Housing market renewalAction plan for delivering successful places

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The housing market renewal (HMR) programme was established by the government in 2003 with big ambitions – to create high-quality housing and successful, inclusive places for all in some of the most challenging areas of the country.

Established across 12 areas in the north of England and the West Midlands, the programme set out to deal with the entrenched effects of decline in the economic base, physical fabric and social infrastructure of those places.

For each area, an HMR partnership co-ordinates delivery of the programme, in conjunction with the local authorities:

• Urban Living (Birmingham and Sandwell)• Elevate East Lancashire• Gateway (Hull and East Riding) • Manchester-Salford Partnership• NewHeartlands (Merseyside) • Renew North Staffordshire • Bridging NewcastleGateshead • Oldham and Rochdale Partners in Action• Transform South Yorkshire• Tees Valley Living• West Lakes Renaissance• West Yorkshire Housing Partnership.

Introduction

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Five years on, £1.2 billion of government funding has been invested in the programme and a further £1 billion secured for the three years until 2010/11. It is now time to ask questions about the successes and failures of the programme, highlight achievements and suggest new directions.

This action plan, put forward jointly by CABE, English Heritage and the Sustainable Development Commission, sets out the key priorities for the next phase of the programme. The plan draws on a discussion in October 2007 between these agencies, HMR partnerships, Communities and Local Government (CLG) and core cities.

A longer report that expands the main points of this action plan and the context in which they sit is available online at www.cabe.org.uk/hmr

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Where we are now

Since its launch, the housing market renewal programme has achieved several goals. It has:

• brought significant public sector resources to areas of decline, in some instances for the first time

• created renewed confidence within the development sector

• initiated new or reinforced existing cross-boundary models of working

• achieved clear physical improvements in many neighbourhoods, including 40,000 refurbished and 1,100 new homes to February 2008.

However, since 2003, the housing market has changed significantly. Higher house prices, reduced vacancy rates, growing problems of affordability and longer housing waiting lists all emerged during the period to the end of 2007. Since then, the housing market has begun to weaken and many regional variations have become more evident.

At the same time, the growing consensus on the causes and effects of climate change, and rising fuel prices, are putting pressure on the programme to consider more intensely the questions of energy efficiency and carbon reduction.

The policy and governance environment has also changed. The 2006 local government white paper, Strong and prosperous communities, promoted place-making as a key driver for economic prosperity and highlighted the responsibilities of local authorities as ‘place-shapers’. It also announced new sub-regional governance mechanisms including multi-area agreements (MAAs). These are now being piloted in several HMR areas.

In addition, the quality of both private and social housing stock, spaces and neighbourhoods in many HMR areas remains poor. Many families still live in unacceptable conditions and lack choice. Those that can often move away, leaving behind large areas of concentrated poverty and deprivation. This polarisation of communities is not sustainable. Although much good work has been done, the quality of the completed homes and neighbourhoods often leaves much to be desired.

The detailed justification for the programme may therefore have shifted, but the need to improve the housing quality and choice in HMR areas remains as important as ever. The role of the design disciplines – architecture, urban design and planning – remains crucial in creating diverse, sustainable and attractive homes and neighbourhoods, and achieving the overall aspiration of the programme: the reversal of neighbourhood decline and the revitalisation of local communities.

Moving forward

In line with the changing economic, social and environmental context, there is a real opportunity to further shift the emphasis of the HMR programme from a focus on housing to a broader-based, design-led regeneration programme, with placemaking at its heart. This coincides with the start of the new programme of work for the funding period 2008-2011 and the emergence of the Homes and Communities Agency, which will take the lead role in the programme from 2009 onwards.

The action plan aims to capture how different partnerships, agencies and the government should respond to the changing policy environment and opportunities of the programme, with a particular reference to delivering sustainable places and improving quality of life, through design. It reaffirms the excellent overall intentions of the HMR programme, recognising that delivering successful places in the pathfinder areas and ensuring a lasting, positive legacy of the programme is a complex and long-term process.

‘The 2006 local government white paper, Strong and

prosperous communities, promoted placemaking as a key driver for economic

prosperity and highlighted the responsibilities of local

authorities as place-shapers’

2008 – a new context

To champion the placemaking agenda, in line with the recommendations of the local government white paper, HMR partnerships and local authorities should:

• develop programmes in accordance with national planning policy and guidance, particularly Planning policy statement 1 (PPS1): delivering sustainable development; PPS3: housing; and PPG 17: planning for open space, sport and recreation

• r ecognise that the value added by good design, which enhances the existing local

character and historic environment, includes social cohesion, social heritage and stability, improved health and environmental quality

• focus development and investment strategies on the long-term economic value of investing to achieve high-quality environments

• choose private sector partners that will deliver long-term solutions and base decisions on value, rather than cost

• work with the Homes and Communities Agency and other delivery partners as appropriate to identify the most effective approaches to planning and delivering high-quality places

• set out clearly, in policy and practice, the design quality and sustainability standards to be achieved in all projects – not just new build – including existing national standards such as Building for Life, the Code for Sustainable Homes, EcoHomes and Lifetime Homes

• establish design quality assessment and monitoring mechanisms, such as design review and housing and neighbourhood quality audits for existing and new homes

• undertake masterplanning and other design-led processes and make them central to decision-making and funding allocation

• secure and support appropriate design and historic environment in-house capacity and champions within boards/councils

• ensure that adequate design and historic environment training is undertaken by all those involved in planning and delivery, including in-house officers, board members, councillors, community representatives and private sector delivery partners

• celebrate and share best practice in creating high quality homes and places arising from the HMR programme, to raise awareness of good design and design solutions among general public, HMR partnerships and their delivery partners.

