“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana.

Eleanor Snow’s useful article on Oldham Rochdale Market Renewal Pathfinder exposes the issues facing those pathfinders in engaging communities successfully. More than two years ago the Tenant Participation Advisory Service, along with the Empty Homes Agency and the National Housing Federation, drew up outline proposals to support the capacity of pathfinders to work with tenants and residents.

Although this proposal was originally encouraged by the Housing Corporation, their support ceased and without funding these ideas came to naught.

Some two years later your article shows that the need for such a network has never been stronger. It’s still obvious that engaging residents in large-scale strategic planning is different and demanding and both pathfinders and residents living in pathfinders could benefit from proper and structured support. We have offered all pathfinders six months’ free associate membership of TPAS so that we’re not standing back and carping but trying to help them. We’re pleased that three have taken us up on that offer and another has invited me to visit.

Nonetheless the lag in identifying resident involvement as a key issue is one that may well be repeated with the ambitious sustainable communities agenda. Are we doomed to repeat history?

Phil Morgan, chief executive, Tenant Participation Advisory Service

Source

Housing Today