Changing with the times

Historic Stoke-on-Trent has grown beyond recognition from the 18th Century village that it once was and now the city is undergoing a period of change and regeneration, putting housing at the forefront of the council’s agenda

The council has a housing stock of 19,407 properties including 3,568 bungalows and 3,186 flats. Like all local authorities it is currently working towards bringing its properties up to the Government’s Decent Homes Standard and 97 per cent of its stock has been surveyed and evaluated against the standard.

Based on the findings, the council has put together a work programme seeking to tackle the areas that scored lowest in terms of meeting the standard. “We have a clear programme and are now successfully working towards completion in December 2010,” says Alan Slater, head of housing services.

The Decent Homes programme is delivered through the council’s joint venture company - Kier Stoke, which was set up with the Kier Group following a comprehensive procurement process carried out in accordance with associated statutory requirements of European regulations.

The council has a 20 per cent equity share in the company, which has Kier and local authority representatives on its board and the contract management role is administered by a dedicated joint venture client team within housing services.

The company was set up to maintain the council’s 20,000 council homes and public buildings and has become the new employer of the council’s 540-strong housing maintenance workforce.

“This represents a significant improvement for the way we provide our services to our customers and the people of Stoke-on-Trent,” says Slater. “The council will plough profits from the company back into public buildings and services for its tenants.

“Profits aside we, as a council, will also benefit because we will retain decision-making powers while accessing business expertise and commercial experience.”

The collaboration is the latest in a string of similar partnerships between the contractor and local authorities, following in the footsteps of Harlow, Islington and Sheffield.

“Partnership working is fundamental to how we provide our services and our approach to continual improvement and it remains an important part of our business planning,” says Slater.

The council also has a comprehensive partnership with Npower, as energy efficiency commitment funding partner, and Miller Pattison, as contractor, to implement a programme of insulation measures into council-owned stock over the period from October 2007 to October 2009. The programme is worth in excess of £1.2 million and the initiative is solely funded through the power company’s energy improvement strategy at no cost to the city council.

And in a further example of partnership working Stoke’s city council has joined forces with Aspire Housing to develop new bungalows at Ingestre Square in Blurton, to replace outdated council-owned stock on the site. The bungalows are part of ambitious plans to transform the neighbourhood, which have received £2.5 million in funding from the Housing Corporation. The proposals include a new community centre, retail units, and a Job Enterprise and Training Centre.

The city of Stoke-on-Trent is within one of the nine Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder zones (Renew North Staffordshire) and as a result significant investment has been made in the area to address weaknesses in the local housing market. The Renew North Staffordshire HMRP has delivered major investment into the city’s urban core and has initiated the co-ordinated regeneration of five of the council’s suburban estates.

The suburban estates programme has led to the development in 2005 of masterplans in partnership with local residents, strategic RSL partners and other agencies for all five of the city’s key estates. It is scheduled to continue through to 2011 and it is estimated that the programme will direct more than £300 million of public sector investment into the estates during that time period.

New homes have been built for older people, community facilities and gardens have been created, along with off-road parking solutions, and there have been property facelifts and numerous other environmental improvements works all of which were identified in the masterplans for the estates. The programme is steered by local community steering groups, who provide an overview and scrutiny role in relation to the regeneration of their own neighbourhoods.

Stoke council’s housing stock includes seven sheltered schemes, incorporating almost 300 extra care houses at four sites but it is hoping to extend the service that it offers by providing a further 1,000 places and is seeking partners to develop new ways to deliver the service.

Several options are being explored including a review of existing schemes looking at alteration, expansion and demolition; providing new models; a review of wider existing older persons stock of accommodation; new provision on former residential home sites and development on other council-owned land.

And plans are in the pipeline to roll out a pilot scheme, which has been trialled in Abbey Hulton, which uses scheme co-ordinators (former wardens) at sheltered schemes to provide support to elderly in the local community.

The Rowan Village Extra Care scheme for people over 55 is another example of positive partnership working from the council.

The joint venture between Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Housing comprises 75 apartments available for rent and sale, including six properties specifically for older carers of adults with learning disabilities. There is also a range of facilities for both residents and the local community to use, including a restaurant, gym, therapy room, hairdressing salon and shop.

