Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

Regional Social Strategy – the strategy to achieve social inclusion throughout the East of England
3.1 – SO6: To support the development of sustainable communities
i) Housing
While housing policy can both trigger and reinforce social exclusion, it can also make a significant contribution
to creating mixed, sustainable communities (SO6: 1). The following themes provide the policy focus for
achieving long-term change:
• increasing supply to provide quality, affordable homes for those in need
• promoting, mixed sustainable communities
• supporting residents, tenants and the community.
The Government’s long-term programme for delivering sustainable communities – places where people want
to live and work, now and in the future - is set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan (2003). This identifies
four growth areas, three of which are wholly or partly in the East of England. The aim of these is sustainably
to provide 200,000 additional homes above previously planned levels by 2016.
The three main themes of the current Regional Housing Strategy (2005-2010) reflect housing’s central role
in promoting sustainable communities: more, sustainable housing provision; high, quality homes and
environments; creating inclusive communities.
EERA’s Housing & Sustainable Communities Panel performs the functions of the Regional Housing Board
and has recently submitted to Government the East of England Housing Investment Plan 2008-11. This sets
out EERA’s recommendations to ministers on how to allocate housing capital investment in the region during
2008-11. The plan’s recommendations were informed by the Regional Housing Strategy and advice received
from the housing sub-regions.
Increasing supply to provide quality, affordable homes for those in need
The region’s highest priority is the provision of new, affordable housing (SO6: 2), reflected in the allocation
of 85% of housing capital investment during 2006-08. Yet, the funding will deliver half the identified need
of 11,000 new, affordable homes per year. In recognition of the region’s acute housing stress, EERA has
recommended to Government that the bulk of the housing investment during 2008-11 is again allocated to the
provision of new, affordable housing, and for new and refurbished pitches for Gypsies and Travellers (SO6: 5).
Maximising the use of existing stock also helps to increase supply. For example, by bringing back into use
empty homes and investment in the private rented sector stock. EERA has recommended that 5.17% of
housing capital investment during 2008-11 is targeted at achieving and maintaining the Government’s
PSA7 target that by 2010 at least 70% of vulnerable households in the private sector have decent homes.
It proposes to establish a fund to support interventions at a regional scale, drawing on the advice of the
region’s Private Sector Working Group and national and regional good practice. The advantage of such an
approach is the option of integrating other funding streams such as DEFRA’s (Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs) Warm Front. It is also proposed to explore loan/equity release schemes that enable
the ‘recycling’ of funds as well as to target a proportion of the funding in response to sub-regional bids, with
a strong emphasis on the Decent Homes agenda. The region is on target to meet the Decent Homes standard
in public sector housing stock by 2010, with all stock-holding local authorities having completed appraisals in
2005 demonstrating how the standard would be met.
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