Towards a white rosey future

One way or another, it’s about the future. That seems a neat summation of the South Yorkshire story as we partake of a cursory examination of this once-heavyweight industrial heartland as it charts the next chapter of its story. Mark Cantrell reports.

Historically, a big chunk of the county was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; not only the industrial powerhouse of Britain’s largest county but also one of the nation’s major engine rooms of the manufacturing industry. The Riding was sundered in 1974 when local government reorganisation carved out the territory that became South Yorkshire. It also – dare one say – annexed and amalgamated local authority districts that had been part of neighbouring Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Now the county is defunct, except in a ceremonial capacity – it retains a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff – having been abolished as a County Council in 1986. That left the metropolitan boroughs of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and the City of Sheffield, functioning as unitary authorities. No authority is an island, however, and they remain a working group, as it were, throughout a host of collaborative and administrative partnerships and programmes.

One obscure fact about South Yorkshire is the creation of the Joint Secretariat (SYJS), based in Barnsley, that was created to provide support to the four joint authorities created when the county council was abolished – the police, fire and rescue, passenger transport, and the pensions authorities. It is the only metropolitan county in the UK to have created such a body. Another obscure fact is that it is the only county that counts as a full region in the Spiritualists’ National Union, but that’s another story.

Sheffield forges ahead
Both as individual authorities and as a group of councils bound together in the ceremonial borders of the old county, they are currently assessing their respective and collective futures. For all that, and whether they like it or not, the other towns and cities in South Yorkshire are de facto subordinated to Sheffield thanks to the establishment of the city region local economic partnership (LEP) that bear’s the steel city’s name.

The LEP picks up where the former Forum left off after its formation in October last year. It takes in not just the South Yorkshire authorities but also pulls Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire into Sheffield’s orbit, all of them working together to develop the region economically and socially.

“The LEP is based on a relationship between public and private sector and a strong commitment to work together to ensure the growth of a rebalanced local economy,” said James Newman, Chairman of the city region LEP. “The LEP is led by the private sector and will contribute significantly to the renewal of the national economy as a whole.”

This clearly places Sheffield at the heart of a region that is itself described as being at the heart of England, yet for all that, the city has its own independent role to play in measuring out its future, as indeed do its sister authorities across the county.

On matters housing, Sheffield has recently been taking steps to consider the future of its plans for housing investment, given the reductions in Government funding. “We haven’t got the funds from Government to do what we wanted to do,” said Councillor Harry Harpham, cabinet member for homes and regeneration. “That much is plain. But we are committed to making sure that we will use the resources we have to benefit those who need our help the most.”

Back in July, the city council launched a new joint venture company to deliver new homes for the city. The Sheffield Housing Company is a partnership between the city council, Keepmoat Ltd and Great Places Housing Group. The company plans to build around 2,300 homes over the next 15 years, providing long-term regeneration for neighbourhoods across the city. Building on the first schemes is expected to get underway in July next year.

Doing it in Doncaster
If Sheffield is taking steps to build the basis for the delivery of new homes, Doncaster is also putting together its ‘battle plan’ for the future. The authority has launched its housing strategy for 2011-2014 – ‘Better Homes, Better Places’ as it is called.

“’Better Homes, Better Places’ sets out the key national and city region issues, themes and challenges that we face over the next three years and how we can ensure that our housing priorities can contribute to them,” said Councillor Ray Mullis, Doncaster’s cabinet member for housing, introducing the strategy document.

“The strategy takes into account the local borough strategy priorities and also the wider plans for Sheffield City Region and will act as the basis for discussion about how to ‘do things differently to get better results’ with the Homes and Communities Agency and other key strategic partners in terms of both the strategic housing priorities and the local investment plan.”

The document sets out the strategies and goals for Doncaster, but it recognisesand even embraces the borough’s position in relation to the wider city region, and indeed the national situation, even as it sets out the important contribution it makes to that wider picture.

