Memorandum by The NewHeartlands Housing
Market Renewal (HMR) Pathfinder (EMP 21)
1. BACKGROUND
The NewHeartlands area extends across the inner
cores of the three local authority areas of Liverpool, Sefton
and Wirral. Of the 122,596 properties in the NewHeartlands area,
Liverpool accounts for the largest share with 76,209. The NewHeartlands
areas in Wirral and Sefton contain 23,882 and 22,505 dwellings
respectively. Each of the three NewHeartlands areas has its own
social, economic and demographic characteristics. The area as
a whole is characterised by a preponderance of low-value terraced
and otherwise monolithic housing—typically with limited
space and sometimes failing to meet decency standards. There is
a low level of owner-occupied housing, with higher levels of social
housing and generally high—and in some areas extremely high—levels
of privately rented stock. What unites the NewHeartlands area
is the presence of housing neighbourhoods in which markets no
longer function in a viable way.
Given the scale of these problems, the vision
for NewHeartlands is appropriately bold. It seeks to address not
only housing market issues, but to rebuild the community infrastructure—both
economic and social—and turn all the constituent neighbourhoods
into places where people want to live. The four main goals of
NewHeartlands are:
— To create the conditions for the
revival of housing markets in the NewHeartlands area;
— To create attractive and sustainable
urban neighbourhoods through the delivery of a more balanced mix
of housing, with values and types to meet the needs of the existing
population and which help attract new residents;
— To build sustainable communities,
ensure community cohesion and safeguard investment through the
provision of quality public services and through the development
of supporting infrastructure; and
— To contribute to the competitiveness
and prosperity of the wider Merseyside conurbation and the North
West region.
NewHeartlands has developed strategic plans
to achieve these goals and restructure the local housing market
over a 10-15 year period. This involves investing in the physical
infrastructure, environmental improvements and neighbourhood management
services with the aim of creating thriving communities and improving
Merseyside's economic and competitive position within the UK.
2. GENERAL PROGRESS
To date, NewHeartlands has made substantial
progress to date in terms of:
— The core Pathfinder and local delivery
teams have been established.
— Preferred developers and lead RSL's have
been identified within Liverpool and Sefton with Wirral set to
confirm in March 2005.
— As of 19 January 2005 NewHeartlands was
operating at 107% of forecast spend profile for financial year
2004-05.
— Analysis of existing programmes and forecast
commitments indicates that the full allocation of £34.35
million for the current financial year will be taken up.
— Contingency arrangements are in place
to support rapid virement of resources across projects and local
authorities.
— The Early Action Programme resulted in
"quick wins" for NewHeartlands in terms of the Living
Through Change initiative, environmental investments, strategic
research projects and the acquisitions programme.
— Substantial progress has been made with
regard to the allocation of main programme funding to deliver
strategic site assembly and acquisitions
— The demolition programme has commenced
across the Pathfinder.
— Masterplanning/Neighbourhood Renewal
Assessments have been completed in the intervention areas earmarked
for major investment in the period 2003-06.
3. THE SCOPE
AND SCALE
OF THE
INITIATIVES PROPOSED
AND UNDERWAY
IN THE
HMRF AREAS AND
IN OTHER
AREAS WITH
PROBLEMS OF
EMPTY HOMES
The NewHeartlands Prospectus sets out the case
for major interventions across a significant geographical area
on Merseyside. The programme involves the allocation of resources
across a number of key themes to bring about the wholesale restructuring
of the housing market in terms of property type, tenure mix and
value in the intervention areas identified. The key themes are
as follows:
Housing clearance
Acquisition and clearance programmes play a
key part in programmed activity. The plans in all three local
authority areas are informed by detailed research and focus on
identified "hot spots".
Strategic Site Assembly / New Development
The acquisition of strategic sites for development
supplements the NewHeartlands clearance programme. Investment
in new housing is achieved from a variety of sources with private
developers delivering new opportunities for owner occupation and
housing association/Housing Corporation funding delivering affordable
housing.
Improvements to retained stock
In addition to the new build programme, there
is a programme of improvements to homes within the private sector
across NewHeartlands. This is a vital part of the delivery plan
providing temporary accommodation for local people while the HMR
programme is delivered and raising the quality of existing properties
to meet the Government's Decent Homes Standard.
Living Through Change
The Living Through Change (LTC) programme supports
pathfinder residents during the delivery phase of HMR. The programme
includes a range of initiatives to ensure a comfortable and secure
transition as neighbourhoods are re-developed. It is anchored
around:
— neighbourhood management and security
measures;
— financial and relocation advice;
and
— assistance with home maintenance
and improvements.
Environmental Investments
The NewHeartlands programme includes action
to create high quality environments to complement the property
based developments. The key aims of this work are to improve the
look, feel and use of open space within neighbourhoods.
4. THE COMMITMENT
AND CONTRIBUTION
OF ALL
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
AND OTHER
AGENCIES TO
TACKLING THE
UNDERLYING CAUSES
OF LOW
DEMAND
The inclusion of LSP representatives from each
of the local authority areas on the NewHeartlands Board alongside
representatives from Government Office North West, English Partnerships,
the Regional Development Agency and the Housing Corporation, ensures
a broad strategy perspective and awareness of complementary projects
and initiatives. This resource provides the Pathfinder with an
inbuilt structure that highlights opportunities for engagement,
commitment and contribution that can be developed to enhance performance.
