Housing organisations in the West Midlands have followed narrow agendas instead of pulling together, stunting development in the process. Now they’re starting to work as a team – which is vital because divided they will stall, says Vikki Miller

Once a depressing eyesore, the Bullring in the heart of Birmingham is now seen as a shining example of city-centre regeneration – not least by deputy prime minister John Prescott who praised the development at the National Housing Federation conference in September.

But for every rejuvenated bright spot in the West Midlands, there is a run-down area to match: in the south, parts of Warwickshire are suffering from the high demand and affordability problems that blight London and the South-east; in the north, Staffordshire has streets of boarded-up, empty homes; and to the west, the hills of Herefordshire are home to one of the worst rural housing crises in England.

It’s small wonder, then, that the region finds it so difficult to present a unified front to government funding bodies. And squeezed between works taking place for the Northern Way regeneration plan to the north, and the growth areas in Milton Keynes and the South Midlands to the south, the West Midlands is at serious risk of being overlooked while a frenzy of demolition and rebuilding carries on around it.

“There is a definite need for a coherent voice and strategy to bring our region to the fore. We need to strengthen our core messages to make our voice heard,” says Richard Clark, chief executive of Prime Focus Housing Group and current chair of the NHF. He believes the West Midlands has traditionally undersold its own agenda and has missed out on the debate about development potential.

In fact, this fragmentation and lack of a consistent message is the one thing all the players in the region can agree on. “We have suffered from a lack of political will,” says Gina King, head of the NHF’s central region office.

“The distinctive, powerful personalities of local authorities, the Nimbyism and the local politics mean we’ve all been pulling in different directions.”

She points out that housing associations in Herefordshire claim they don’t consider themselves part of the West Midlands, and that municipal authorities are often seen by those working in housing as “the enemy”.

But this has to change if the West Midlands is going to catch up on what everyone admits is a late start. Capturing the interest of government has always been difficult for the region, says professor Alan Murie, head of the School of Public Policy at the University of Birmingham and a member of the regional housing partnership, part of the regional housing board.

He says the situation in the West Midlands is more diverse, and thus more complex, than in other regions, which is why it doesn’t grab headlines.

Two of the ODPM’s nine market renewal pathfinders are sited in the region – one in North Staffordshire and one in Birmingham and Sandwell – and they have made some progress (“Urban renewal, rural demand”, page 37). But, conversely, the NHF reports that housing waiting lists for the region rose 13% between 2002 and 2003, up from 95,020 households to 107,155.

Herefordshire’s RSLs say they’re not part of the West Midlands, while many working in housing see councils is ‘the enemy’

Despite this need, the West Midlands Regional Housing Board’s first attempt at a regional housing strategy, published in July 2003, was mostly based on fragmented sub-regional work that had been carried out by councils. It focused on issues including low demand and restructuring of housing markets, rural renaissance, affordability and sub-standard housing.

But it was produced pretty quickly – the housing board was set up in April 2003 and the strategy came out three months later – and the board itself saw the document only as groundwork to feed into the next strategy. Since then, the housing board members and councils have realised they must support each other more in order to get their message across at a national level.

The second regional strategy is due next May, and this time the board has commissioned research and consultation organisations, co-ordinated by the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham, to produce a document that cannot be ignored.

It will include a range of sub-regional studies, such as an analysis of the South Telford and Black Country markets and housing in rural areas, as well as research on homelessness, black and minority-ethnic communities and Gypsies and Travellers.

“The regional housing strategy in 2003 was a bit patchy,” admits Steve Gregory, director of urban form at Sandwell council and chair of the regional housing board. “There was no research on affordability, for example. The new, more evidence-based strategy is much more comprehensive.”

Rose Poulter, director of policy development at the West Midlands Regional Assembly, adds: “We need to understand our housing market more and develop an all-encompassing strategy. With the new strategy, we’re evolving the themes already touched on in 2003, such as asylum seekers and Gypsies and Travellers. To make it as comprehensive as possible, we are trying to tie the new strategy in with the planning work and the sub-regional planning market.”

There is also indecision in the region over which organisation should be getting the message across. At the University of Birmingham, Murie thinks one body cannot take a unilateral lead because there will be too much nervousness about its agenda among the other groups.

Others say the assembly is the natural choice as delivery agent for the strategy; but some in the regional housing partnership question whether it has the political power and manpower to pull it off. The NHF’s King says it has too many vested interests to convey a clear, unbiased message.

Poulter disagrees, but admits resources are an issue: “We are an unelected body but about 70% of our members are from local authorities, so they are accountable. We welcome the opportunity to give a greater regional focus but would be setting ourselves up to fail if we attempted it as we are now because of a lack of resources.

