The Community Preservation Corporation’s Post

One reason historically why there haven't been more tenants on boards of #socialhousing providers is that the boards concerned were worried about tenants having a vested interest personally, or as a representative for their fellow tenants. There is nothing at all wrong, with the notion that tenants are not wholly independent non-executive directors (known as INEDs), i.e an individual on a board who has no affiliation contractually, financially or in some other intangible way with the organisation. Governance in practice recognises the status of what Professor Bob Tricker refers to in his seminal bible called 'Corporate Governance' as connected non-executive directors (CNEDs). In the private sector, CNEDs are often appointed to boards to represent a stakeholder's interest, eg an outside shareholder with a significant minority ownership stake in the business. Patrick Dunne, author of one of my favourite books on #corporategovernance, 'Boards' who has fulfilled both INED and CNED roles for many years, says that independence on a board is about mindset rather than status. Dunne explains this in the following way; 'although...very few people are genuinely independent in every sense, I believe that it is possible to be objective and independent of mind even if you have an interest in the outcome.' I would have hoped that in 2024 we were past the point of objecting to tenants on boards because they are not considered independent, but I fear that this is not the case. When I was a housing consultant back in the Nineties and Noughties, one of the by-products of housing being transferred from local authorities to housing associations was that the boards of the newly established HAs had to have one-third of their directors who were tenants or leaseholders of the LA's formerly owned properties. This ensured a direct level of accountability for the new organisations to fulfil the promises they had made to residents before they were set up. Tenants received training and support to fulfil their board duties. Instead of the stock transfer HAs being seen as a beacon for a more progressive approach to housing #governance, the reverse happened. Gradually over the past twenty years, tenant members (and LA members) of stock transfer boards have been whittled down to almost zero. Even community gateway housing providers struggle to identify tenants who are willing to be nominated to their boards; not surprising if don't feel valued there. Tenants on boards should not be regarded as a special category. They are connected NEDs with as much right to be in the boardroom as anyone else. As Peter Apps' article indicates, the tide may be turning back towards tenant board members. Let's hope this isn't another false dawn. Jenny Osbourne MBE Jane Eyles Jess McCabe martin hilditch James Tickell alistair mcintosh Dr. Aasia Nisar Stuart Macdonald Kate Still FCIH FRSA Aileen Evans Tom Murtha Lara Oyedele Ian Wright Matthew Gardiner Tpas England Inside Housing

In the first episode of CMS UK’s new series of #PlanningAheadwithCMS focussing on housing, Nicola Insley explains how different types of housing have developed to meet the needs of the population. Build to rent, later living, co-living, affordable housing and student accommodation are collectively described as “alt resi”. Some see alt resi as an investment opportunity, others an innovative way to meet housing need, but there can be concerns around meeting space standards, residential amenity and whether this really is a partial answer to the housing crisis.   Nicola Insley explains how the law, national policy, and local plans are starting to catch-up and regulate how and where alt-resi can be delivered.   Follow #PlanningAheadwithCMS to catch the next episode in our new series #housingseries covering affordable housing.   Click the link below to access Episode 1 of our Housing series and to catch up on our other episodes: https://lnkd.in/eRre7ydr   CMS UK CMS Scotland CMS Infrastructure - UK   #CMSlaw #PlanningAheadwithCMS #PlanningLaw #CMSUK

Stephen Connor CIHCM at today’s The Scottish Parliament Housing and Planning Committee: Housing to 2040 Review: How do we maintain affordable rents if ultimately, we are going to continue to increase rents to deliver on the challenges we are facing during the cost-of-living crisis? Tenant participation, customer led scrutiny, and housing services at local level are going from strength to strength, and more needs to be done to also see this reflected at a national level too. 💭 https://lnkd.in/esjYMucW

