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NEW REPORT | Constructing Consensus: The case for community-powered development and regeneration “The perception that development is “done to” communities rather than “with” communities gives oxygen to local NIMBY narratives that development is foisted upon them with no opportunity to shape or influence the nature of it.” In a report out today, we make the case for a better system of development in England – one that fully involves and empowers communities in decision-making. We argue that the government’s ambitious housebuilding targets will be at risk unless the planning system gives communities more power and influence to shape local development. Key findings: 🏠 Local communities can be pro-housing development when they are more meaningfully involved in decisions and have a stake in the outcome. 📈 Involving communities in regeneration schemes can increase their quality and sustainability. 📍 Where local authorities have the power and resources to place shape and ensure developers prioritise community needs, better housing delivery follows. In it we set out a vision for a renewed approach to regeneration and development which builds in the role, voice and influence of communities. To achieve this, we offer practical recommendations for policymakers and planners. Illustrated by dozens of national and international examples, including: ✅ Communities taking on ambitious regeneration projects in Plymouth, Hastings and Grimsby – with positive economic and societal impact. ✅ Councils like Test Valley fully involving local people in planning and securing buy-in and better development as a result. ✅ And international case studies of Dublin, Vienna and Zurich that demonstrate the wider potential of better housing policy. Read the report 👀 https://lnkd.in/eVNSGZ6D Listen to the key findings on our podcast 👂 https://lnkd.in/eguzn9YV Let us know what you think in the comments 👇 Thanks to our partners Browne Jacobson and Local Partnerships LLP for working with us on this research 🙌 and to the brilliant people behind the report's case studies 🔎 Nudge Community Builders, Hastings Commons, East Marsh United, Test Valley Borough Council, South Dublin County Council, Grosvenor, The Earls Court Development Company, Citu + many more.

Sharing this excellent (practical, hopeful) paper on the potential for greater and richer community involvement with development in the UK, and how it could be enabled. One of the major hurdles I've encountered is that 'local people' just don't believe they will be listened to, so "it's a waste of time" them engaging. What could help? - More storytelling about citizen agency and its positive outcomes - More bridges built in development narratives, and in real life, between 'the blue suits' and the people living next door - More education in plain language about the planning and development process. Hats off to the New Local and Local Partnerships teams for the insights.

This is spot on. Anyone who thinks community engagement is a tick box exercise or a 'nice-to-have' is completely missing the point. Look at the results from any recent election (including the last) and it is crystal clear that when communities feel disempowered or unengaged in growth and regeneration conversations in their neighbourhoods, they vote against those they see as being in the driving seat. If we ever have a chance of achieving the #goodgrowth and #regeneration needed to deliver better lives for all then we need to start taking community engagement and empowerment much more seriously and channelling proper investment in that direction. The report highlights the very impressive efforts of community-led initiatives, such as Hastings Commons, but these rely on significant time investment from local volunteers with insecure funding. Would be good to see the balance shift towards recognising these efforts with proper policy, investment and support to enable local and regional government to drive forward regeneration and growth in partnership with their communities. There are SO many good examples of this out there so let's learn from the best and do more of it.... Anna Singleton Louise Brooks Sandra Perez Roland Karthaus Tanushree Agarwal

New Local has teamed up with Local Partnerships and Browne Jacobson to address a pressing issue: how can we build more homes and regenerate our communities while empowering local voices in the planning process? 🏘️ In this new report, we argue that by involving communities more in development decisions, we can speed up the process, raise the quality of builds and create better outcomes for everyone. Make sure to give it a read 👇

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐃'𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐞.. Despairingly Disheartening & Disappointing. This announcement, made in the Scottish Housing News today is not an innovative project, its a terrible announcement! 1017 properties in the city are lying empty which could house many different families and YES, bringing them back into use should be a very high priority. But this should have started already... and this article had me holding my head in my hands! I'll pop in a few quotes from the article below for those who don't have the time to read: "much of my first year will be taken up with talking to people" "In our second year, we’ll shift gears as we begin to put in place the operational and structural elements" "By the end of our second year, aka the start of 2026, we will be ready to break ground on our first Dundee community regeneration project" “Our two-year development period officially starts on the 7th of May." Much to comment on here, but firstly, I will try to save them a full year of wasted funding cost with a top tip: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐀𝐒𝐀𝐏. What will the cost of a full year of talk, and another full year of project planning be? The real cost is TIME... The time wasted. More TIME families are stuck in terrible situations when all they want is a safe and secure home. Not proof that it was planned to infinity, and only started 2 full years from now. Which brings me on to my next question. Is it a 2 year deal from 7th May past.. (2024) or 2 full years from 7th May coming, i.e. 2025. In which case, work might start on 8th May 2027? The timings are all a bit fluffy and unclear. I'm rarely frustrated and typically I'm an optimistic type of person, but surely we can do better than this. Lives are depending on housing. Why cant we just start the work now? https://lnkd.in/exWWicrZ