The regional housing strategy in 2003 was patchy. There was no research on affordability

Steve Gregory, Sandwell Council

“If our resource capacity were extended, we could do a very effective job.”

The regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands, is of producing its own version of the Northern Way plan, Smart Growth: The Midlands Way. It will be presented at the ODPM’s Sustainable Communities Summit in Manchester next February.

“The thinking behind The Midlands Way is to accelerate change in the West and East Midlands,” says John Edwards, Advantage’s chief executive, who wants to see future development projects adding up to more than the sum of their parts. “Basically, projects where one and one make two are already being done, but we want one and one to make three. This is the point of working across the two regions.

“The Midlands Way is looking to drive the renaissance and, where this is happening, housing will obviously be key.

If the economic and social growth is to be sustained, housing must also.”

Paul Tennant, group chief executive at Orbit Housing Group, believes Advantage has the ability to maximise the economic potential of housing by creating jobs in the communities where houses are built. He says: “The regional development agency is in the strong position of being able to link spatial, economic and housing strategies. Its role is to bring the different strands within the West Midlands community together so they work in unison, so it’s perfectly placed to take a lead on this.”

But while indecision continues to reign on who should lead the way, valuable time is ticking by. The regional housing strategy is not due out until next May – and it is going to take a long time beyond that to solve the region’s problems.

If action isn’t taken soon, the West Midlands could end up standing out less for its shiny new shopping centres than for its problem districts – and they’ll seem all the more bleak as neighbouring regions charge ahead with regeneration.

Lifting the vale

One of the greatest successes of the West Midlands has been the transformation of the Castle Vale housing estate, six miles north-east of Birmingham, by the Castle Vale Housing Action Trust, one of six government regeneration bodies set up in 1993.

Covering one-and-a-half square miles and with a population of about 9000 people, Castle Vale was Birmingham’s largest 1960s housing estate – and it was suffering from nearly 30 years of physical, social and economic decline.

A staggering 92% of the estate’s tenants voted in favour of a transfer to Castle Vale HAT, and the estate transferred from Birmingham council in 1994.

The planned figure for the 12-year regeneration, now in its final year, is about £300m, which includes a £197m ODPM grant as well as £102.7m in private sector finance from organisations such as Barratt Homes and the National Lottery Fund.

Angus Kennedy, chief executive of the HAT, and chair of the Birmingham Sandwell pathfinder, and his team have been lauded for the project. As of June this year, 2202 homes had been demolished (including 32 out of 34 tower blocks), 1456 new homes had been built and all 1334 planned refurbishments were complete.

In addition, 1461 jobs were created, for example at Sainsbury’s or the Castle Vale nursing home, and 3415 training places, through which residents have gained national vocational qualifications in landscaping, horticulture and childcare. In August, a study by consultant Ecotec found that in Kingsbury, east Birmingham, unemployment has fallen from more than 26% to less than 5% since the HAT began managing homes.

Kennedy attributes the success of the project to collaboration with other community organisations such as health authorities and educational establishments.
He says: “The whole ethos behind the HAT is
to work in genuine partnerships.”
A number of “successor” organisations have been set up by Castle Vale HAT to carry on its work. Castle Vale Community Housing Association was created in 1997 to manage homes developed by the HAT’s association partners. It manages about 1000 homes.
After a vote in October 2003, 98% of the HAT’s homes were transferred to the association and 2% returned to the council.

Making themselves decent

Since Birmingham’s tenants voted against full stock transfer in April 2002, the city council has appointed an independent commission to “develop locally led housing investment solutions”. In four districts, it is setting up tenant-led community organisations.

The council is still holding out hope that the government will concede a “fourth way” but, since it has no stars for its repairs services, such an option may not apply.

The council is now pulling together an options appraisal to try to establish the investment needed, district by district, to meet the decent homes standard. The overall cost will be £160m.

In Wolverhampton, tenants have just voted to pass management of the council’s 26,000 homes to a new ALMO, Wolverhampton Homes. In the result, announced on Tuesday, 84% of tenants voted for the move. The ALMO asked for £287m in round four and is expected to receive 80% to 100% of this, as long as it wins two or three stars in an Audit Commission inspection next October. It intends to complete the programme by the 2010 decent homes deadline.

The day-to-day running of Sandwell council’s 33,500 homes was handed over to its ALMO at the beginning of October. The council and Sandwell Homes are now awaiting the result of a round-four bid for £318.9m. They expect to receive £62.6m for 2005-7, inspection permitting. It says all homes should reach the decency standard by 2010.

