ROOF Blog

A new website - data.gov.uk - allows people to access 2,500 sets of official data, some of it never released before, from across Government departments. They include everything from crime rates, house prices and tidal predictions, to the numbers of people issued with antisocial behaviour orders living in people’s areas. Its creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited with founding the internet 20 years ago, admitted the scale of the information available, which will eventually be searchable by postcode, will mean that social inequalities between different areas will quickly become apparent. There was a risk that some areas would seem like ‘ghettoes’ compared to others, he said, although this was not necessarily a bad thing as it would create pressure on politicians to spend money on improving the worse-off areas.

A major study on the impact of devolution on the most disadvantaged people and places has shown that despite falling poverty and improving employment levels in the devolved countries, most significant progress has been down to reserved (UK) powers. The research, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), explore trends in social and economic disadvantage and policy developments in four key areas: housing and homelessness; employment; neighbourhood regeneration and long-term care for older people.

The importance of social housing’s ‘heartlanders’ and their activism has been revealed in a report that says the most prominent group of social housing tenants are highly active in their neighbourhoods and play a crucial role in bonding communities. David Eastgate, Hyde Group chief executive, said: ‘Heartlanders are the glue of local communities and in many instances play a more active role than homeowners. They take on the responsibility to deliver regeneration and ensure sustainability.’ The report makes a number of policy recommendations to unlock the potential of those living in social housing.

With the largest council housebuilding programme for nearly two decades already underway, housing minister John Healey has doubled government cash for new council homes. Mr Healey announced 73 councils covering every region of England will share an extra £122.6m. Councils will match this second round government grant bringing investment in this round to £246m, and total public investment in the programme as a whole to over £500m to build more than 4,000 new council homes for 8,000 people. In a clear break with council houses of the past, Mr Healey also confirmed that many will be new family homes, whilst all will be highly energy efficient and add to the mixed make-up of local neighbourhoods.

An elderly couple were allowed to die in their freezing home after neighbours’ pleas to authorities for help were ignored, it has been claimed. Jean and Derek Randall were found dead in their home in Northampton by police as Britain was gripped by the coldest winter in 30 years. Sally Keeble, the pensioners’ MP, has now called for an inquiry claiming ‘major failures’ led to the couple being neglected by care workers. Mr Randall, 76, had been trying to get his wife, 79, into a care home after realising that his own flagging health left him incapable of caring for her. Neighbours claimed they repeatedly contacted the county council, NHS staff and charities for over a month about the couple’s plight, but their warnings were allegedly never acted on. Northamptonshire County Council said it was investigating.

As many as 95,200 homeowners over the last two years decided they could no longer remain in their properties because of fights with neighbours, according to a survey.

However, the most common reasons for moving home saw one in three households move to climb up the property ladder and one in five moving because they needed more room, based on a total of 680,000 home owners moving since 2007.

Other popular reasons for moving home included relocating to a new job and moving into a better school catchment area.

Homeowners who are selling their properties are required by law to declare any arguments they have had with their neighbours.

A panel has been set up to ensure that new homes meet the needs of an increasingly ageing population. The housing our ageing population panel for innovation comprises of architects and specialists who will research good practice across Europe that will create housing for older people and improve the availability and choice of sustainable homes and neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile a report has found that poor quality housing is holding back the economic potential of the North. The report says that northern towns and cities have a poor range of housing, in particular a lack of high quality residential homes which is limiting the potential of the region. Greater diversity of stock is needed to attract key workers to industries in the knowledge economies – a ‘vital area of growth for the North’. The report calls for the Homes and Communities Agency to switch its funding from the decent homes programme to a more broadly focused decent neighbourhood programme.

The planning system must not become a ‘tool for promoting economic development’, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said, setting out its vision for the future of the English countryside. The CPRE describes the countryside it wants to see by 2026, its centenary year, as where urban regeneration contributes to green space, affordable housing, vibrant neighbourhoods and people-friendly transport. It expects more than two million ‘high quality homes’ will have been built and energy efficient buildings and low carbon communities would be commonplace. It also wants more planning decisions to be taken locally.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has launched a new initiative to highlight how going low-carbon can deliver affordable homes. The sustainable cities initiative aims to help local authorities create better places to live. It has published a series of proposals on sustainable neighbourhoods, energy performance and efficiency, planning for climate change and green infrastructure.