eventful’ construction period

Always good to get the group shot

Summer 2011

All this, and residents in place

The Good and the Bad• The Good

• Residents.• Bromsgrove District Council.• Bromsgrove Planners.• Neighbours.

• The Bad• Energy Companies.• Water Authorities.• Her Majesties Custom and Excise – The VAT

person.

What’s it like now ?

And, the verdict is ….• ‘ The sheds look great, and are really warm and

cheap to heat ’. Mrs Boswell, Resident.

• ‘ I love them, they’re warm, dry and I don’t bath the kids in a cold , damp mouldy bathroom anymore ’. Miss Smith, Resident.

• ‘This is the best site, anywhere’ Bianca (aged 13), resident.

• ‘ Houndsfield Lane is Big Fat Gypsy Weddings meets Grand Designs’. Mr Parker.

What next for Rooftop

• 100 Pitches over the next 5 Years

• HCA support to deliver 72 Homes on 4 Sites • Solihull• Worcester• Gloucester

• TSC £6.9m• Grant £3.2m

references

Housing Corporation: Designing Gypsy and Traveller Sites. Good Practice Guide, May 2008

GYPSIES AND TRAVELLERS FINANCIAL TOOLKIT FOR RSLs, REPORT TO THE HOUSING CORPORATION’ PAT NINER & BRUCE WALKERCENTRE FOR URBAN AND REGIONAL STUDIESUNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAMJuly 2008 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Local Authority Gypsy/Traveller Sites in England, Pat Niner, July 2003 BCGA Guidance Note GN2 - Guidance for the storage of transportable gas cylinders for industrial use. revision 2: 1997 The Forgotten Minority - Gypsies and Travellers (Rooftop Housing publication) www.communities.gov.uk has a series of relevant links/documents Travellers sites also fall into Local Authority License facilities i.e mobile home site conditions (1988)

www.travellerstimes.org.uk

‘ English people have very contradictory views about Gypsies and Travellers. On the one hand some are very pleased to employ them, trade with them and use their services. On the other hand they are appalled at the prospect of them setting up their mobile homes anywhere nearby for fear, whether real or not , of crime and anti-social behaviour. This dichotomy is at the centre of the way Gypsies and Travellers have been treated in England over the last 50 years.’ Govt source.

Notices and reminders Next meeting – 11 September (venue TBC as we still hope

to move venues around the patch for this meeting) Worcestershire Planning and Development Panel

(Question Time style) – 26 April, 6pm, County Hall, Worcester. Email m.allen@harrison-clark.co.uk

Rural Affordable Housing Day – 18 September, EMHA Coalville. Email holly.raybould@hca.gsi.gov.uk

NHF Community Land Trust’s Conference and Exhibition – 22 May, Savoy Place, London. www.housing.org.uk/events

Don’t forget to keep up to date on HCA in the Midlands at www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/Midlands or follow us on twitter hca_uk

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