Making sense of the

Joint housing
delivery plan
Tony Cain

On the plus side

Its genuinely strategic (or at least high level);
It identifies a generally agreed set of priorities;
Its well connected to the concerns of the whole
of the housing sector; and
It points to the key issues that should underpin
local strategic planning and delivery.

The key strategic issues

Supply (13 actions);
Sustainability (3 actions);
Community engagement and place (4 actions);
Our aging population (5 actions);
Housing options, choice and control (4 actions);
and
Reform of the Private Rented Sector (5 actions)

So whats the problem

The essentially conservative nature of the approachA strong and well functioning housing system has a vital role to play in
supporting the development of a more productive, more coherent and fairer
Scotland
But there is no attempt to make sense of what that actually means for the
housing system

The risk that events will move more quickly than action.
The impact of tax changes on investment in the PRS
The abolition of FIT for domestic solar PV

Can you be a bit more specific?

13 actions on supply but no clear view on tenure
balance.
Action 2 deals directly with increasing the construction
of social housing but focuses on innovation in financial
products- that means existing tenants paying for new
homes- how fair is that?
Action 13 is about more subsidies for owner occupation
demand side support as if there wasnt enough
inflationary pressure in the system.
Buy to let landlords have spotted that investment in
second hand homes makes good financial sense but
not, apparently for the public sector!

Any thing else?

Under occupation is a huge problem in owner occupation, over half of all
owners have more than 2 bedrooms they dont use
Buyers get more advantage by over consuming, the tax system is one way this
could be addressed

The problem of an ageing population is, for the most part, a problem of
older owner occupiers- 80% of those over 70 are owners
Equity release products are one thing, so long as you have equity enough to make
a difference, what of the many owners of lower value properties?
How do you incentivise the construction industry to build more of what older,
lower income/value owners need?

What about the particular non housing issues facing rural communities?
Jobs
Transport

About the photographs

Slide 1- Quartairs Modernes Fruges, Rue Le Corbusier, Pessac, near Bordaux, designed by a young
Le Corbusier and demonstrating all his idealistic commitment to utopian housing. Completed in
1926 they were intended for sale as affordable homes to local factory workers. For more
information and a bit of a treatise on how great architecture can deliver for residents in the long
term see: http://
www.nytimes.com/1981/03/15/arts/architecture-view-le-corbusier-s-housing-project-flexible-enoug
h-endure-ada.html
Slide 2- Council housing built under the Addison Act powers introduced in 1919. These homes in
Riverside, Stirling were completed in 1920, some of the first to be built in Scotland and remain
highly desirable to rent and buy to this day. Not quiet as classy as Le Corbusiers but durable and
practical nearly a century later. They demonstrate that at its best, Council Housing can stand the
test of time even without a big name architect.
Slide 3- The last of over 400 homes to be demolished over 18 years in the Raploch area of Stirling.
The regeneration programme agreed in 2007 has been delayed significantly by the collapse of the
housing market following the financial crisis of 2007/08 but is slowly getting back on track.
Slide 4- Amenity bungalows in the Braehead are of Stirling. Built in the 1970s and now
comprehensively modernised including external insulation, solar PV panels and new kitchens and
bathrooms. Another fine example of getting it right.
Slide 5- A mixed tenure development in Riverside, Stirling built during the 1990s in partnership
between the Council, Ogilvie Homes and Forth Housing Association. One of very few that succeeds
in delivering tenure blind design.
Slide 6- Jellico Avenue, Gartmore. A mix of 8 flats and bungalows and just about as pretty as any
affordable housing development you will see any where. A real credit to Rural Stirling Housing