Coventry council transferred 20,000 homes to large-scale voluntary transfer landlord Whitefriars Housing Group in September 2000. Whitefriars is spending £240m on improvements, which will include getting homes up to, and beyond, the decency standard – it says by 31 March 2005.
In March 2003, Walsall Metropolitan council transferred 22,800 of its 24,000 homes to LSVT Walsall Housing Group, following a positive vote by tenants. It is investing £211m over the next five years to get homes up to and beyond the decency target by 2008. The remaining 1840 homes were transferred to the Walsall Alliance of Tenants Management Organisations Housing Co-operative. WATMOS says it will spend £15m on stock to meet the decency standard by 2008.

Who’s who in the West Midlands

Richard Clark
Originally an economics student at the LSE, Clark later directed the Housing Corporation for the North-east. He has been chief executive of Prime Focus Regeneration Group since 1988 and was recently re-elected chair of the National Housing Federation.


John Edwards
A quantity surveyor by profession, Edwards joined Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency, as director of regeneration and physical development in 1999. A year later, he was made chief executive. He previously worked for the Rural Development Commission.


Gina King
King started her career as a housing officer for a Birmingham social landlord. She has progressed up through the ranks to become head of the NHF’s central region, covering the West and East Midlands and the East of England. She used to head the housing service at the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders.


Paul Tennant
Tennant has been group chief executive of Orbit Housing Group since 2003. His career started 20 years earlier, when he joined Sunderland council as a housing trainee. He’s also worked at Housing 21 and English Churches Housing Group; and is chair of the Housing Associations Charitable Trust.


Rose Poulter
Poulter started out in the economic development unit at West Midlands county council in 1982. Just before the county council was abolished, she joined Birmingham council’s economic development unit, then moved to the West Midlands Local Government Association in 1998. She is now director of policy for the West Midlands regional assembly.


Steve Gregory
Gregory is a busy man, holding down the posts of director of urban form at Sandwell council, chair of the regional housing partnership and a member of the regional housing board. He was director of housing at Sandwell council.

Urban renewal, rural demand

Two of the ODPM’s nine market renewal pathfinder areas are located in the West Midlands - Renew is in North Staffordshire and Urban Living is in Birmingham Sandwell. Sandwell council also hopes to set up another pathfinder in Telford and east Birmingham, although the ODPM says there will be no second-round bids.

After a positive Audit Commission report in July, Renew got £30m from the ODPM for 2004/6, as well as £37.5m from sources such as English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation. The ODPM gave Urban Living £50m for 2004/6, and it got £70m from other sources.

The first people to benefit from Renew’s 20-year plan to improve housing conditions in an area covering 67,000 properties are residents in Normacot, Birches Head and Burslem Park in Stoke-on-Trent, whose homes will be renovated over the next six months.

But Urban Living has got off to a slower start and Roy Irwin, the chief housing inspector at the Audit Commission, said its prospectus was underdeveloped. Five months after being set up, it has yet to set up a website but Margaret Jackson, director of Urban Living, says it is still early days and the pathfinder is making good progress in research and feasibility for proposed projects and masterplanning. She says: “I want to create a real alternative to city living and urban living where people will choose to live.
I want them to be vibrant and lively areas.”

But the vast bulk of population growth in the West Midlands is not in the cities, but in the rural counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire, according to research from the National Housing Federation. Just as in other regions, this is putting homes out of
the reach of local people: the average house price in Warwickshire is £162,248, compared with £60,746 in Stoke-on-Trent.

“Our social housing waiting list has increased by 2000 people in the last 18 months, and now we have about 600 people accepted as homeless per year,” says Tony Jaques, chief executive of housing association Herefordshire Housing. “On top of this, Herefordshire has the lowest average income in the West Midlands.”

Furthermore, right to buy has meant local housing associations are losing large numbers of properties.

Herefordshire has lost 621 houses in the past four years, which Jaques refers to as “crippling”. Jaques is also concerned that the Milton Keynes South Midlands growth area will spread across its borders into South Worcestershire, further pushing up house prices.

But the region’s rural providers are trying to find solutions. At a conference on rural housing issues in early October this year, delegates discussed restricting the right to buy, as included in the Housing Bill currently before parliament, lobbying central government to relax the planning system and granting more money and land to develop an increased number of properties.

West Midlands: The stats

  • Population: 5.3 million, set to rise to
    5.35 million in 2006

  • Unemployment: 5.7% (compared with 5% national average)

  • 2.17 million homes, of which 71% are owner-occupied, 11% rented from council, 10% rented privately and 8% rented through registered social landlords

    • Average price of a home in last quarter of 2002: £118,845,
  • up 21.8% on previous year

  • Households receiving benefits: 71% (national average 69%)

  • Vandalism, burglary, and vehicle thefts for 2002/3: 3291 per 10,000 households (national average 3428)


Source: Office for National Statistics, compiled by Pinnacle-PSG

Source

Housing Today