QUOTE (Richard Garvie @ Feb 16 2011, 08:14 AM)
Affordable housing is much different from social housing Exhausted. Affordable housing can is typically housing that is built to lower specification so that it is cheaper for first time buyers.
The Home and Communities Agency (HCA) defines 'Affordable Housing' in a less jaundiced manner, and states that it not only includes home for private sale, but includes "homes for social rent". The reality is that along with the rest of the South East we desperately need more homes. At this moment the HCA state that there "are 1.7m households on council waiting lists for rented accommodation, and the national average house price is increasingly out of reach for many". Sadly in this area I have met people who have been on housing lists for suitable accommodation for almost ten years.
Such people urgently require either affordable housing or due to socio-economic and other needs, Social housing, which is housing that is let at low rents and on a secure basis to people in housing need. Such housing is generally provided by councils and not-for-profit organisations such as housing associations. Within West Berkshire the majority of social housing is provided by Housing Associations such as Sovereign. The reality is that we require an increase in ALL types of housing, and the highest standards should be maintained throughout, irrespective of whom the residents are, and how they pay for their homes.
The HCA act in a quality assurance manner and maintain that "all new build affordable homes will have to meet the HCA’s quality and design standards, including environmental sustainability levels and minimum room sizes in excess of those in the private sector". Naturally there is a responsibility on local authorities also to make sure that private building contractors adhere to these standards and that the planning regulations are not breached. There is also a need that appropriate services such as education, health, transport and afforded leisure amenities are included within all new builds, otherwise future problems will be created for the cohesion of these and the surrounding communities. The last thing tat we need to do is create more urban ghettos!
Lastly it is concerning that some people too easily draw a parallel between social and affordable housing with anti-social behaviour, vandalism and criminality. Such stigmatisation of individuals and the communities in which they live, even before such communities have been created is hardly healthy for the development of greater inclusion. As has been evidenced from the development of other communities both within the UK and overseas, much anti-social behaviour and certain crimes can be 'designed out' in the planning stages of establishing new housing. For this to happen though there is a need for a true partnership approach between the private and public sectors, along with knowing what the needs are for the residents of such areas, both today and into the future.
There needs to be an honest and open debate about where new developments should be placed and not whether such developments should be built. The 'not in my back yard' approach is unrealistic in todays society. We live in the South East where there is an urgent need for housing, because this is where there is the greatest demand. Housing is directly linked to economic regeneration, and if the UK wishes to 'bounce back' economically, then its needs to invest in, and improve its infrastructure, and thereby enhance housing, transport, health and education.