A familiar sight with a familiar story. Run-down social housing deteriorating faster than the dwindling public finance, tenants and leaseholders frustrated with the lack of action by the landlord, Scottish Homes.
But nowhere does the adage of not judging a book by its cover ring more true than here in the narrow waist between the Forth and the Clyde, in the pretty rural heartland midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
For Cumbernauld is an enormously popular place, and demand is sky high for these crumbling homes.
One of Scotland's five new towns, it was created around a trio of small villages in 1956. Multi-storey, high rise and system- built stock sprang up over the next 20 years and residents flocked from the big industrial cities to the refreshingly green and open environment.
Newcomers are still drawn by the hilltop town centre surrounded by self-contained neighbourhoods in lush woodland. Nearby lies the Palacerigg country park, and the development is overlooked by the distant snow-capped peaks of the Campsie Fells and the hills of Killsyth.
When Cumbernauld New Town Development Corporation was finally wound up in 1996, the local authority, North Lanarkshire council, acquired 1,400 of the rented properties while Scottish Homes reluctantly took on the remaining 1,962 as landlord of last resort.
The homes were something of a headache to the agency, which had already been attempting to rid itself of its own stock. Not only did the Cumbernauld rented homes need significant investment, but so did the owner-occupied properties which accounted for up to 70 or even 80 per cent of some areas - well above Scotland's average.
On a tour of the town, our estate manager guide highlights aspects of a never ending litany of problems. Here, concrete is rotting away because of water penetration and the entire block needs a new roof, but it is full of owner-occupiers enjoying views of the mountains. There, new lifts are needed and the over-wall cladding needs replacing. Over there, a terrace of mixed tenure houses and needs a new roof - an impossible expense to owners.
A row of classic 70s flat-roofed blocks had their balcony doors inappropriately replaced and are now letting in serious amounts of water. There are others with major heating and roofing problems, grim five storey blocks which are "impossible to sell" and until recently home to attempted murderers.
Meanwhile North Lanarkshire council could offer little relief: there was no way it could grant assist the owners for the urgent major works required on many the terraces and multi-storeys across the town. There are 1,100 homes in owner-occupation, needing £7.3m over the next 30 years to bring the common areas, such as leaky roofs and dodgy concrete walls, up to scratch.
Along came the Labour government without a bulging public purse, but with fresh impetus for the New Housing Partnerships scheme. Scottish Homes subscribed to the scheme, in the process coming up with an innovation which the agency believes could be replicated across the UK in transfer areas with a high proportion of leaseholders. As Lynne Bradley of consultants Chapman Hendy explains: "The transfer is not just about dealing with rental stock. It has to be prepared to deal with almost all housing in Cumbernauld."
Colin Hope is the interim business manager of the Cumbernauld Housing Partnership. On secondment from Scottish Homes, he was drafted in last November to pull the deal through the ballot, arguably the most critical stage of the transfer process. He is full of praise for the partnership's board, and in particular of the commitment shown by its "very competent" members - eight tenants (including the chair), three councillors, three community representatives and, importantly, two reserved to represent a specially-formed owner-occupiers association.
This is an innovative set up, which according to Hope is "moving along at a rate of knots". It will allow owners to contribute a monthly amount by direct debit to secure their part of the funding of the major repairs initially for the next five years.
The tenanted stock meanwhile will receive about £5m over the next five years. Also part of the deal is capping rents to inflation plus one per cent.
And the hard work has paid off: Cumbernauld's tenants - and leaseholders - are now preparing for the transfer of the stock to the housing partnership, following a ballot last month. They voted overwhelmingly in favour - 91.6 per cent 'Yes' against a 'No' total of just 8.4 per cent with a turnout of 62 per cent.
For Scottish Homes, it marked a crucial result. It has been working with the partnership for three years now in a bid to overcome local opposition to switching ownership of the homes to anyone but the local authority, who flatly refused to buy any more.
In the end, only 100 tenants opposed the move, and partnership chairman Brian Duncan says even they will eventually be convinced it was the right decision. "We said to tenants that Cumbernauld Housing Partnership was the key to a brighter future and now we will be able to prove it.
"It is important that every tenant knows what is happening. Over the coming weeks we will be involved in detailed negotiations with Scottish Homes and potential funders as we prepare for the transfer of the stock [by the end of March]. We will make sure that tenants continue to have all the information that they need to know about what we are doing on their behalf."
The result is testament to Scottish Homes' transfer record: of around 150 ballots so far there have been only six 'No' votes. Rita Stenhouse, the agency's director of community ownership initiatives, says the issue is "horses for courses", but admits that being able to spend several years on individual transfers can help secure a 'Yes' vote, due to the lack of pressure and deadlines.
"In Cumbernauld, for example, it was first raised in October 1997," she explains. "A lot of time could be spent on the option appraisal, and some tenants were opposed to the politics of transfer."
Splashing through the puddles of the town, past bleak tower blocks sprouting impressively from wintry treelines, it can only be hoped for the sake of the tenants and the leaseholders desperate for the much-needed improvements that the three years has been time well spent.
Source
Housing Today
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