Making sense of the Joint housing delivery plan Tony Cain
On the plus side It s genuinely strategic (or at least high level); It identifies a generally agreed set of priorities; It s well connected to the concerns of the whole of the housing sector; and It points to the key issues that should underpin local strategic planning and delivery.
The key strategic issues Supply (13 actions); Sustainability (3 actions); Community engagement and place (4 actions); Our aging population (5 actions); Housing options, choice and control (4 actions); and Reform of the Private Rented Sector (5 actions)
So what s the problem The essentially conservative nature of the approach- A strong and well functioning housing system has a vital role to play in supporting the development of a more productive, more coherent and fairer Scotland But there is no attempt to make sense of what that actually means for the housing system The risk that events will move more quickly than action. The impact of tax changes on investment in the PRS The abolition of FIT for domestic solar PV
Can you be a bit more specific? 13 actions on supply but no clear view on tenure balance. Action 2 deals directly with increasing the construction of social housing but focuses on innovation in financial products- that means existing tenants paying for new homes- how fair is that? Action 13 is about more subsidies for owner occupation demand side support as if there wasn t enough inflationary pressure in the system. Buy to let landlords have spotted that investment in second hand homes makes good financial sense but not, apparently for the public sector!
Any thing else? Under occupation is a huge problem in owner occupation, over half of all owners have more than 2 bedrooms they don t use Buyers get more advantage by over consuming, the tax system is one way this could be addressed The problem of an ageing population is, for the most part, a problem of older owner occupiers- 80% of those over 70 are owners Equity release products are one thing, so long as you have equity enough to make a difference, what of the many owners of lower value properties? How do you incentivise the construction industry to build more of what older, lower income/value owners need? What about the particular non housing issues facing rural communities? Jobs Transport
About the photographs Slide 1- Quartairs Modernes Fruges, Rue Le Corbusier, Pessac, near Bordaux, designed by a young Le Corbusier and demonstrating all his idealistic commitment to utopian housing. Completed in 1926 they were intended for sale as affordable homes to local factory workers. For more information and a bit of a treatise on how great architecture can deliver for residents in the long term see: http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/15/arts/architecture-view-le-corbusier-shousing-project-flexible-enough-endure-ada.html Slide 2- Council housing built under the Addison Act powers introduced in 1919. These homes in Riverside, Stirling were completed in 1920, some of the first to be built in Scotland and remain highly desirable to rent and buy to this day. Not quiet as classy as Le Corbusier s but durable and practical nearly a century later. They demonstrate that at its best, Council Housing can stand the test of time even without a big name architect. Slide 2- The last of over 400 homes to be demolished over 18 years in the Raploch area of Stirling. The regeneration programme agreed in 2007 has been delayed significantly by the collapse of the housing market following the financial crisis of 2007/08 but is slowly getting back on track. Slide 3- Amenity bungalows in the Braehead are of Stirling. Built in the 1970s and now comprehensively modernised including external insulation, solar PV panels and new kitchens and bathrooms. Another fine example of getting it right. Slide 4- A mixed tenure development in Riverside, Stirling built during the 1990s in partnership between the Council, Ogilvie Homes and Forth Housing Association. One of very few that succeeds in delivering tenure blind design. Slide 5- Jellico Avenue, Gartmore. A mix of 8 flats and bungalows and just about as pretty as any affordable housing development you will see any where. A real credit to Rural Stirling Housing Association who built them.