5. THE DISSEMINATION
OF GOOD
PRACTICE
NewHeartlands contributes to the dissemination
of good practice within the Pathfinder and across the HMR sector
in a number of ways including:
— Hosting conferences and briefing
sessions for stakeholders on key issues such as Living through
Change and Financial support for Homeowners.
— Piloting initiatives such as the
Landlord Accreditation Scheme prior to roll out at a sub-regional
level.
— Establishment of an RSL forum to
engage and exchange information with our housing association partners.
— Publication of key documents such
as "Fulfilling The Potential".
— Sharing of approaches and odels with
colleagues in other Pathfinders through the national Communications
and Finance Groups.
Whilst these initiatives given an indication
of how NewHeartlands is actively committed to sharing good practice
it is by no means an exhaustive list.
6. HAVE COUNCILS
SUFFICIENT POWERS
TO TACKLE
THE PROBLEM
OF EMPTY
HOMES IN
THEIR AREAS?
The consensus view of our local authority partners
is that while the powers are generally sufficient there is an
issue around the availability of resources. In addition, action
to streamline the CPO process, whilst maintaining and protecting
the need for fairness, transparency and openness, would be most
welcome. This issue impacts on the Pathfinder programme with regard
to strategic site assembly and demolition and has the potential
to hinder delivery of housing market restructuring on Merseyside.
7. THE PRIORITY
GIVEN TO
DEMOLITION OF
HOMES AND
THE CONSIDERATION
GIVEN TO
EFFECTIVE MEANS
OF REFURBISHMENT
Demolition has a high priority in the early
stages of the NewHeartlands delivery programme as we seek to create
the essential development opportunities for our delivery partners.
Alongside strategic site acquisition it accounts for a high proportion
of resource allocation to date.
The tactical refurbishment of private sector
properties augments the demolition and site assembly process providing
decant opportunities and delivering quality improvements to the
overall property portfolio.
8. THE AVAILABILITY
OF THE
NECESSARY SKILLS
AND TRAINING
TO SUPPORT
STAFF PROMOTING
PROJECTS TO
TACKLE THE
NEEDS OF
AREAS WITH
WEAK HOUSING
MARKETS
The scarcity of individuals with the appropriate
skill set and experience to deliver major regeneration programmes
is undoubtedly a challenge for NewHeartlands. Initiatives to address
the issue include:
— The establishment of a local regeneration
academy providing bespoke training and support for personnel within
the regeneration sector.
— Partner developers committing to
a common approach to training and development.
— The creation of a range of formal
apprenticeships directly related to long term HMR contracts.
— The provision of secondment opportunities
for graduate trainees employed within partner organisations.
9. HOW HOUSING
MARKET RENEWAL
IS ADDRESSED
IN OTHER
STRATEGIES, INCLUDING
LOCAL AND
REGIONAL PLANS
AND OTHER
REGENERATION PROGRAMMES
Action to achieve strategic alignment between
HMR and complementary strategies takes place at both a local and
sub-regional level. At a local level NewHeartlands' local authority
partners have established structures and mechanisms to integrate
HMR with a variety of strategy areas including:
— neighbourhood renewal; and
From an operational perspective strategic alignment
is supported by the use of tools such as masterplanning and geographical
information systems/mapping and by regular multi-agency meetings
at officer level. This approach supports proactive communication
and information sharing and promotes joined-up decision making
and strategy planning.
At a sub-regional level, NewHeartlands has engaged
with other stakeholders to facilitate strategic alignment. This
is evidenced with regard to participation in the Merseyside Housing
Forum and Merseyside Planning Officers Group through which joint
submissions have been made concerning regional housing strategy,
economic strategy, spatial strategy and the Northern Way. These
relationships will be developed and cemented as the HMR programme
evolves through joint working on a range of sub-regional initiatives
such as the ongoing market intelligence/research project.
10. HOW PATHFINDERS
ARE SEEKING
TO INVOLVE
THE PRIVATE
SECTOR IN
THEIR LONG
TERM PLANNING
AND PROGRAMMES
NewHeartlands has taken a proactive approach
to engaging with the private sector at all levels. Preferred developers
have been appointed to work with us in all intervention areas
across the pathfinder. Our developer partners have been actively
involved in the planning, communication and consultation process
and are making a valuable contribution to the delivery of housing
market renewal.
At a strategic level, NewHeartlands has appointed
two private sector board members with plans to recruit a third
in the near future. Their presence and participation on the board
delivers a breadth of experience and expertise that complements
the skill set of public sector colleagues and ensures a fresh
perspective when considering the issues and challenges we face.
The private (third) sector is also playing a
vital role in delivering housing market renewal on the ground.
We have appointed a number of preferred housing associations to
work in specific intervention areas and they are developing new
models of neighbourhood management to complement investment in
the physical infrastructure. At a strategic level the associations
are represented by an RSL forum. This was set up by NewHeartlands
to support engagement across the sector and provides a vehicle
for combining operational practice, strategic engagement and coordinated
investment.
Recognising the increasing role of private sector
landlords in pathfinder areas, NewHeartlands has piloted a Private
Landlord Accreditation scheme to be rolled out across the sub-region
in the next two years. In return for signing up to a specific
code of practice, the scheme provides incentives and support for
landlords enabling them to be part of, and benefit from, housing
market renewal.
NewHeartlands is also exploring ways of engaging
with private sector financial institutions to become funding partners
for the delivery of financial support for homeowners. This would
significantly extend the potential reach of any product and would
release public sector resources to support other areas of the
housing market renewal programme.
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