An initiative to create the UK's first zero-carbon sustainable suburb was launched in southwest London. Hackbridge in Sutton was the focus of special week, with people who live and work in the area getting together to design the sustainable suburb of the future.
Sutton Council, working in partnership with residents, community groups and businesses plans to draw up ambitious plans to turn Hackbridge, and ultimately Sutton, into the UK's first 'sustainable suburb' - creating a vibrant community where people want to live and work, that protects the local environment and meets the needs of local residents both now and in the future.
Hackbridge Week was an opportunity for residents to contribute their ideas and suggestions for the area, currently a community of approximately 2,500 homes and workplaces. The week featured a full programme of events and workshops, looking at the changes needed in housing, transport, job opportunities, health services, schools and community facilities, including:
With rising energy prices, the energy efficiency project will show residents how to keep their homes warm while saving money and reducing CO2 emissions. The project will also look at generating renewable energy locally.
Barking & Dagenham Council, one of the first to prepare to set up a local housing company, applied for Housing Corporation accreditation, which would allow it to manage homes it built. This could lead to the Council's housing service being the first to secure the accreditation status needed to manage new social homes.
The Government is promoting local housing companies as public-private joint ventures, whereby councils invest land in return for an equity share in the homes built. Currently, 14 councils are considering the initiative in a national pilot run by English Partnerships, the national regeneration organisation.
In his first major speech since being appointed as the Chief Executive Designate of the Homes and Communities Agency, Sir Bob Kerslake stressed that the Agency would become 'local government's best delivery partner'.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Housing's presidential dinner, he was noted for only mentioning housing associations once but making nine references to local authorities.
He said:
"The Agency would work with authorities that wanted to take forward 'innovative new approaches to delivery'.
"If we are to really support delivery of the Government's targets, our real strength will need to be through innovation and delivery at the regional and local levels.
"Key to this for me will be the ability to have a single conversation with local authorities and their partners on the delivery of the full range of their housing and regeneration initiatives.
"The shifting housing market would bring challenges but also opportunities. 'A test of the success of the new Agency will be how well it understands and responds to these new market conditions."
Fifteen local authorities were selected to pave the way for the controversial plan to remove protection from the Supporting People grant from next year. Each of thems will receive their Supporting People grant from April without a 'ring fence'. The implication of this is that the funding will not be subject to the usual condition that it must be spent on housing support services.
The councils are: Barking & Dagenham; Bath and North East Somerset; Birmingham; Bournemouth, Dudley; Durham; Essex; Gloucestershire; Hampshire; Leicestershire; Liverpool; Norfolk; North Yorkshire; Rutland; and Tameside.
Last October, Communities secretary Hazel Blears informed local authorities that lifting the Supporting People ring fence would go ahead as planned next year, unless the pilots raised serious concerns.