ROOF Blog

Figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed almost 30,000 social homes are being left empty for more than six months, despite the 1.77 million families waiting for social housing. The Lib Dems have been calling on the government to cut VAT on repair works to make it cheaper to bring empty homes back into use. Recent Communities and Local Government figures indicate that there are 327,857 long term empty properties in England.

An eco-village in South Gloucestershire, which has been billed as England’s first large scale zero carbon development, has been given full planning permission. Hanham Hall, a development between Barratt Developments and the Homes and Communities Agency will have 195 zero-carbon homes built to the highest level 6 standards, and will be run day to day by a community owned and run trust.

John Denham has been appointed secretary to the department for Communities and Local Government.

A website offering legal advice on environmental problems to help communities know their rights and responsibilities has been set up. It covers the main areas of environmental law and explains where to go for help.

Hazel Blears has resigned from the Cabinet, after coming under pressure in the parliamentary expenses scandal. She says she will remain MP for Salford but wants to return to grassroots activism.

Communities minister Hazel Blears told parliament yesterday that economic recovery rested in giving local people more say in the decisions that affect them. She said it was vital that councils had the freedom, flexibility and ability to support local communities. Her comments came as she announced the release of a progress report into last July’s White Paper which aimed to give communities control over local decisions. 

Residents of a street in south Yorkshire have clubbed together to change the name of their street, after spending years being the butt of jokes. Butt Hole Road in Conisborough is being renamed Archers Way after residents putting up with years of tourists baring their erm… all, beside the street sign for photos, while delivery drivers refused to believe the street existed.

A report has said that five new supercities will evolve in the coming 20 years as the country increasingly focuses on new economic endeavours based on scientific innovation. The report Future of Business said changes were being driven by the recession which will push new ways of working, increase international business and encourage entrepreneurship. It named the supercities as Brighton, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Newcastle, and called the changes the biggest transformation in the UK since the industrial revolution.

And in related news, a House of Commons communities and local government select committee says councils should have more autonomy to shape the development of their communities. The MPs found that large city and county councils feel that they are not being given sufficient scope to develop their role, and called for central government and its agencies not to intervene in local issues as quickly.

Families with disabled children feel alienated from their communities and suffer because of a lack of services, a new report from charity Contact a Family says. More than 65 per cent of those questioned said they believe understanding and acceptance of disability is poor and described feeling stigmatised and shut out. A further 40 per cent said they lacked support services such as access a key worker, or childcare, and 64 per cent said they did not feel valued by society in their role as a carer.