Not-for-profit community housing providers in NSW own or manage more than 54,000 social and affordable homes in NSW. Did you know that in the last decade, the not-for-profit community housing industry has built more than 5,800 new homes across NSW? That’s just one of the statistics included in our latest Community Housing Snapshot report. The Snapshot provides an overview of the not-for-profit community housing industry and an up-to-date summary of our industry’s economic and social benefits, including our investment in local communities, cost savings to government, jobs created, and resident satisfaction. The Snapshot showcases some of the fantastic projects developed and managed by our members. These developments are great examples of: 🤝 collaboration between the community housing industry, governments, and the private sector ✨ innovative and inclusive design 🌏 energy efficiency and sustainability The Snapshot also outlines the four changes the NSW Government can make to maximise the delivery of social and affordable housing through not-for-profit community housing providers. You can read the Community Housing Snapshot here: https://lnkd.in/gj8USFVZ

Following the significant insights gained from the 2022 ‘State of Affordable Housing on the Central Coast’ report, Pacific Link Housing has released an updated statement emphasising the continued and urgent need for accelerated efforts in the provision of affordable and key-worker housing. Report available at https://lnkd.in/gnsAee53 Ian Lynch, Group CEO of Pacific Link Housing, shared insights on the challenges experienced. “As the Central Coast’s only locally based Tier 1 Community Housing Provider, Pacific Link Housing is acutely aware of the increasing hardships faced by individuals and families. Our updated report not only reflects on the progress made but also reiterates our call to action for increased funding and streamlined approval processes for social and affordable housing projects specifically.” The statement proposes six strategic actions targeted at national, state and local levels to mitigate the housing crisis effectively. It calls for increased collaboration and expedited measures to ensure that more affordable housing can be delivered swiftly and efficiently. Local leaders and stakeholders including Regional Development Australia Central Coast, Business NSW - Central Coast, Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council, the University of Newcastle, UDIA NSW - Central Coast, Central Coast Council and the Central Coast Local Health District have again supported this paper, and are united with Pacific Link Housing’s commitment to resolving this critical issue and calls for action, that will benefit the whole community. Liesl Tesch AM David Harris Adam Crouch MP Emma McBride David Farmer

What can local government do to address a growing housing crisis? As part of our Global Local Executive Panel series, LGIU and Victorian Local Governance Association brought together Chief Executives from Ireland, Scotland and Australia to discuss shared insights and best practices. What did we find? Grace Vickers, Chief Executive of Midlothian Council and Chair of Solace Scotland, outlined the pressures of being the fastest-growing council in Scotland. Balancing this key driver, along with sustainability goals, Grace outlined the growing stress councils in Scotland face with housing where 5 councils have now declared a housing emergency (Full briefing below). Nonetheless, Grace identified the importance of passive housing techniques to emphasise that despite capital cut pressures, local government in Scotland continues to innovate and adopt. Next up, Rushda Halith, General Manager of Community and City Services at City of Melbourne, outlined the role of partnership and community-driven approaches. Beginning with an outline of the role of the council and working with the State and Federal Government to coordinate between different parties. One key area from Rushda was Melbourne's use of People Panel's and multi-sector partnerships to learn from experts and people with lived experience of affordable housing. Moving to Ireland, Robert Burns, Chief Executive at Monaghan County Council (Ireland) emphasised the importance of plan-led development and modern methods of construction. Building on his experience at Fingal County Council, Robert looked at examples from Church Fields where plan-led development bridged economic and social sustainability to use holistic "10 minute" neighbourhood approaches. For modern methods of construction, Robert focused on recent initiatives and pilots at Monaghan County Council (Ireland) to partner with private companies to utilise Modern Methods of Construction such as timber frame, light gauge steel or volumetric pre-cast concrete. Our final speaker, Diwa Hopkins from the Regional Australia Institute spoke on recent research reports insights from the first regional housing summit. The Summit called for wider recognition of the unique context and conditions of the housing crisis facing regional, rural and remote communities across the country, and the opportunities to better leverage Federal Government initiatives such as the Housing Australia Future Fund. (Full briefing below). Huge thanks to our speakers and you can register to attend our next panel on the 27th of June about resettling relationships between the levels of government below. Next panel - https://lnkd.in/e5YZzsyD Scotland’s housing crisis - https://lnkd.in/ejFQ6CP5 Solace Housing report - https://lnkd.in/ebuzZYz9 National Regional Housing Summit - https://lnkd.in/gM5EiSGg SGS Economics and Planning Jessica Buckley Tony Cain Local Government Management Agency (LGMA)

Could Estate Regeneration be key to tackling the UK housing crisis and boosting economic growth?. It promises sustainability and community engagement, potentially reducing carbon emissions by reshaping urban living. What are your experiences or thoughts on making this strategy work effectively in our cities? #GMHousing #EstateRegeneration #SustainableCities

Delivering on housing and regeneration🏡 Homes England has announced that its provisional figures for the year show that it has exceeded its annual targets, despite poor market conditions. Aside from the specific number of homes delivered, partnerships with housing associations and local authorities are expected to help the agency spend its share of the Affordable Housing Programme 2021-26, which will support plans to ensure that more people can access safe, decent, and affordable homes. Progress has also been made on Homes England’s remit around placemaking and regeneration, with powers, land, capital, and technical expertise being used to support regeneration and housing schemes across places that are of high priority. Chair of Homes England Peter Freeman said: “The performance demonstrated in these provisional figures is evidence of Homes England’s impact which is being felt across the country, helping to ensure that more people have a home in a safe, sustainable, thriving community.” Read more👇👇 https://lnkd.in/e6expYvq Homes England Peter Denton #Housing #Regeneration #HomesEngland #Place #Strategy #AffordableHousing