Derby City Council became the first local authority in England to sign a housing protocol agreement with the Housing Corporation, which will bring together the resources and skills of both organisations to deliver affordable housing across the city.
Based on a national protocol agreed between the Local Government Association and the Corporation, the housing protocols set out how the Corporation and local authorities will work together to deliver a common vision of affordable homes within strong communities, reflecting local priorities.
Derby City Council has been piloting the protocol since June this year and has been working closely with a range of key local stakeholders including developers, planners, landlords of both social and private homes and supported housing providers to develop an action plan.
Action points include:
the development of a more supportive planning framework;
providing an adequate supply of land for new housing;
better engagement with the Local Strategic Partnership to ensure planning for housing is considered in the context of education, transport, safety, social infrastructure and local leadership;
the development of Local Sustainable Design Forums to involve local and regional stakeholders in raising the quality of new housing; and
a review of the quality of neighbourhood housing services and allied community initiatives that increase the life opportunities of local people.
Many of the actions in the plan are already underway and some very positive outcomes for the local community are already emerging. For example, Derby's Design Forums are involved in five new Housing Corporation funded developments in the city. These developments will provide homes for social renting, owner occupation and low cost home ownership and offer a range of apartment and house sizes.
Derby City Council and the Corporation will work closely with housing associations and residents to review the quality of housing services provided. An area of this agenda will be to look at ways of more directly involving residents and housing associations in the development and management of neighbourhoods and community facilities.
Residents and landlords in South Shields are set to benefit after a unique one-stop-shop for housing advice opened its doors for the first time. South Tyneside's mayor performed the official opening ceremony of the new William Sutton Housing Association estate office in John Williamson Street, South Shields, on Wednesday 22 November. For the first time, William Sutton Housing Association and fellow landlords Places for People and South Tyneside Council will work together under one roof, which will allow tenants to get advice from a range of experts on all sorts of housing problems.
The project, which allowed William Sutton to triple the office space of the John Williamson Street premises, was made possible with the help of a £10,000 grant, awarded as part of the Rekendyke Partnership. South Tyneside Council and the William Sutton Housing Association launched the Rekendyke Project, in April 2004, to improve the area.