Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council give us an overview of their open day showcasing the achievements that earned their Beacon status for 'Homes for the future'.
Bolton has a long standing commitment to the delivery of the strategic housing function. The council's policy is Bolton First, Politics Second, creating ambition, vision and a stable environment for officers. Bolton has a strategic housing partnership made up of all providers and makes use of intelligence and good evidence base.
The council's key priorities are:
- creating wealth
- narrowing the gap between the most well off and the least well off
- linking housing ambition into the rest of what's going on in Bolton
- developing the town centre that has suffered from under-investment.
Currently the town has university status and as a result housing is acting as both a lever and a reactor to events. There is still demand for town centre living, particularly for social housing. However demand is not only in the town centre; out-of-town developments are based around housing e.g. Horwich Loco works.
In recent years new factors have influenced council's activities, including the recession, central government policy for funding local authority new build programmes, stock options, subsidy review. However Bolton is still thinking big.
- The Great Estates Programme
- Understanding housing markets
- Customer profiling
- Bolton first council to use empty homes powers
The Great Estates Programme
This is an integrated and ambitious programme for current estates consisting of:
- improving the physical environment
- supply of new build
- socio-economic regeneration
Improving the physical environment
Bolton developed the Great Estates programme to further enhance its decent homes improvements, considered as having done only "half the job".
One part of the programme was to improve the condition of estates that looked unkempt, unloved and uncared for. It was difficult to ask residents to care for the environment that had suffered from under-investment. The previous approach had not made best use of resources and used poor materials, and the environment was characterised by long front gardens, narrow streets and parked cars on streets, making it difficult for other cars to drive.
Bolton wanted to adopt a holistic approach to the street scene and one that didn't involve going back year after year to keep improving the environment. The council piloted five estates selected as "hotspots" of local problems and as the council didn't have the right skills in-house architects were appointed to produce designs. A lot of consultation went on with residents to redesign the five small neighbourhoods, involving even local children.
Some of the improvements carried out include bad fencing replaced with brick and solar panels installed to light up new porches.
New build
The other component of the programme is about building new properties. There was a spiralling need for new affordable housing but also a greater mix.
An environmental audit was carried out looking at all neighbourhoods in terms of quality and future potential. It proposed a number of mixed new build within or adjacent to council estates. Masterplanning was undertaken to integrate the new build properties with the Great Estates physical transformation. The team worked with other departments of the council for intelligent planning.
A special purpose vehicle (SPV) was set up to develop the new affordable housing. The three Bolton arms length management organisations (ALMOs) are part of the board of the SVP. In addition the council worked with the Homes and Communities Agency who offered the economic appraisal and also made available social housing grant.
Socio-economic regeneration
The council set up a comprehensive action plan aimed at getting people back into work via training and supportive measures. The team set up joined-up working with Economic Development, Health, the police and other partners. An extensive customer profile was created to look at who could be assisted.
The Plum scheme was set up to assist people in accessing work and training. The aim is to provide a financial bridge to give people some degree of financial security as they made the transition from benefit-dependence to managing a household budget when in employment.
Understanding housing markets
Local authorities need to keep housing conditions in their area under review to identify any action they may need to undertake. The following are part of the local requirements:
- private sector stock condition survey
- housing needs survey
- strategic housing market assessment
- strategic housing land availability assessment
Additional research
- older people housing need survey
- place survey
- health survey
- joint strategic needs assessment
To have a better understanding of the challenges ahead, residents are asked about when they'd be ready to release equity into their homes. The private rented sector is considered very important especially in the current economic downturn where owner occupation has become even more difficult to secure.
Bolton publishes a weekly Housing Bulletin which is a round-up of national, regional and local housing news and a monthly Housing and Economic Report for the departmental management team that includes house prices, repossessions and affordability. The council refreshes annually key statistics of the strategic housing market assessment including migration, housing stock, house prices, rents and affordability.
The range of dataset that the council uses includes geo-demographic datasets, income distribution, deprivation, unemployment and affordability.
In the long term the policy development priorities comprise affordable housing policy, home improvement agency development, improving energy efficiency and tackling fuel poverty, private sector housing strategy, financial inclusion strategy and joint housing plan for older people.
In the short term responding to the recession and implementing value for money.
Customer profiling
In the housing sector as in the commercial sector, the importance of knowing your customers cannot be overlooked.
Bolton at home, the council's ALMO has done extensive research to better know the profile and types of tenants to adequately provide policies and support for them. It has looked at unemployment trends, who are the key audiences, what are key demographic trends, the level of worklessness.
