We’re quite at home with drive to be green...

Sep 18 2007 by Helen Logan, Evening Gazette

WELCOME to our comment column, in which leading figures from the region present a thought-provoking view on an issue affecting their company or organisation or the wider community.

Today it’s the turn of Alison Thain, Tees Valley Housing Group chief executive.

THE Government’s Housing Green Paper sets us all a challenge, but it is a test which the social housing sector welcomes with open arms.

It states the aim that, by 2010-11, more than 70,000 new affordable homes will be built per year, 45,000 of them social rented housing, the remainder shared ownership.

Personally, I am thrilled to see this commitment from the Government, and our new Prime Minister in particular, to hugely increase the supply of affordable homes, but we have got to be given the tools to deliver.

For a long time, we in the social housing sector have said that we are unable to meet the overwhelming demand for the right house at a price people can afford.

However, there is a danger that the hugely welcome increase in funding, from £5bn to £8bn over three years could be spread too thinly and that this will affect both design and sustainability - and the Paper’s other target is for all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016, which brings additional cost.

In real terms, house prices have doubled in the last 10 years and there are real concerns about where our children are going to be able to afford to buy, even in places like the North-east, where some areas have traditionally been more affordable.

Now, we have the funding and the political will to help ease this problem, but there are other barriers which need to be removed. The land has to be available and the planning process has to be facilitated, with greenfield land made available where this meets local priorities.

Ideally, we should focus on urban sites, but there simply isn't the land there to be able to meet the targets. Or these sites need major expenditure on infrastructure with attendant delays, and we need people to accept that, and realise that it is the futures of all our children which we are working towards improving.

The Green Paper reintroduces targets for rural sites and that is also very important and a welcome start.

Rural areas have to be kept vibrant, not only in terms of housing, but also to keep local amenities, such as schools, viable in the long-term.

This means retaining and attracting families with affordable homes.

Another issue which needs to be dealt with, centred around slowing down the process of utilising available land, is any suggestion of developers “land banking” to capitalise on the rising price of sites they may own.

If we are to meet the needs of the housing market, then we must encourage developers through efficient planning systems and incentives to bring new housing sites forward more quickly.

But perhaps the most important thing that must be remembered by all those who are involved in meeting this need is that it is not just about putting up houses.

If these targets are to meet their actual need, the response to the Green Paper must create sustainable, quality communities that people will be able to live their lives in.

That means a good mix of housing and other facilities to make these houses homes.

Organisations like Tees Valley Living have a real role to play in this work and, while, the Green Paper does not give any concrete indication of future support for such housing market renewal partnerships, they must be allowed to continue their vital work in revitalising our older housing areas.