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20 November 2008

CRUNCH TIME FOR LONDON’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING
20 November 2008

A new briefing warns Mayor of London, Boris Johnson that, in the face of huge economic challenges, he must take a radical approach to housing in the capital or risk missing his promised target of delivering 50,000 new affordable homes by 2011. The London Assembly Planning and Housing Committee ‘snapshot briefing’, Crunch time for London’s affordable housing, precedes the Mayor’s first Draft Housing Strategy, published later today. The briefing, based on discussions with a variety of leading housing experts, assesses the challenges the ‘credit crunch’ has brought to bear on London’s housing sector, and sets out potential solutions the Mayor could take on board in his Housing Strategy. There is a record level of funding for affordable housing to meet the acute housing demand that exists in London: the Mayor has £4 billion available up to 2011. However, the impact of the economic downturn on developers means that, despite the available funding, the number of new homes being built is declining. Yet London desperately needs more housing. The most recent figures show that the capital currently has the least affordable housing in the country: the average house price to household income ratio is more than 6 to 1 compared with a national average of 4.7 to 1. Over a third of a million Londoners are on social housing waiting lists, while three quarters of a million are living in overcrowded conditions. Central to the Committee’s findings is the idea that, with falling house prices and mortgages difficult to access, there should be a shift away from home ownership, and the focus should instead be on boosting the rented sector to provide housing in the short-term, until confidence returns. Pushing for an increase in home ownership rates means increasing the likelihood of more financially marginal and vulnerable households being drawn in, with potentially serious consequences. Nicky Gavron AM, Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, said: “The impact of the credit crunch on every aspect of the housing sector cannot be underestimated – yet the demand for housing has never been higher. “Taking all the factors into account - the current policy approach, the state of the market and the challenges faced by Registered Social Landlords and developers - the Mayor will not be able to deliver his 50,000 affordable homes target without some very radical thinking.”

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ORBIT GROUP CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY AT HOUSE OF COMMONS
20 November 2008

To celebrate the end of the Orbit Group’s 40th anniversary year, an evening reception has been held at the House of Commons with MP John Austin, racing commentator, Brough Scott and Peter Dixon, Chair of the Housing Corporation, all in attendance. Jim Lord, founder of Orbit, was also present, as were long-serving members of staff. To mark the anniversary, a year-long competition was held to give residents the opportunity to win money for a project that would benefit their community. Cash 4 Communities was open to all residents regardless of tenure and location. Resident judges also picked the winners and runners-up for each region. The finalists were invited to the House of Commons to collect their prizes from guest speaker, racing commentator Brough Scott. The winning entries each scooped £10,000 while the runners-up had a share of £10,500, depending upon the project’s needs. Paul Tennant, Orbit Chief Executive said: “The competition was an excellent way of involving our residents in our celebrations. It made sure the money was spent on projects that were of importance to residents and their community. It not only marked 40 years of Building Brighter Futures, but has helped establish a legacy for the future.” The winning projects from the South was Summer House for Pettman Court Garden. A conservatory is to be built at the sheltered scheme to give residents somewhere pleasant to sit during the summer months, taking in the views of the gardens while giving them extra space to socialise and interact with each other. The runners up were Wii are the champions, to help older residents get fit and improve their hand-eye coordination; and the Compton Place Play Area, to give children a safer place to play.

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ISLAND HOMES PROVIDES ‘POOR’ SERVICE BUT ‘PROMISING’ PROSPECTS
20 November 2008

One Housing Group (OHG) has welcomed the Audit Commission’s Inspection report of Island Homes, which, despite saying it was providing ‘poor’ servies, said it had ‘promising prospects for improvement. The report’s findings reflect the effort and commitment of One Housing Group and the Island Homes Board over the last six months to address the association’s weaknesses, which OHG had already identified, and to drive up service delivery. The report states that Island Homes is providing a “poor, no-star service,” however it recognises that the association has “promising prospects for improvement.” This is a direct result of the intervention of One Housing Group and the investment of £250,000 in seconding staff to Island Homes to tackle all areas of weakness. Mick Sweeney, Chief Executive of One Housing Group, said: “Achieving ‘promising prospects’ after such a short period of time is concrete evidence of One Housing Group’s determination and commitment to delivering change and improvement at Island Homes. “The report’s ‘poor service’ judgement fully justifies the steps OHG has taken in recent months to improve governance and service quality for Island Homes residents. “The report’s recommendations have been incorporated into our improvement plan for Island Homes and we are confident that these will be achieved within the timescales set down by the Audit Commission.” The Island Homes Interim Board and the Improvement Team, headed by Managing Director, Catherine Kyne, are focusing on restoring good governance, improving services to residents, overseeing the programme of improvement works and rolling out the Resident Involvement Framework to ensure that the views of all residents, not just the small minority, are taken into account in shaping and delivering services.

