Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

7 Creating inclusive communities
Assessing need
7.1 Housing need is assessed by local housing authorities using Housing Needs Surveys that follow a
standard methodology set out in Government guidance. More recent guidance considers both
need and demand across housing market areas that may cross administrative boundaries.
7.2 The Local Housing Assessment Guide 23 sets out how authorities (both urban and rural) can assess
the housing demands of their communities. The guide accompanied the consultation paper
‘Planning for mixed communities‘ as part of the Government’s objectives to meet the housing
requirements of the whole community and creating sustainable communities that offer a wide
range of housing and are socially inclusive.
7.3 Some local housing authorities and housing associations have adopted sophisticated ‘data mining‘
techniques incorporating geographic modelling of variables to inform their strategic decisions.
7.4 The needs of small minority and/or difficult to reach groups have so far been difficult to assess,
and have usually been the subject of separate studies. A number of localised surveys have been
carried out across the Region into the housing needs of BME communities.
7.5 Some housing authorities and sub-regions have also commissioned work to explore the needs
of Gypsy and Traveller communities locally, and subsequently developed a strategic response.
7.6 The RHDG has a role in disseminating Good Practice from these studies.
Inclusion and community cohesion
Regional Housing Strategy for the East of England: 2005–2010
7.7 Whilst gaps do exist, some research is available to inform policy development. This is a
combination of national and regional work.
7.8 Research shows that housing is a ‘major determinant of the shape of communities and has
profound implications on the relationship between different races and cultures‘ 24 This is reflected
in the way that communities are often physically segregated as well as the separation that can
occur in terms of schools, social networks, languages, employment and voluntary organisations.
In the context of the growth agenda, there are important lessons to be learned from the Region’s
past experiences of planned new settlements, some of which are now characterised by decline and
deprivation, and fragmented communities.
7.9 Housing can play an active role in community development and capacity building. For example
through members of the National Housing Federation’s ‘iN business for neighbourhoods
programme’.
23 Draft Practice Guidance from the Centre for Housing and Planning Research at the University of Cambridge for the ODPM
issued March 2005
24 Cantle Review, Home Office, 2001 cited in Offering Communities Real Choice, Lettings and Community Cohesion, CIH,
2003).
41