Northern exposure

Housing organisations in the north of England have learned that decades of complaining over the chill have not got them very far, so now they are out to show that the heart still beats – and hard enough to be worth competing for members.

Last week saw the Northern Consortium of Housing Authorities relaunched as a company under the Northern Housing Consortium name, and for the first time it has taken registered social landlords into full membership.

This coincided with the launch of the National Housing Federation’s new northern identity, the most outward sign it is repositioning itself for a fresh approach.

Irwell Valley Housing Association last year became the first RSL to leave the federation: the latter hopes it will be the last, and that it will eventually rejoin. But the consortium and others are increasingly looking for the edge that will win them new business.

The Housing Federation North hangs its hat on its policy and campaigning work. It has been instrumental in developing work on the housing market renewal fund, stock rationalisation, and neighbourhood management.

It is also supporting the deluge of new stock transfer landlords of recent years. Working closely with the three northern housing forums, which it helped found, the federation is developing a regional policy stance that no longer consists of complaining that “the south gets the lot”.

An unprecedented set of research into housing markets by Birmingham university’s centre for urban and regional studies set the tone. Commissioned by the federation, the forums, the consortium and the Key Cities Group of major councils, the work has for the first time laid down a credible scenario for the way out of current difficulties.

Federation North chair Andrea Titterington says the solutions – invariably involving several councils and multiple other agencies – dictate the need for a variety of structures to deliver them. Thus, federation members are also involved with local strategic partnerships and regional assemblies.

“The solutions involve getting sophisticated structures in place to deal with education, jobs and other initiatives, and housing would be left out of the dialogue if we were not there,” she argues. Strengthening the Federation North’s identity must at least give a nod to keeping ahead in the competitive world of membership, however.

Policy director Liz Potter insists the two are inseparable. “We are putting members’ interests first by the strong advocacy of policies that make sense of regional needs, and by pooling interests with organisations that would otherwise be competitors.”

Regional interests count, but the federation’s strength is as a unified national body, she argues.

The consortium has kicked off its new incarnation with 44 registered social landlords joining the 69 councils in the region as full members.

Chief executive John Moralee says: “We were previously restricted to the same powers as councils. But as a company we can now do many more activities which help the business keep going and feed the troops.”

Political and campaigning work has been somewhat roundabout until now. Being non-party political, the consortium decided the housing forums were the best vehicles to complement its own officer-driven work.

It continues to fund link officer posts but now wants to increase its political and lobbying influence by appointing a dedicated officer. “We are trying to infiltrate before any plans solidify in the minds of policy makers,” Moralee says.

Is there rivalry with the federation and others? “Yes. We don’t hide from that. But we are not looking for opportunities to tread on each other’s toes. We want to use our energies another way, but we must properly respond to what our members ask – and now we can.”

All of which is much too “after you Claude, no, after you Cecil” for the only private sector player in the membership stakes. The Housing Quality Network, northern-based but with national coverage, is also locked in competition on some services with HouseMark, the benchmark service now owned half by the federation and half by the Chartered Institute of Housing.

HQN director Alistair McIntosh explains: “The north consists of a series of sub-economies. Organisations work together in trying to understand issues such as housing markets, and at other times there is quite properly vicious competition. It’s a sophisticated situation.”

He predicts a future in which local organisations will increasingly demand bespoke services that fit their widely divergent situations. He points out that cities such as Manchester have little in common with York, while the national park areas in the north are facing housing issues very similar to the suburban south.

“It is a good sign that we are all trying to line up with the needs of housing organisations. Customer service is after all what HQN exists for, and we could not expect to be bailed out if we got into difficulties. The current situation makes the case for vigorous competition, not merger.”