Housing

"without further action housing will become one of the greatest sources of social inequality in the next 20 years….Every part of the country needs more affordable homes - in the north and the south, in urban and rural communities… We need more homes - but we need better designed, more sustainable homes." Yvette Cooper, Housing Minister speaking at the launch of the housing green paper July 2007. 

The government has recognised the need for major investment in more affordable and more sustainable homes.  The Prime Minister has announced the need for 3 million more homes by 2020 and has set out a pledge of an additional three billion investment for housing.  Spiraling house prices and a lack of affordable homes provide a major challenge.  The picture on the ground is more complex however and includes areas of poor quality neighbourhoods plagued by low employment and incomes, limited aspirations and a decaying infrastructure.  Bricks and mortar are only part of the answer.  The major issue for the housing policymaker and practitioner is being able to tailor their approach to meet the needs of local communities.  This is the only way to ensure that the benefits of intervention are long term.  Factoring in the full range of social, economic and environmental issues is essential to meet the objective of creating sustainable communities.

ECOTEC's dedicated housing team is experienced in working with local authorities and national and regional agencies to develop and implement housing and planning policy.  We work with housing associations and local authorities to support business planning and asset management and with a range of sub-regional partnerships to understand markets and develop policies and strategies to support sustainable and successful communities.

ECOTEC can help you: 

• Understand and define your housing market;
• Carry out Strategic Housing Market Assessment
• Prepare housing investment programmes;
• Develop your housing strategy and policy;
• Understand market change – migration, private rented sector, affordability;
• Evaluate your effectiveness;
• Plan and manage your activities.

Service Portfolio: How effectively do Housing Associations meet BME housing needs?

We reviewed the most recent literature and a sample of inspection reports and analysed performance and lettings data, mapped current and changing BME locations and a undertook a series of stakeholder interviews.

 

Our research looked at

 

• the representation of different BME groups in RSL accommodation
• the differences that specialist BME RSLs offer and their effectiveness 
• the community based services provided by RSLs
• the extent to which housing-led interventions can support the movement of BME households into new areas
• the extent of information sharing on BME housing issues and
• the RSL role in meeting the needs of Gypsy & Traveller communities

 

Our work informed Housing Corporation future research and data collection priorities.

karl.held@ecotec.com
+44 121 616 36 00

Other projects in this Portfolio