Residents at Rowan Village have a mixture of support needs and some are fully independent, while others have assessed care needs. All support services at the village are provided by managing agents Accord Care and Support.

But housing services is about so much more than bricks and mortar and the city council’s sheltered housing schemes offer more than a roof over people’s heads. All of the schemes have recently been upgraded to provide residents with communication telecare overlay.

“This provides a service beyond the basic lifeline system allowing access to additional links to wider services from healthcare to emergency alarms,” says Slater.

Under the scheme sensors are fitted into properties, which can either be reactive and triggered when something happens such as a fall or preventative and triggered when something that usually happens has not happened such as a fridge door not being opened in 24 hours.

The detectors are linked by telephone line to the council’s Lifeline system and when the alarm is triggered it sends a warning to the control centre.

While much has already been achieved in this city in terms of affordable housing, the council recognises that there is still more to be done, especially in light of the level of regeneration that is taking place at the moment.

Slater says: “Stoke-on-Trent is undergoing a period of change and regeneration. Provision of good quality, affordable homes in sustainable neighbourhoods is vital to attract workers into the city and affordable family accommodation, close to good transport links and local amenities, is a key priority for the city in order to reduce the numbers of families leaving the area and to stabilise the workforce and the housing market.

“Availability of properties to vulnerable groups within our communities is a particular priority, as young people and older people face problems finding affordable accommodation that meets their needs.

“We will continue to develop options which are suited to the needs and aspirations of vulnerable residents and we also need to ensure that residents in regeneration areas have sufficient housing choices, particularly if their homes are affected by clearance.”

The council is producing an action plan to outline its continuing work in relation to the development of affordable housing and is planning to continue working with partners and developers to support a range of affordable housing options for residents across the city. It has made a commitment through the Local Area Agreement to deliver 177 affordable housing units in 2008/09 and plans to increase the number to 190 in 2009/10 and 203 in 2010/11.

“House prices locally have risen at rapid rate,” says Slater. “The average house price in the city increased by 118 per cent between 2001 and 2006 and in 2007 the average price for a property was £98,167, compared to £42,888 in 2001, which has impacted especially on the lower end of the property market. Incomes locally have not increased at a similar rate to house prices and more households than ever are unable to afford to buy a property. The changes in house prices have meant that the current availability of affordable housing in the city is inadequate.”

At the same time the numbers of households waiting for council properties has increased dramatically in the past five years and there are currently over 10,000 households on the waiting list. This is coupled with the fact that the number of properties becoming available each year continues to fall as tenants are choosing to stay in social rented properties for longer and properties are being snapped up under Right to Buy and Right to Acquire schemes.

“The development of our affordable housing policy is firmly built on a robust evidence base of need,” says Slater. “This evidence is reviewed and updated regularly and from that we have produced an affordable housing local needs index which sets out the priorities for affordable housing provision in the different areas of the city, as well as a housing market assessment to review the estimated annual need for additional affordable housing.

“We have also adopted planning policy in relation to affordable housing provision, which means that new
developments in the city will include affordable housing provision or support for provision elsewhere and we work with a range of partners to ensure that the affordable housing options are available, including developers, local housing associations and private landlords. We work closely with the Housing Corporation to support partners’ bids for funding to develop affordable housing, particularly for those groups in the community who may need additional support.”

But of course large-scale regeneration and house building schemes are not possible without financial backing and the council is looking for funding to put its plans into practice.

“We intend to increase the levels of affordable housing available in the city in coming years and to support this we are seeking large scale funding to achieve the change that the city needs,” says Slater.

The council has been given approval by the Government to submit an outline business case for PFI funding to help to provide up to 570 units of Extra Care housing across the city. In addition it has submitted a further expression of interest for PFI funding to develop a significant number of properties on its suburban estates including large family houses, bungalows and supported housing available for social rent, shared ownership and full sale. A decision is expected early in 2009.

Next year looks set to be a period of great change for Stoke-on- Trent as it continues to grow but the council is determined to make sure that whatever happens, there will be a home for everyone in this new-look city.