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SOCIAL ENTERPRISES ‘READY TO GROW’ WITH OLMEC
20 November 2008

Olmec is holding an inspiring evening celebrating London's Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMMER) Social Enterprises tomorrow at the British Library. Olmec, Presentation’s community investment foundation, and Red Ochre, a business support agency, will be launching Ready to Grow - a unique capacity-building programme for BAMER-led social enterprises operating in London. The three year programme, funded by Capacitybuilders, will support existing and aspiring social enterprises in becoming more sustainable by providing in-depth, high quality business support, including consultancy and training workshops to new BAMER social enterprises. Friday’s event will be chaired by Uday Thakkar, Managing Director of Red Ochre and Social Enterprise Mentor of the Year 2008. Social Enterprise Ambassador, Claudine Reid will be among the guest speakers. Please confirm attendance by emailing michael.smith@presentation-sia.org.uk. For more information, please visit:

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HACKNEY HOMES TENANT WINS A MONTH RENT FREE
20 November 2008

A whole month’s rent for free, just for paying by direct debit - that was the prize on offer for all Hackney Homes tenants who were either paying their rent by direct debit or had signed up over the past year. The summer rent campaign saw nearly 200 tenants sign up bringing the total number of tenants paying by direct debit up to nearly three thousand. The lucky winner, Mrs Britta Kronsbein-Nwanyanwu who lives in the Homerton neighbourhood was surprised at her win. She said: “I pay by direct debit because I can guarantee that event month my rent will be paid. I don’t need to queue up in post offices or as the rent comes out automatically – I don’t do anything actually”. Chief Executive of Hackney Homes, Charlotte Graves said: “With such busy lives, Direct Debit is so useful. It allows our tenants to pay their rent automatically and it means that we can collect as much rent as possible to continually improve the services that we provide”. If you would like to pay your rent by direct debit, contact the Rents Team on 020 8356 2126 or download a form from the Hackney Homes Website:

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HOUSING NEWS: JOBS AND TENDERS ROUND-UP
20 November 2008

Housing News is advertising the following jobs and tenders on its regional newsletters: JOBS Cosmopolitan Housing Association is seeking a Board Member. For more information, go to northwest.housingnews.co.uk. Closing date: November 28. Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association is seeking a Director of Human Resources. For more information, go to www.scottishhousingnews.com/jobs. Closing date: November 21. Wishaw And District Housing Association is seeking a Maintenance Officer, £26,185 - £28,805. For more information, go to www.scottishhousingnews.com/jobs. Closing date: 12 noon, November 28. TENDERS Whitefriars Housing Group is inviting tenders for External refurbishment for three tower blocks in Coventry. For more information, go to: westmidlands.housingnews.co.uk. Closing date: November 21. FLAIR is inviting tenders for Landscape Contractors in Renfrewshire. For more information, go to: www.scottishhousingnews.com. Closing date: December 22. Homes For Islington is inviting tenders for consultancy services to support the re-procurement of housing repairs and associated services. For more information, go to: london.housingnews.co.uk. Closing date: December 10. The London Borough of Sutton is inviting tenders for the provision and management of housing for use by families as temporary accommodation. For more information, go to: london.housingnews.co.uk. Closing date: November 20. East Sussex Supporting People Partnership is inviting expressions of interest for the provision of a short-term generic floating support service. For more information, go to: southeast.housingnews.co.uk. Closing date: November 19. To reach the best candidates in the social housing sector, advertise your top jobs in one of our eight regional newsletters or go national to over 40,000 readers. For more information, call Amy or Angela at Hucksters on 01892 784804.