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Revitalised homes in Northmoor, ManchesterWorking closely with the local community, Great Places Housing Group, Manchester Engineering Design Consultancy and Ian Finlay Architects have refurbished existing terraced houses and radically improved the wider public realm. Property values have dramatically increased while levels of crime have fallen substantially

Placemaking and design

RecommendationsS

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To achieve best practice in socially and environmentally sustainable development and the creative use of historic environments, HMR partnerships and local authorities should:

• ensure that the contribution to creating successful places which is offered by the creative refurbishment and reuse of existing homes and public buildings, continues to be recognised in development strategies and proposals

• commit to the early commissioning of comprehensive urban design and historic area characterisations and assessments and ensure that they inform the future planning, design and phasing of physical interventions in neighbourhoods

• continue to engage meaningfully with local communities about the future of their homes, streets and neighbourhoods, through a professional and creative, design-led process

• promote the principles of safe and inclusive places throughout the design and development process, and monitor the impact of HMR interventions on social and ethnic cohesion and crime

• recognise the contribution of the built environment to climate change and commit to the highest environmental sustainability standards and practices in the refurbishment of existing homes and delivery of new homes and neighbourhoods

• ensure that redevelopment results in easy access to good quality green space and promote the principles of active travel and healthy neighbourhoods.

Heritage, community and environment

Community-led regeneration in north SheffieldResidents of Southey Owlerton and Brightside Shiregreen have been involved in a design-led programme of neighbourhood improvements since 1999. Physical regeneration plans draw together masterplans and communicate how the different projects relate to each other

Transforming perceptions through design: Whitefield, NelsonMaccreanor Lavington’s innovative scheme for developers R.gen envisages the retention and creative refurbishment of small terraced houses. Winner of a design competition for Pendle Borough Council and Elevate East Lancashire, the scheme explores how low-value, low-demand housing can become both attractive and desirable

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To maximise the potential of working across boundaries and ensure that interventions on particular sites have wider regenerative effects, HMR partnerships and local authorities should:

• make sure that the delivery programmes and processes developed by HMR partnerships are best aligned with ongoing statutory planning and other regeneration processes run by the local authorities

• utilise new governance mechanisms such as multi-area agreements (MAAs) and local area agreements (LAAs) to coordinate public investment for community infrastructure, health, education, green space and employment opportunities, with investment in housing stock

• adopt an integrated approach to their planning and delivery in areas where housing growth is occurring alongside renewal, based on an overarching spatial strategy

• utilise public funding as an incentive to attract and diversify investment in HMR areas and encourage delivery partners to have the confidence to be less risk averse

• seek support from the regional development agencies and the Homes and Communities Agency, aimed at coordinating their activities and investments with those of HMR partnerships within an agreed spatial strategy

• commit sufficient revenue funding to secure the right skills for creating and maintaining high-quality places in the long term – this includes client, design, regeneration, community development and leadership skills

• refine monitoring and reporting mechanisms to include social and environmental indicators, such as crime and safety, carbon reduction, traffic reduction, social and tenure mix and conservation measures.

To address the changing social, economic and environmental pressures and ensure a holistic approach to placemaking in HMR areas, central government should:

• address the broader social, environmental and economic factors which contribute to market renewal by using evidence to make the link to the housing market

• reinforce the funding criteria related to long-term qualitative outcomes (as well as short-term quantitative outputs), to ensure that time, resources and the necessary skills are dedicated to delivering and maintaining well-designed, sustainable places

• allow a greater degree of flexibility in funding for non-housing measures, such as improvements to the public realm, whose contribution to the housing outcomes and outputs, set out in the funding agreement, can be shown

• join up agendas and initiatives across departments, such as the Liveability and Mixed Communities programmes and others, and offer clarity about how these tie into the HMR programme

• maintain strong teams at the centre and in regional offices of both central government and its agencies, to allow them to assist and, where necessary, challenge HMR partnerships and local authorities in their areas

• realistically assess the balance of revenue and capital funding required to ensure the right skills and capacity within HMR partnerships to deliver the placemaking agenda

• use revenue streams to manage cleared areas and communities affected by developments within HMR areas

• adopt a collaborative approach to policy development to exploit expertise in local authorities, partnership teams and the private sector

• emphasise the successes of the HMR programme and champion best practice for transfer to other programmes

• consider longer-term funding settlements.

