REGENERATION FEEDBACK FROM HOUSING FORUM
2 SEPTEMBER 2010
1st group
NEW HOMES
Want Milton Keynes to grow.
Guinness/Midsummer Youth Facilities/Foyer for Youth – helps sustainable communities.
Also need health centres/doctors/shops/major road links for buses/schools.
Infrastructure particularly water.
What about the finance for new homes.
Newton Lees – not suitable for lifelong homes.
Making all homes adaptable may restrict other’s opportunities i.e. young people. Would it be sensible to have different floors.
Priority should be on 2 bedrooms/still enable people to have visitors.
Need more than 30% social housing.
Right to Buy – is it being got rid of if not how do you stop them being sold.
No controls over owner occupiers.
Carbon issues are good.
Conventional build.
Visits to view new ideas e.g. OxleyPark.
Housing too dense.
New homes should have more sound proofing.
Would a swap be allowed to new houses.
Would like larger rooms/as most are small for 1st time buyers.
Maybe shared facilities between estates to encourage community feeling not isolation.
2 bed houses with small gardens.
Affordable for single people/more shared ownership.
Affordable housing should be top of the list.
Pathways should be wide enough.
MANAGING EXISTING STOCK
Management standards.
Rubbish should be cleared better.
Educate new people going into properties, don’t know how to look after a property.
Supported new tenants.
Cases may be intentionally homeless.
Inspections of property regular.
Handbook/tenancy agreements should be signed that they have been read.
Allocation policy.
Council need early encouragement for tenants to become involved.
Maintenance standards.
Grounds maintenance should be better/more consistent.
Private Housing Stock
Inspection needed on these if Council tenant in there Council should be doing it.
Powers to enforce on private owners/tenants.Ho
Allocations – bartering/award scheme.
Gardening schemes for elderly/disabled persons.
Encourage a new group of people to get involved.
SUPPORTING RESIDENTS
Make sure check and involve all voluntary groups – make use of existing skills and techniques.
NAG only involved as part of a group initially.
Each estate has different needs/requirements although things can be learnt.
Council don’t react quickly enough.
Estate surgeries on a regular basis.
Ringing Council has improved but don’t get enough feedback.
Visits for newcomers to give assistance/enforcement.
Directory to provide points of contact.
19-25 year olds need help paying rent/earlier intervention.
Managing money schemes.
Residents/volunteers provide basic lessons, e.g. cooking with support from the Council.
Support/training needs to come from relevant people who will be listened to.
2nd Group
NEW HOMES
How many jobs are created, if we are an overspill town, can the hospitals/infrastructure cope? Migration and immigration figures.
Sustainable communities – jobs, local shops, health centres.
Everything accessible.
Open space, play areas.
Make-up of the residents i.e. all same age group/mixed – debated owners/tenants. Balanced.
Transport links + affordable and goes where you want to go.
Type of homes – homes for pensioners.
Fewer flats built on mass – leads to parking difficulties.
More family dwellings.
Small single persons – not necessarily bedsits – need parking!
Rental accommodation – not so much for sale. To deal with HiMO problem.
Rental value to match government guidelines for HB therefore affordable for people.
Minimum room size standards including height (Parker Morris).
Two toilets.
Enough storage including bikes and disabled scooters.
Durable materials – not plastic plumbing!
Place to dry washing.
Enough parking including for visitors.
Enough power points – double not single!
Some sort of outside space i.e. garden/balcony.
Somewhere to put rubbish.
MANAGING EXISTING STOCK
Local standards for different areas to reflect differences i.e. Fishermead/Fenny Stratford.
H&S checks regularly.
Who manages what?
Environment included (garden, external).
Highest possible.
Can’t force people to paint house, etc. or to clean windows.
Disabled adaptations – quicker!
Why does 1 person go in two-bedroom and 2 people are in one-bedroom!
Needs to be fair and deal with all sorts.
- Working. Young
Local connection, especially 2nd generation local people.
