The last meeting of the Strategic Housing Group had a few interesting
points which I thought might be worth circulating.
The meeting contained lots of discussion about the difficulties that
the local authorities are having in meeting targets for Affordable
Housing provision - mainly because the recession has made it difficult
for conventional builders to embark upon new build and provide a
percentage of affordable homes. I made the point that it was important
to look for alternative means of providing for affordable housing
through self-build, CLT's, and co-housing projects.
The Southwest MAA Region is in the process of drafting a Local
Investment Plan- meaning that funding will be directed from central
government towards housing projects in the Southwest, which are
currently being submitted and evaluated to prioritise them for
investment. The process for determining priorities has been held
through a "single conversation process", which many people at the
meeting felt marginalized the roles of housing associations and
community groups. I felt that it was not accessible to CLT's, mainly
through lack of consultation, but the representative of the gov office
confirmed that housing associations and other groups could get involved
at a later stage. It would be good to keep an eye on this to identify
opportunities for community housing schemes and trusts to get involved.
In the action plan for the group there were two areas of interest to
sustainability organizations: 1) a review of the CLT projects started
by the group last year- to which the group allocated £20,000. No
progress was made towards this study, as far as I could tell, because
Andy Lloyd, who was the key mover, quit last year. I have asked that
£5,000 from this budget be allocated towards a study into Low Impact
Development. I gave a presentation on this issue at the last meeting.
2) £150,000 has been allocated towards a rural housing programme, which
at the moment is not clearly outlined. It would be good to get some of
the budget allocated towards eco-housing projects. I made a commitment
to get involved in a umbrella organization supporting CLT's in
Somerset/ Dorset with Simon Thompson, with the hope that I could
identify some positive projects that this action point could support.
I find it a little frustrating attending the meetings and not having
the capacity to take many of the projects and work forward myself. I
have to carry forward any work that I do in a voluntary capacity, while
the rest of the committee is paid for their work, so I can never keep
up. I am willing to put some time into developing the CLT's role in
the housing delivery and into trying to get them to commit to funding a
Low Impact Development Report, but it would be really good if there was
a paid sustainable housing enabler with time to take more projects
forward. I'm searching to find someone good...
Jyoti Fernandez
