Chief among their concerns are the 18 October deadline and the strict criteria imposed by the Housing Corporation upon applicants for the funding, announced by housing minister Lord Rooker last week to pay for 4000 homes in London and the South-east of England (see linked story, below).
The 4000 homes would be a mixture tenures and include 1000 factory-built dwellings.
The National Housing Federation has calculated associations could either fall short of the target by 460 homes or have to make cost savings of £32m.
Howard Hughes, director of business development at Circle 33 Housing Association, said: "The Challenge Fund deadline is very tight. It's a detailed list of criteria and I think associations will generally be hard-pressed to come up with the detail being asked for.
"We will say to the corporation that if we can provide further savings then we will, but I think we are already being as lean and efficient as we can be at the moment," he added.
Housebuilders share the concerns of social landlords. Chris Durkin, chief operating officer for housebuilder Willmott Dixon, said: "I think it's going to be difficult for associations to be precise about savings.
"You want to drive out waste but not the better, more efficient aspects. Quite what can be achieved between now and 18 October is questionable." Durkin added that 80% of Willmott Dixon's current housebuilding programme used off-site manufacturing techniques.
Off-site manufacture was key to cost reduction, but not the only solution, he said, adding: "It takes time to readjust in terms of staff time and the [overall] set-up."
Neil Hadden, assistant chief executive for investment and regeneration at the Housing Corporation, stressed it was important for bidding associations to remember the Challenge Fund was designed only to provide partial project funding.
He said: "Until the bids are decided, no one can be certain about how far the money will go. Our modelling indicates we can hit the targets.
"We don't want people to have to go back to the negotiating table. We have had discussions with a number of housing associations and housebuilders and as a result are confident that the homes can be delivered."
Hadden added that he had sent letters to 60 RSLs inviting them to bid for the fund. These included the Peabody Trust, Circle 33 and the Guinness Trust.
The corporation wants to receive applications for the fund by 18 October. The government's design watchdog, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, will advise it on the best schemes. The Housing Forum will also contribute.
CABE chief executive John Rouse said the criteria they would be using included:
- innovation in terms of adaptability, for example using partition walls
- the use of sustainable materials and natural resources
- an emphasis on site safety.
Two cheers for core ADP allocation
The housing lobby has cautiously welcomed the core approved development programme’s £1.286bn budget for next year. The figure is a slight increase on that predicted in the July 2000 spending review. London will get a cash limit of almost £482m and Merseyside gets £30m. The North and the Midlands get a small increase on last year’s ADP allocation, allaying fears that the lion’s share of the money would be shunted south for key-worker homes. John Perry, policy director at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said that despite the extra funding, the number of homes built will remain similar to last year. “Changes in grant rate, the shift to the South-east and so on, mean the same number of homes costs more money. The concern is that the ADP will stay at this level for three years.”Downloads
How the ADP funding will be divided up
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Housing Today
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