Council to allocate HiMOs??
- list of available rooms to help those who can’t be rehoused by MKC.
SUPPORTING RESIDENTS
Depends on area, should be locally targeted.
Provide community space – affordable and accessible to local people.
Warden service – affordable if not on benefits.
Plus bus – make it affordable.
*Council needs to understand what people actually need* and respond to contact, return calls.
Make sure facilities are what they need i.e. disabled facilities (light switch height), (disabled bays for parking).
Visits from people to check ok.
Contact people. Go out to the people.
Be accessible.
Provide facilities they need.
Transport links to enable people to move around the city – access to jobs and shops and parks.
Devolve more support services to Parish/Community Councils.
3rd Group
NEW HOMES
How many?
Realistically 1,500 p.a.
What do we mean by sustainable communities?
Linking community facilities.
Hospitals, schools, transport.
Mixed ages – Sheltered Housing.
Status as well.
Mixed tenure.
What type of homes?
Studio
Larger properties can lead to HiMOs.
Homes where it is easier to convert the loft NOT the garage.
No more 3-storey houses.
Sheltered housing in each area.
What tenure?
More Council/Housing Association.
Reservations about shared ownership – starts as affordable but becomes unaffordable after 1st sale.
What quality and standards?
Roads decent size for parking + emergency access, amenity vehicles, i.e. Serco.
Public transport – access.
Less density of development.
‘Garden-grabbing’)Should not be
Amenity land-grabbing)allowed.
‘Decent Homes’ standard – minimum standard.
‘Parker Morris’ should be an aspiration.
Disabled access to back gardens.
MANAGING EXISTING STOCK
Management standards?
Co-ordination of regulations and legislation – e.g. Fire regulations, landlords insurance.
Recognise and praise good landlords.
Support landlords.
Accreditation Scheme – ‘Star’ rating system locally supported by central government.
What sanctions are there against landlords?
Removal of accreditation?
Should know who the landlord is.
Maintenance Standards?
Inside and outside.
Timespan to complete – Council step in if timescales are exceeded, and bill the landlord.
Prioritise work – in private and council sector.
Allocations and nominations – policy and practice
Need more information about how the Council allocate properties.
The Council should do more to check on occupancy of Council properties.
The Council should work more closely with the community e.g. residents association, parish council, to check occupancy.
SUPPORTING RESIDENTS
What support do you want to see?
Residents Welcome Pack – with Council Tax bill.
‘Greeter’ idea is good.
‘Useful numbers’ information.
Information, particularly useful for people from outside the area.
Right person in right home – how do we support them?
Role for residents association and/or Parish Council.
How do we get support to those that need it?
Internet.
Schools/nurseries.
Noticeboards.
Doctors/dentists.
Parish magazines.
NAGs, RAs.
Specialist support agencies e.g. Lighthouse, religious organisations, CAB.
Help to residents – thrive
Cohesion.
Community Centres.
Show residents that we are interested in them.
Community activity – fun days, coach trips.
Challenge media stereotypes and challenge negativity.
Promote and acknowledge community achievements.
Sports – healthy + community development.
Well managed facilities – accounts kept, etc.
4th Group
NEW HOMES
How many? Why type/size/tenure/quality
Sustainable community?What is it?
How many?Factor in number of homeless in MK – hidden + obvious.
Do we know how many people live in HiMOs
Absolute minimum is housing need figure 3,366/3,500 p.a.
Type?More 2 sheltered housing 2 bed properties, especially for more elderly residents
1beds also needed.
Tenure/mix? Mix of tenure should reflect financial ability of residents – identify how it is made up clearly e.g. x 1 bed x 2 bed etc. - clearly define number and type of social housing.
Quality?Carbon neutral as possible. Sustainable – long term life of the home. No compromise on environmental standards.
Spare standards – Parker Morris – desirable
Insulation
Sustainable
CommunitiesSafer by design/designing out crime
Smaller estates/community areas – know your neighbours – become more community minded.
