Planning Permission Granted For Living Wage Housing

Conran and Partners have received planning approval for 104 new affordable homes to be built in Brighton and Hove to tackle the city’s housing crisis. The proposed 7-storey scheme represents the project in a series of innovative new housing developments which aim to tackle the housing crisis through the ‘Homes for Brighton & Hove’ initiative – a partnership between Brighton & Hove City Council and the Hyde Group – set up to create 1,000 new homes for rent and sale for lower-income, local working households in the city. The council-owned site will deliver 100% of the new homes as affordable. Read more on the PBCT website.

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/planning-permission-brighton/63221/

Brighton Could Become The First UK City To Have A Homeless Bill Of Rights

Brighton could set a new precedent for UK cities when councillors debate whether to adopt a homeless bill of rights. The city council will be asked if they will sign up to enshrine 13 rights for homeless people at a full council meeting, covering access to decent emergency accommodation, the right to use public spaces, the right to vote, to privacy and to equal treatment among others. The campaign to protect homeless people’s rights aims to place human rights above a housing situation and protect society’s most vulnerable from discrimination. Read more on the Big Issue website.

https://www.bigissue.com/latest/brighton-could-become-the-first-uk-city-to-have-a-homeless-bill-of-rights/

Incompetent' Council Kicked Out Of Government Housing Scheme

A city council has been branded “incompetent” and kicked out of a Government scheme designed to protect tenants against rogue landlords. The selective licensing scheme allows councils to keep tabs on landlords and make sure they are providing good accommodation. Under the scheme, landlords must obtain a licence to ensure they are doing the right thing and meeting safety and quality standards. Brighton and Hove City Council was granted permission to operate a selective licensing scheme. But now Housing Minister Heather Wheeler has written to the council to revoke its licence. A source close to the minister said the decision was due to “incompetence, mismanagement and a lack of due diligence”. Read more on the Argus website.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/17193755.incompetent-council-kicked-out-of-government-housing-scheme/

Shadow Chancellor Promises Action On Homeless Families

Labour will provide accommodation for 100,000 children in homeless families, shadow chancellor John McDonnell has pledged. Speaking at the annual Labour Party conference in Brighton, McDonnell said ongoing austerity measures are hitting families hard. He said austerity is “not just a word” for the 100,000 children in homeless families who live in bed and breakfast or temporary accommodation. On behalf of this party I give those children my solemn promise that when we return to government we will build you all a decent and secure home in which to live,” he said. Figures published last week show that, as of the end of June, 66,980 individuals or families were registered as having no home of their own - an increase of 12 per cent from the same date last year.

A total of 99,080 children were among those living in temporary accommodation.   Read more on the Children & Young People Now website.

Right to Buy Could Be Scrapped By Council Housing Bosses

Housing bosses in Brighton plan to become the first in the country to scrap the policy that allows council tenants to buy their homes. Brighton and Hove council will ask the Government for permission to end Right to Buy because it puts publicly-owned homes into the hands of private landlords. Members voted through a Green motion to apply for the exemption, which would be the first of its kind granted to a local authority in the country. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Leaseholders Charged Tens of Thousands for Repairs

The Brighton and Hove Leaseholders Association has met with the government over "excessive bills" for improvements to properties where the council owns the freehold. The association said many of its members faced bills for tens of thousands for improvements. The invoices are being issued by a contractor working on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council. A leaseholder who bought the leasehold of a former council flat in 2006 has recently received an estimated bill of more than £34,000 for planned building work. Read more on the BBC website.

Shipping Container Homes an 'Overwhelming Success'

Homeless people who moved into a collection of converted shipping containers in Brighton have deemed the project an overwhelming success. An independent report into the satisfaction of residents staying at the Richardson's Yard site found 94% of people felt the accommodation was an improvement on where they lived before. But some tenants did have complaints about rent levels and heating costs. The site, run by the Brighton Housing Trust (BHT), opened six months ago. The charity was given planning permission to keep 36 units at the former scrap metal yard for five years.

Read more on the BBC website.

Developers Must Seek Permission to Turn Offices into Homes

Councillors in Brighton have agreed changes to the planning rules that will require developers to seek permission if they want to change their office space to residential use. The policy and resources committee confirmed an article four direction, which means that developers must obtain planning permission to change the use of their offices to residential space in several areas of Brighton.  The council made the decision following a temporary change in planning law introduced by the Government in May 2013 that removed the need to obtain planning permission for change of use from office space to residential. The council and its leading partners in economic development of the city fear that this could affect the city’s business growth. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

New Planning Regulation Will Help Create Jobs and Low Cost Homes

Brighton & Hove City Council has introduced measures to protect office space in central Brighton. Councillors have confirmed an article 4 direction which means developers must obtain planning permission to change the use of their offices to residential space. The council made the decision following a temporary change in planning law introduced by the government in May 2013 that has removed the need to obtain planning permission for change of use from office space to residential. The council and their partners in economic development of the city fear that this could affect the city’s business growth. The Council is one of the first in the country to implement an article 4 direction in the city to ensure owners of office buildings still need planning permission. It will also enable the council to negotiate community benefits and affordable housing if change of use is recommended. Read more on the Brighton’s Future website.