Funding and delivery

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Pledges CABE will:

• provide assistance in commissioning sub-regional spatial strategies, aligned with statutory planning processes

• advise on open space strategies and public realm frameworks

• provide enabling support on exemplar/demonstration projects and tools and strategies for delivering good design

• seek to embed the use of Building for Life – the national benchmark for well-designed housing and neighbourhoods – in processes for communicating, negotiating and evaluating quality in housing proposals

• conduct or facilitate design training for officers, board members and councillors

• continue to promote learning and best practice through its design task group network, written guidance and study tours

• continue to undertake design review of significant HMR schemes

• advise the government on planning and design issues arising from the HMR programme.

Government agencies will support HMR partnerships, local authorities, and central and regional government in delivering high-quality places with wide-reaching regenerative effects. They will do this by providing advice at strategic level as well as in relation to site-specific projects and issues.

A fresh approach: Europan’s Stoke-on-Trent winnerHousing market renewal offers a chance to re-imagine towns and cities – and design competitions can help to develop a vision. Europan – the international competition for young designers managed by CABE – has brought innovative, creative thinking to sites in Oldham, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent

Sustainable Development Commission will:

• provide evidence and advice on improving the environmental performance of existing homes and delivery of new homes and neighbourhoods

• contribute to design task group events

• work with others to champion examples of excellent sustainable buildings (new and refurbished)

• advise the government on the sustainable development issues arising from the HMR programme.

English Heritage will:

• provide advice and guidance related to undertaking characterisation exercises and identifying areas of historic environment interest

• provide assistance with masterplanning projects to ensure that the issue of appropriate reuse of the existing building stock is addressed and that the proposals build on the identified character of the settlement

• develop and maintain the Historic Environment Local Management (HELM) website, including an up-to-date case study library

• continue to provide relevant training events on characterisation and Building in Context

• work alongside other partners on the research projects related to energy efficiency and terraced housing

• contribute to design task group events

• advise the government on the historic environment issues arising from the HMR programme.

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The most important reports relating to this action plan are listed here, along with their recommendations.

Key actions for housing market renewalCABE, English Heritage, Sustainable Development Commission, the Environment Agency and the Commission for Integrated Transport, 2003

• Realise the scale of the opportunity and the task

• Positively address heritage as an asset

• Develop proposals that will create places of distinction

• Recognise the value of good design and its role in regeneration

• Adopt tools and strategies that will help deliver high-quality urban environments

• Place sustainable development at the heart of thinking and action

• Get ready for the challenge – by enhancing capacity and skills

Building houses or creating communities? Sustainable Development Commission, 2007

• Environmental and social sustainability impacts must be more firmly integrated into the programme

• There must be better co-ordination of public funding and wider service provision

• There should be more effective and meaningful community consultation and engagement

• There should be more sophisticated monitoring and evaluation of outcomes

Learning from each other: the design task groupDelegates pass through the Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centre as part of CABE’s July 2007 design task group event. Each task group meeting sees network members present best practice, discuss topical themes and visit projects in renewal areas and beyond

Earlier reports

Housing market renewalNational Audit Office, 2007

The National Audit Office recommended that Communities and Local Government should:

• Clarify the arrangements for the delivery of the HMR programme in the future

• Clarify the role of the government offices in helping to support regional delivery and in ensuring integration of the programme with other area-based initiatives and funding streams

• Be clearer about its expectations for the HMR programme’s contribution to deliver non-housing regeneration

• Continue to assure itself that HMR demolition schemes are based on a robust and up-to-date market analysis, supported by masterplanning and a heritage assessment

• Clarify how the HMR programme is expected to achieve alignment with regional strategies under its revised plans for higher housing growth in the north and Midlands

• Further develop the performance framework, including value for money indicators, so that it better measures the outcomes for which those delivering the programme can be held accountable

• Allow [in future evaluations of the programme] for comparison of outcomes between low-demand areas subject to HMR intervention and those low demand areas that are not

• Ensure that HMR partnerships follow key principles in their future engagement with communities.

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Housing market renewal, the government’s programme for delivering housing-led regeneration across 12 areas in the north of England and the West Midlands, has been running for five years. There have been some notable successes in that time, but many challenges remain. With the programme now into a new three-year phase, and the new Homes and Communities Agency set to take on its administration, it is time to offer new ways forward. This action plan, put forward jointly by CABE, English Heritage and the Sustainable Development Commission, proposes a shift in the agenda away from housing and towards a broad-based, design-led regeneration programme, with placemaking at its centre.

Published in 2008.

Graphic design: Draught Associates

Cover picture: Accrington, Lancashire © Jason Orton

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As a public body, CABE encourages policymakers to create places that work for people. We help local planners apply national design policy and advise developers and architects, persuading them to put people’s needs first. We show public sector clients how to commission projects that meet the needs of their users. And we seek to inspire the public to demand more from their buildings and spaces. Advising, influencing and inspiring, we work to create well-designed, welcoming places.

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