Social animal

Coming up from the streets

Tenants in Derby have been given a chance to draw their ideal neighbourhood. Local registered social landlord Derby Homes and the Derwent New Deal for Communities project have given Derwent residents blank street maps and asked them to draw their ideas for the regeneration of their area.

Of course, there are bound to be a few off-the-wall ideas. A pub on every corner?

A doughnut shop at every turn? Or an estate modelled on a Tuscan hill village? No, that’s just being too silly …

Go west, young man

Academic Anne Power is flying the flag for Birmingham. Discussing the pressure for new housing in the South-east, she urged commuters to move to the West Midlands.

“Birmingham is only one hour from London now, while Southend is an hour and three quarters – I’d choose Birmingham,” she said.

Move over Balham: Birmingham is the new gateway to the South.

Pet rescue

Forget Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and get ready for Howay, Liebling. The German equivalents of Jimmy Nail and Kevin Whately, if such a thing is possible, could soon be heading to the North-east to help ease the region’s skills shortage.

The idea to import labourers is one of a number being considered by the North-east housing board to cope with increased housebuilding targets in forthcoming years.

Tony Stephenson, the board’s head, said: “I think we have to look seriously at the prospect of having temporary workers from elsewhere – a sort of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet in reverse.” I can’t wait.

Hazards of local shopping

An insurance consultancy firm has launched a phone line to encourage housing association tenants to inform on neighbours they suspect of making bogus injury or vandalism insurance claims. VandalLine and FraudLine will be launched this month by consultant Farr. While the phone line might help to cut back on bogus insurance claims that push up premiums, perhaps encouraging neighbours to shop each other is just going to lead to revenge attacks – with genuine injury and vandalism claims as a result.

What a brew-ha-ha

In the cut-and-thrust world of social housing it’s nice to know that people have still got time to settle down for a cuppa. Indeed a new Emerging Role of Sheltered Housing campaign was so successful in getting residents to take a break that it broke the most genteel of world records.

Potentially causing a surge on the National Grid not seen since the end of the last Only Fools and Horses Christmas special, it staged the largest tea party in the world – ever – at the end of last year, with 11,760 people nationwide taking part.