Rooted in Rotherham
Over the Summer months, Rotherham held a consultation inviting residents to have their say on the future development of the town. The consultation on the 15-year Local Development Framework (LDF) sought to address not just overall strategy, but to also identify in detail potential development sites across the borough.

“This is the first time that the council has actively sought comments on the options for the individual sites, and we need Rotherham people to help us make the best choices for their local areas,” said a council spokesperson. “The last consultation on the LDF took place in 2009 and because of the responses from the public then, and because of changes in Government policy, Rotherham is proposing significant reductions to not only its housing target but also the employment land required and the amount of Green belt it suggests would be needed to be released.”

In the new LDF, the council proposed retaining a ‘brownfield first’ approach, reducing the amount of greenfield development sites by 60 per cent. The council also reduced its housing targets by 27 per cent to 850 new homes per year, with a new local target of 12,750 new homes to be built between 2012 and 2027.

Previously, that figure had been 24,482. With consultation closed, the council is now considering the responses received from the public.

Meanwhile, the council continues to build new homes – and council ones at that. In August, councillors marked the latest instalment of brand new council homes to have been built. The latest – 21 – properties were constructed at Albany Road in the Kilnhurst area of the borough. The homes consist of two-, three- and four-bedroom properties and were built to Secured by Design standards.

“This wonderful development is already providing wonderful much-needed new homes for the authority’s tenants,” said Councillor Rose McNeely, cabinet member for safe and attractive neighbourhoods. These houses have been built to an incredibly high specification and offer high energy-efficient living as standard.” In total, Rotherham is looking to deliver 132 new homes by the end of the year, built with the assistance of £8.7 million from the National Affordable Housing programme specifically for building new council housing.

Barnsley takes stock
The future isn’t just about where and how many homes need to be built – it’s also about the upkeep of existing homes – as a commission into housing has been hearing in Barnsley. The council’s Physical Sustainability Scrutiny Commission wasn’t just looking at the issues surrounding council homes (managed by its ALMO Berneslai Homes) but also about the concerns of people in the private rented sector as well as owner-occupiers, and how all of these concerns inter-relate.

Tenants and residents from across the borough told the Commission what they thought of the potential impact of fewer improvements and repairs to housing stock could have on their communities. According to the council, officers with the ALMO had told the Commission that it could keep up both social and private housing to Decent Homes standard, but they warned that spending on repairs might have to be cut if the funding for it was reduced. Discussion with local people, however, revealed
a widespread view that properties should not be allowed to fall into disrepair.

“What has become very clear is that people are concerned about what might happen if funding is cut and the budgets for repairs and maintenance are significantly reduced,” said Councillor Graham Kyte, Chair of the commission. “A lot of people in Barnsley have benefited in recent years because of the excellent work which has taken place to bring council housing up to Decent Homes standard. This has had important benefits in terms of helping to keep people healthy and sustaining our communities. It is really important that we don’t go backwards on this.”

Another key message revealed to the Commission were concerns among the owner-occupier sector about welfare reform and the impact it might have on their ability to maintain their homes. Maintenance is no less a crucial concern amongst private rented sector tenants and there was a strong expression of concern about “unscrupulous landlords” who do not maintain their properties adequately.

“There are a lot of goods landlords in the borough providing top quality, wellmaintained accommodation for Barnsley people, but there are a small minority who do not and who need to be brought into line,” Kyte added. “In this connection, the commission welcomed the efforts to expand the Barnsley Accreditation Scheme, which aims to improve both management standards and housing conditions in the private rented sector.”

None of these are concerns unique to Yorkshire, of course, no matter where we live.

As Doncaster’s Mullis said: “Housing is important. It is the foundation upon which we build our lives. The quality of housing, how much it costs and where people live is a major influence on people’s quality of life, well-being, health and their opportunity to work, study and access sport, leisure and cultural activities.

“Good quality housing is essential for economic growth and engagement, educational attainment, public health, and community cohesion. Housing can play a major role in leading the economy back towards growth as well as supporting an efficient labour market which is key to economic success.”