6th July 2012
Independent charity Empty Homes announced the formation of the National Empty Homes Loans Fund. The fund that will be launched later in the year will offer low interest loans to owners of empty homes to help them bring them into use as affordable housing.
The loans fund was one of the demands of Channel 4's Great British Property Scandal campaign led by architect and independent Empty Homes Adviser George Clarke.
Government empty homes loans funds have already been announced in Scotland and Wales and this fund will operate across England.
George Clarke said:
"This is a really exciting development because it marks the point at which the campaign begins to deliver real change to start ending the scandal of empty homes."
The fund, to be run jointly by Empty Homes and a building society, has been made possible by a grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government's Empty Homes Community Grants Programme.
Although details are not yet finalised, low interest loans are likely to be available up to £10,000 per home. Larger loans may also be available at a higher interest rate.
The fund aims to return more than 300 empty homes to use in its first three years.
New Sovereign Development Opens in Kingswood
2nd July 2012
A new housing development, built on the site of a former school in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, has been unveiled.
Sovereign Housing Association's King's View development, which consists of 66 new affordable homes for rent and shared ownership, has transformed a site that had been vacant since the school's closure in 2001.
The £8 million scheme includes around 2,300 square metres of open space, which as well as including a children's play area, provides an informal community area for new residents and the existing community alike.
As well as 25 homes for rent, delivered through the Homes West partnership, the development provides 41 properties for shared ownership.
The properties have enhanced eco features, including a mechanical heating and ventilation system that enables heat to be recycled, increased wall and roof insulation, and water saving devices.
King's View benefited from a £2.3 million investment from the Homes and Communities Agency.
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New Homes Open for Bristol's Ex-servicemen
3rd July 2012
TV presenter Nick Knowles has opened the country's first homes to be built by ex-servicemen in Bristol. The 14 new homes are part of a self-build specialist housing project.
The development in Bedminster is the joint imitative of Knightstone Housing Association and the Community Self-Build Agency, who formed partnerships with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Bristol City Council to make this project happen.
It is the first train and build scheme of its kind to be built by and house homeless ex-servicemen. Ten of the homes are for ex-service personnel and four are for people with disabilities.
Leadbitter Group worked closely with the personnel, providing training and new skills, as well as leading on the construction. The men gained qualifications ranging from NVQs in bricklaying and painting and decorating to dry-lining and catering.
The project received £660,000 in investment from the HCA, as well as considerable support from Bristol City Council, the Merchant Venturers, Tremain Powell Partnership and GCP Architects.
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Supported Housing Project Completes in Kensington
3rd July 2012
Work has completed on a supported housing project in Kensington, Liverpool that will provide independent living accommodation for up to ten adults with learning and physical disabilities.
The property had lain empty for more than five years and was deteriorating rapidly. A partnership working between Cosmopolitan Housing Association, Liverpool City Council Conservation Department and faith based care provider L'Arche Liverpool, has seen the Grade II Listed building restored, retaining many of its historic features.
Tenants have already started to move into the building, which provides four self-contained apartments for single people and two apartments on a shared living basis, housing three adults in each. There is also an attic flat for support staff.
A hi-tech low carbon Biomass heating system has been installed to provide heating and hot water throughout the building. It runs on specially treated wooden pellets, reducing customer's energy bills and eliminating the need for individual gas boilers.
An especially important feature of the development is the communal conservatory, providing a shared meeting place for all the tenants in the building and thereby avoiding the potential isolation of people living in their own individual flats.
The £1.3 million project has been funded without subsidy by Cosmopolitan Housing Association, with contribution from L'Arche for specific design elements.
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Much-needed Affordable Homes Coming to Cranbrook
10th July 2012
The new East Devon community of Cranbrook will pass another milestone in September when the first affordable homes for local people become available.
Cranbrook, which is located to the north-east of Exeter, will be developed in several phases and eventually provide thousands of new homes.
The first phase will consist of 1,120 dwellings, as well as a primary school, a doctor's surgery and retail centre.
In the first phase of construction, 328 new homes will be provided for affordable housing (208 for rent and the rest for home ownership). These homes, which will benefit from £15.6 million in investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), will be allocated equally between Sovereign Housing Association and Devon and Cornwall Housing Group.
Sovereign will take possession of its first 24 homes in September. The first homes for Devon and Cornwall Housing Group will be delivered in early 2013. A new primary school will also be ready for September.
The homes, all built to level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, will benefit from an eco-friendly district heating and hot water system powered using biomass fuel.
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Olympic Dividend Signals Estate Renewal in Tower Hamlets
13th July 2012
The influence of the Olympic Games in attracting new investment to east London has seen two organisations join forces to deliver a £250 million estate regeneration just over two miles from the Olympic Stadium.
Willmott Dixon's development division Regen has formed a joint venture with housing and community regeneration association Poplar HARCA to redevelop the seven acre Aberfeldy Estate in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Representing the biggest investment in this part of London, the estate renewal will provide 1,176 homes, shops, healthcare and community facilities over 12 years, with work divided into six phases. The regeneration replaces dilapidated 1950s-era housing and creates a better living environment for residents, complete with new shops and open, green spaces for recreation.
Outline planning consent has now been granted for the mixed-use scheme, with detailed planning approval also given to start the £40 million phase one to build 342 new homes, together with retail space, at the eastern end of Aberfeldy. The homes comprise a mix of private sale, shared ownership and affordable rent.
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New Affordable Homes for Shropshire
24th July 2012
Shropshire Council is going to build 62 homes in various locations around the county to help tackle the shortage of affordable housing.
The new homes are part-funded through investment from the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Homes Programme. The schemes will be a mixture of tenures, with 25 low-cost homes for purchase and 37 for affordable rent.
It is anticipated that work on some of the sites will start in spring 2013, with completion of all 62 units by March 2015.
