Better than a goldfish

Burning issue

Tory vice-chairman and shadow minister for the arts Boris Johnson gets quite excited about civic art. “I really like the wicker man you see on the right as you go down the M5 from Bristol to Taunton,” he enthused to Social Animal at a recent do.

Only problem is, the subject of the Spectator editor’s admiring glances – a 12 m high figure also known as the “Angel of the South” – was actually destroyed by an arsonist in 2001.

Germ of an idea

Futuristic pod-like homes that float on water may be built sooner than expected. After reading about these fantastical-sounding designs in Housing Today, project management company OSM Designs was straight on the phone asking for contact details for architect Marcin Panpuch, also the brains behind building materials made out of glowing bacteria.

Director Charlie Dow said: “The demand is there for houses on floodplains and this really could work for social housing. They could either float or stand on stilts.” Watch this space.

Don’t ask me, I just work here

Bristol Churches may be the most efficient housing association, but its internal communications evidently leave something to be desired.

“Is this a wind-up?” was the reaction from a member of staff asked how they felt about the news of Bristol Churches’ top spot in the Housing Corporation’s efficiency stakes.

Hadn’t you heard? asked an incredulous Social Animal. “No. Nothing at all,” came the embarrassed reply. Fortunately, managing director David Squires proved a bit more clued up … once tracked down.

Pounds of flesh

It seems that raffle prizes such as picnic hampers or home-made elderflower wine are a thing of the past – for tenants of Southampton council, at any rate. They get to win live prizes, and I’m not talking goldfish.

Neighbourhood warden Gill Marsh is raffling herself to residents in sheltered accommodation who could win an hour of her time to help with jobs such as shopping and gardening. Tickets cost 50p and all money raised will pay for new cookers at the Bellamy Court Lunch Club for pensioners.

The way you sell ‘em

Comedian Peter Kay’s sell-out tour My Mum wants a Bungalow has not only raised a few laughs – demand for single-storey homes in Kay’s home town of Bolton has also jumped.

Developer Bellway is already planning to build a batch at Crompton Way in the town, but Mrs Kay will need to be quick if she wants one. Estate agents say they’re going fast.

Fayre dos

Beleaguered Clays Lane Housing Co-op may have lost its battle to prevent the Housing Corporation from transferring it to the Peabody Trust, but it isn’t about to give up its unconventional ways.

The east London-based co-op is hosting this year’s Alternative Housing Conference on 11 September, where the benefits of squatting and low-carbon technology will be up for debate. Clays Lane Summer Fayre is running concurrently, so attendees can always slip off for a candy floss or to get their face painted if they fancy a little light consumerism in their lunch break.

Source

Housing Today