Community plays a vital role in housing and this session considers community-led housing and a project to tackle rural fuel poverty in the community - join for live discussion on these great topics with the authors. The full abstracts are below.
Presentations from these authors and a live Q&A session are available to all HSA members. Book here
1. Philippa Hughes Scaling up Community-Led housing; The role of the enabling hub
Community-led housing (CLH) is considered to have the potential to mitigate challenges in a variety of situations of housing market dysfunction. The past decade has seen an expansion in interest in this potential from both grass-roots organisations and policy makers in England. The CLH sector is heterogenous, covering a variety of housing models and movements that are increasingly categorised together for the purposes of policy framing by central government, funding, networks and knowledge sharing. Accompanying this consolidation of CLH movements, a layer of regional infrastructure, or “enabling hubs” is emerging to promote, support, and build CLH. The support of enabling hubs is likely to be crucial to the anticipated phase of extended development as CLH projects face significant challenges in development. Most previous research on CLH in England consists of case studies at the level of individual projects or on understanding the national picture. This research will specifically address the role of the enabling hub in the CLH sector in England. This focus will contribute to academic understanding of how grassroots housing movements institutionalise themselves and the role of intermediary bodies in acting as knowledge broker and conduit between local and national government, funders, and grassroots movements. This paper will review the current landscape of CLH enabling hubs and their potential to influence the direction growth for CLH in England. It will consider the relationship between the enabling hubs, the “grass-roots”, and local and national government to examine the impact of growing institutionalisation on the CLH sector.
2. Jocelle Lovell, Leon Quinn & Barbara Parkinson Assessing the Potential Benefits of Living in Co-operative/Community Led Housing
The Wales Co-operative Centre felt the time was right to commission research that focused on the softer outcomes of living in CCLH 55 people from 22 schemes across England and Wales participated.
Allowing us to learn from the challenges as well as the benefits that can be associated with developing and living in CCLH is vital to developing a thriving movement in Wales.
CCLH naturally provides opportunities to; develop friendships, interact with fellow residents, learn new skills, and build confidence and knowledge in a supportive environment. All of which can play an important part in improving a person’s mental health and wellbeing, and addressing loneliness and isolation.
It is clear from the research findings that the long term benefits of living in CCLH far outweigh the challenges faced when a group of people choose to live in a more cohesive and co-operative way. CCLH offers so much more than better quality of housing and improving people’s financial situations.
In addition we would like this research to:
Provide a clear understanding of CCLH to policy makers and planners.
Encourage more local authorities and registered social landlords to consider their role in enabling more CCLH schemes across Wales.
Encourage any public sector land that is being brought forward for the development of affordable to include an allocation of CCLH, where there is ‘local’ interest.
Ensure housing polices and strategies make reference to and recognise CCLH as a ‘housing option’.
Influence main stream financial institutions to make lending more accessible to CCLH schemes.
3. Danielle Butler, Graeme Sherriff, Dr Cormac Lawler and Phil Brown ‘Local, trusted and for the community’: Lessons from the Gluasad Còmhla (Moving Together) project in tackling rural fuel poverty
Fuel poverty – a household’s inability to achieve or maintain adequate warmth, lighting and other essential energy services for good health, wellbeing and comfort - is a widely recognised social problem affecting roughly 3.5 million homes across the UK. Annually, cold, damp, and poor housing costs the NHS £1.36 billion and is predicted to account for a greater loss of life than road and rail accidents and alcohol-related deaths combined. Certain factors increase the risk of fuel poverty; one such factor is living in rural and remote areas, typically constituted by off-gas properties and those less easily or readily supported by relevant services and schemes. The Western Isles presents a particularly stark example of rural poverty where a staggering six out of ten households are affected. Since 2018, Tighean Innse Gall (TIG), a well-established organisation working across the Isles, has delivered an innovative approach to supporting households in rural and remote locations. The project draws on elements of social prescribing to work with health professionals and other key partners delivering a joined-up, holistic model of support. This presentation sets out key findings and reflections – developed into ten key lessons - from the Gluasad Còmhla (Moving Together) project, drawing on insights from nineteen in-depth interviews with householders, health professionals and local partners.