MANAGING EXISTING STOCK
Advice/enforcement/accreditation
Standards across MK across all tenures
Tackle poor housing across all tenures
Neighbourhood housing led regeneration
Tackle under-occupation/overcrowding/tackle empty homes
Helping those people who want to move now but cannot afford to do so.
Improving existing stock of decanting locally so as not to lose community.
Under occupied homes – incentivise residents to move (without forcing them)/down-size. Make it as easy as possible. An attractive proposition.
Management and maintenance standards – better mechanisms for MKC to enforce i.e. private sector/landlords.
Voluntary accreditation scheme/enforcabiity issues – incentives needed.
Campaigning to change law to be able to enforce landlords to maintain their properties.
Window replacement v Decent Homes standards
– being forced to comply with national standards, more flexibility!
Allocations/nominations – Policy and Practice
Protecting the vulnerable important
Shared allocation regulation a good thing
SUPPORTING RESIDENTS
Supporting residents to thrive – especially young and elderly.
Action Groups to form a joined –up approach/avoiding duplication. Directory of services.
‘Welcomers’ on estate to meet and greet
Inter estate sport
Parish Councils and Neighbourhood Action Groups
Common quality via SLAs/Common Assessment Framework
Community workforce
What support do you want to see?
Young people/older people/disability?
Supporting people in the community – how do you get to hard to reach?
How do residents turn
Community buildings important – run by the community and residents helping themselves.
Neighbourliness – caring for others in the community.
Design of housing – making it easy for people to interact.
Easy access to local facilities e.g. shops/cafes/laundrettes
Community Mobilisers a positive thing/facilitating events, training etc. Enabling the community to help themselves.
Employment important/getting people back into employment.
Supporting the vulnerable back into society.
Initiated by the community/facilitation but community supports itself therefore sustainable.
Linking agencies to provide best support.
5th Group
NEW HOMES
If estates are too big then it gets too difficult to get to bus stops.
Better management/access to stock will contribute towards a sustainable community.
Affordable housing important for everyone!!!
Private rented housing is increasingly becoming unaffordable.
Everyone has to ‘buy in’ to the sustainable communities idea e.g. TRANSPORT, Housing Benefit.
If anything 3,366 new homes a year seems to be a low number given the way MK has grown.
Getting city status will help us to get the money we need.
Roads have to be big enough to drive down/park.
Good quality public transport vital.
Size of properties (space standards important)/ storage space/noise.
Creative housing/flexible – adjust as needs change.
Query re 1 & 2 bed homes – don’t forget the needs of larger households.
MANAGING EXISTING STOCK
Keep on top of repairs.
Tackle the problem of empty homes.
People need the means to access homes.
Rethink the framework/nominations system.
Don’t forget gardens/landscaping etc. – this needs looking after – trees.
Standards need to move with the times, e.g. double-glazing.
Rents going up but maintenance doesn’t.
Foster/encourage more community spirit (e.g. clean up sessions every 6 months, everyone comes out) – It would help people get involved especially young people.
Seems unfair to allocate just on ‘needs’ – working people/people on low incomes seem to lose out.
A more balanced allocations scheme (example of non-priority allocations scheme in London).
Cost of private rent seems very high.
Very different in Europe, e.g. Spain, Germany re community spirit/more affordable renting.
SUPPORTING RESIDENTS
New town – people moving here often without grandparents/relatives.
Use local free paper to give people information about what groups, etc. services there are.
Parish magazines source of information.
Co-ordination important to get the overall perspective.
Community mobilisers/development workers and make sure people know about their activities.
Health and well-being – example of therapeutic effects of massage for people with neurological conditions but no trained staff available to give it.
Lack of equipment access to various services affects a wide range of groups (from older people to people with disabilities.)
Families support vital – pressures of modern living can lead to things like youth homelessness.
Definitely more ground floor accommodation for people with disabilities/older people.
Aids/adaptations – wait of two years too long!!!
Room for carers/recharge scooters.
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