Every dog has its day – every Friday in our case
Hit or Misc
In the true spirit of open government, the much-trumpeted cabinet committee established in the wake of the Communities Plan has received a suitably impenetrable moniker: Misc 22. Presumably this is short for "miscellaneous 22", although given that the committee – said to be headed by the PM himself – is not now expected to report until "early summer" rather than May, as was stated in the plan, sector wags would be forgiven for comparing it with, perhaps, Joseph Heller's novel Catch 22.

Perhaps the catch is that the committee's "miscellaneous" nature means it doesn't merit cabinet office space. Scuppered by a lack of accommodation. Heller would have understood.

The Italian job
It's getting to that time of year once again. The birds are singing, the sky is showing ever-longer glimpses of blue and all roads now seem to lead inexorably to Harrogate and the Chartered Institute of Housing's annual bash in June. All roads, I hear you say? Not for some. One star-spangled, London-based director of housing is so miffed with the whole thing that, rather than heading north from 16 June, he'll be off south instead. To Italy, in fact. Still, I'm sure the espresso and panettone he gets over there won't be a patch on the tea and cream scones on offer at Betty's…

Best of a bad lot
As head of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's efforts to meet the decent homes target, Anne Kirkham is used to telling councils to pull their socks up. However, a recent idea was met with short shrift. Kirkham suggested that best practice bodies such as Housing Quality Network and the National Housing Federation/CIH HouseMark joint venture could have their figures compiled and released through the ODPM. Needless to say, this was denounced as being far from "best practice". I can't imagine why.

Let me entertain you
Traffic jam boredom on the M60 will be a thing of the past if Tom Manion, chief executive of housing association Irwell Valley, has his way. The sector's favourite maverick is looking to entertain 22,000 drivers a day by sticking up advertising at his latest development, Number One Deansgate in Greater Manchester. The tower has a prime location, leaning over the motorway. And if the wheeze makes a few pence along the way? Hey, then everyone's a winner.

There's a reason for anything
Nigel Risner had to summon all his powers of positive thinking when he read his billing for the CIH's Harrogate shindig. The motivational guru, who calls himself an "irritational speaker" and answers readers' queries on page 26, was listed in the CIH handbook as "irrational". Charming.

Woking’s great successhhhhhhhhh

The tide is clearly turning in housing’s war against antisocial behaviour, judging from the triumphalist tone permeating reports from the front line. Even politically correct councils are indulging in a spot of gloating. According to Woking council, tenant Nick Williams “jumped to a different beat” last week when he was evicted for refusing to turn down the volume on his sound system. He’s now dancing the distinctively unfashionable “looking for alternative accommodation” shuffle.

Source

Housing Today