In Bolton worklessness rates are 15.8 per cent, which is above the regional (14.8 per cent) and national (11.9 per cent) rates. The economic status of tenants is:
- 42 per cent not working
- 31 per cent working
- 26 per cent retired
- 1 per cent full time study.
Otehr demographic trends include:
- 89 per cent of Bolton at Home tenants have net household incomes of less than £15,559
- 32.1 per cent have some form of disability
- 71 per cent of tenants are of working age
- 38.5 per cent of working age tenants have no qualifications
- 58 per cent of working age tenants have no trade/skills
- 79 per cent of working age tenants are not interested in self employment.
Bolton at homes has created customer types, neighbourhood profiles, economic profiles and support to access work profiles.
The neighbourhood programmes have started in 14 "Bolton at home" neighbourhoods.
As part of pilot projects on Breightmet Estates 45 households requiring support with "basic skills" wil be contacted and 75 households identified as not in employment, education or training.
Older people's housing
21 per cent of Bolton's housing stock is sheltered accommodation. However the council noticed that there was a declining demand for sheltered housing and the support service model no longer fitted what people wanted. There was no possibility to opt out of the service provision whereas older people wanted the option to opt out and also be able to choose services.
Bolton's Housing Plan for Older People has six priorities:
- access to information
- improve current services
- consult and engage
- strategic planning of sustainable housing
- joined up and seamless housing-related support.
A survey was carried out for all older people's schemes to build up a strong evidence base to inform the plan. The survey found out that:
- 14 per cent of the properties were being let to people aged under 60 because of low demand.
- Significant needs were often not addressed, including problems such as mental health and alcohol abuse.
- A key reason why people wanted sheltered accommodation was the need for accessible homes. However, a lot of sheltered housing is not accessible as the majority of stock is built in the 1970s and designed for fit and healthy older people without mobility problems.
- There is significant demand for sheltered housing from owner occupiers.
- Low demand for some schemes suggests that not all sheltered housing is desirable.
- 58 per cent of people on the housing register for sheltered housing wanted two bedrooms, but three quarters of Bolton's stock for older people consists of one bedroom and 8 per cent consists of bedsit accommodation. Grouped bungalows were the most popular type of scheme. Dispersed properties with independent access were generally more popular than schemes under one roof. However, schemes under one roof are generally more popular among the older people aged 75 and over because they tend to like the security.
- There is a preference for people on the housing register for properties located close to their family and friend networks.
The schemes were divided into three categories, retained schemes, managed schemes and released housing stock. A different approach was adopted for each of them, introducing the possibility to opt out of the support service and reduced charges, and also support for customers who wish to move to other housing.
In order to create a holistic picture of the intervention a range of research exercises were also carried out:
- a customer survey on sheltered housing
- a viewpoint meeting
- a stakeholder event, including front-line staff
- an event with partner housing associations
- a member consultation
Research revealed that:
- 16 per cent of the population in Bolton is aged 65 or over.
- 32 per cent of the population are aged over 50 (very important in terms future demand)
- An increasing number of older people, is aged 85 and over.
The objective of the action plan is to change the model of accommodation and support, retain 2,000 units, remodel 2,000 units and for the remaining 1,000 units, either decommission them to special needs or demolish and redevelop the site. It also aims to change the balance of funding from Supporting People to Housing Benefit.
The council will co-ordinate with housing associations and work closely with the ALMO, Bolton at Home. Any freed up land will go into the Transforming Estates programme. The council will also review extra care provision to assess how new provision will affect demand for other types of housing including sheltered housing and residential care.
Lessons learned
- It is not possible to remodel housing schemes within departmental silos.
- It is not possible to remodel services in isolation of the total housing and support service offer.
The new provision for older people will include:
- low cost home ownership
- extra care
- two bedroom properties only
- bungalows
- new council house build includes two bedroom apartments for older people.
Bolton first council to use empty homes powers
Bolton Council is the first local authority in the north to use a pioneering order to get an empty private home back into use. . Although 25 interim EDMOs have been issued in the country, this is only the third final EDMO a local authority has issued.
An interim EDMO allows councils to carry out works and agree a tenancy with the owner of a property that has been empty for six months or more. If the owner does not co-operate then a final EDMO can be issued. This gives the council control of the property for seven years and allows work to be done and the property rented out.
Powers used to tackle empty home - on Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council's website