This is well worth a read and could provide valuable insight as to the types of changes we could see in the short, medium and long term intended to address the current housing crisis. Dame Kate Barker, Chair of Radix Big Tent has prepared a public memorandum to the new Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook MP, making various recommendations relating to planning funding and implementation. Some highlights - - the need for policies to recognise the important role the rented sector has to play (both institutional and private), to re-dress the perceived importance of home-ownership. - move away from short-term competitive funding models towards a more streamlined approached focussed on longer term needs and recognising the opportunity that exists with the transition towards greater devolution - Enabling public sector land to be used more effectively for housing - Establishing a more effective approach to Strategic Planning by making it a mandatory function, establishing a Strategic Planning team within MHCLG, and a network of spatial planning teams across combined authorities, counties and an amalgamation of unitary authorities - Commission an independent review of the metropolitan Green Belt (this could also help to answer the question as to how grey belt land is to be identified?) - Support SME and community-led developers by amending the NPPF and LURA/NDMP's to allow the Local Plan site allocation process to be by-passed and offering more support to the Permission in Principle process - Rethinking the role of Homes England as a master developer potentially working with Development Corporations - will help to accelerate the delivery of sites, support affordable housing delivery and could boost land supply for SME's Will be interesting to see how these recommendations are received by the Department and how many progress! #housingreform #nppf #strategicplanning #SMEdevelopers #planningpolicy #infrastructurefunding #housingcrisis Justin Cove Mark Vaughan Stuart Sage Nick Thompson Suzanne Asher Josh Plant Jenna Crombie Robert Theaker

The second annual Central Texas Affordability Summit was recently held by Amplify Credit Union on May 23. The event brought together Amplify members, Mayor Kirk Watson, and a panel consisting of Heather Donahue from MOD Architecture and Design, Jeremy Striffler from Austin ISD, and Hannah Rangel from the Downtown Austin Alliance. The summit aimed to address the issue of housing affordability in the area and explore innovative solutions, such as revising development codes and promoting local workforce growth. #austin #affordability #ATX #economicdevelopment https://lnkd.in/g-PvrPz4

Early in my career a mentor told me strategic land and housebuilding is a "good game played slowly". This resonated with me when reading the Beyond Barker report where a number of issues remain 20 years on since 2004 (weighted towards the slow part!). Will the issues surrounding resourcing, the skills shortage and the linkage between housing, jobs and infrastructure be truly dealt with by 2044... Or, do they collect as a political hot potato that will constantly evolve and disproportionate challenges will always exist? The report 👇 from Home Builders Federation is worth a read.

With a raft of regulatory changes on the way in England, a new toolkit is looking to help smaller associations navigate the system. Jo Allen, head of member relations at the National Housing Federation, and Catherine Little MBA CIHCM director at Campbell Tickell, explain how: 👉 https://loom.ly/cJJoOHY #UKhousing #regulation

Could this be part of the ‘new dawn’ of planning? Clearly however planning does not only equal housing. Housing is of course important but more important is: 1) the national and regional infrastructure to generate and distribute enough power to where it is needed; 2) data centres to deliver the the fibre and processing capacity our daily lives require; and 3) clean water to drink and then not pollute our watercourses. Sir Starmer, Angela and Ed have started to unravel the current planning ‘Pickle’ and I hear that the draft revisions to the NPPF will be with us later THIS month. So it looks like our holiday reading may be how the ‘new dawn’ is facilitated in updated planning policy. Perhaps it’s time for a quick ice cream now before things ‘hot’ up? #planning #nppf #datacentres #datacenters #economicdevelopment #rtpi #infrastructure #spatialplanning #regionalplanning #strategicplanning #icecream #logistics #holidayreading #fun

In a move to address the UK’s substantial housing shortage, Wates is calling for bold reforms to the planning system. Our new whitepaper offers a comprehensive blueprint to tackle the UK's housing crisis. Crafted by experts from across Wates Group, including Wates Developments, this document provides innovative solutions and calls for a system of presumed planning consent to revolutionise local planning frameworks. Pictured is Wates CEO, Eoghan O'Lionaird, along with Stephen Beechey, Group Strategy Director and MD for Government Affairs, visiting Downing Street to deliver our whitepaper findings and calling for substantial change in the housing sector. To download the whitepaper, please visit: https://lnkd.in/ePaSc7eF #HousingCrisis #UrbanDevelopment #SustainableHousing #newhomes #affordablehousing #landandplanning