MP Backs Tenants' Call for Independent Social Housing Inquiry

A Conservative MP is backing calls for an independent inquiry into the way social housing is run in Brighton and Hove after the council scrapped a tenants’ body to save money. Simon Kirby is supporting tenants who have written to the government calling for an independent inquiry after residents involved in the City Assembly passed a vote of no confidence. The City Assembly is a twice-yearly meeting where people representing resident associations and city-wide groups meet up to discuss topics that matter to tenants and leaseholders. With 83% of the 68 people attending the Assembly supporting the no confidence motion, those behind it claimed they were speaking for the majority of the city’s 14,000 tenants and leaseholders. Read more on 24dash.

'Affordable Housing' Does Not Mean What You Think It Means

In the good old days, councils and housing associations built social rented housing –  a simple idea in which rents were based on a formula that combined local wages and local property values so that, rents would be set at around 50% of local market rents – even lower in very expensive areas. Now, councils and housing associations have been told to replace social rented housing with a new product called, confusingly, affordable housing.  The average market rents for October 2013 show 80% of market rates for a three-bedroom property in London would be a staggering £655 a week in Westminster to £198 a week in Havering.  Elsewhere typical weekly rent for a three-bedroom home would be £218 in Sevenoaks, £247 in Brighton, £233 in Oxford and £179 in Bristol. No family on a minimum or very low wage could hope to pay these rents without relying on housing benefit. It's only when you move out to places such as Thanet (£128 a week), Peterborough (£115) or Nottingham (£110) that rents start to become affordable. Read more on the Guardian website.

Homeless to Live In Containers For Up To Five Years

Homeless people will be able to move into shipping containers in a former scrap metal yard in a bid to tackle a city's housing shortage. The converted containers will provide temporary homes for a period of five years for 36 men and women with a history of homelessness. Six containers are due to arrive in the New England Quarter of Brighton, East Sussex, with a further 30 arriving in the next few days. Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

Bedroom Tax: Labour Will Scrap Hated Levy

Ed Miliband has decided to pledge that a Labour government will bury the hated Bedroom Tax.  The Labour leader could unveil his plan as early as this month in his Brighton conference speech.  But some top Labour figures are urging him to keep his ­powder dry and use the abolition like a rabbit out of the hat at the height of the 2015 General Election campaign. A senior source in the party said: “Labour WILL repeal the Bedroom Tax. The only question remaining is when. But the sooner it’s ­buried, the better. It’s not just cruel and inhumane in impact but it’s ­turning out to be the economics of the madhouse.”  Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

'Backdoor Mansion Tax' On £2m Homes Could Treble Council Bills

Members of Brighton council, which is run by the Green Party, have suggested a “progressive council tax” that would result in a steep increase in local rates. The tax, the first of its kind in the country, would be means tested, and supporters say only the richest 20 per cent of households would be in the higher bracket. Conservatives attacked the proposals as “unfair” and likened them to the plans for a mansion tax favoured by the Liberal Democrats.  Labour warned that wealthy households could end up paying up to 200 per cent more in annual council tax bills.  Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Parliament Talks Social Housing

'Parliament Talks Social Housing’ is the latest in a series of free events and promotional activities highlighting Parliament’s role in debating and challenging government policy.  A free event in Brighton on Friday 13 September 2013 will demonstrate Parliament’s key role in examining housing policy and how it challenges the Government on these issues.

Meet Parliamentarians and experts from the Houses of Parliament and find out:

*How MPs and Lords hold the Government to account and examine housing policy in Parliament.

*What select committees do and how they scrutinise Government policy on housing.

*Where you can access Parliamentary research and information on housing.

*How you can engage with Parliament and get your voice heard.

Read more on the Parliament website.

Homeless to Be Contained

A plan to house Brighton's homeless in reconditioned shipping containers has been given the green light.  Brighton Housing Trust (BHT) has secured planning permission to install 36 units on the site of a former scrapyard. The unique homes will provide temporary accommodation for the city's homeless. BHT believes that up to a 100 people sleep rough on Brighton's streets every night.  Officers from Brighton and Hove's Planning Committee who recommended approval said that the containers were an “imaginative and appropriate way to meet a very real need for affordable accommodation".  Read more on 24dash.

Homeless to Be Housed In Shipping Containers

Dozens of homeless people in Brighton are to be offered accommodation in converted shipping containers to help ease the city's acute housing need. The 36 temporary studio homes, linked by walkways, are to be installed on land currently used as a scrap metal yard. Brighton Housing Trust will allocate the containers to men and women with a local connection to the city.  The scheme is intended as a move on from supported housing. They will be in three and five storey blocks, with balconies and external stairs to the upper levels.  Planning permission has been granted for five years, with the contaminated land not considered suitable for permanent housing.  Read more on the BBC website.

Council Slams Changes to Right to Buy Rules

Brighton & Hove City Council has condemned the plans that include increasing discounts on Right to Buy properties from £75,000 to £100,000, and cutting the period of time tenants must have occupied a home before they are able to buy from five years to three years.  The council's leader, Councillor Jason Kitcat, said: “Right to Buy is unsustainable as council homes are flogged off at a huge government-imposed discount meaning we can’t afford to replace them. Across the UK families on low incomes are deprived of affordable housing because of biggest privatisation programme this country has ever seen.”  Read more on 24dash.

Council: No Tenant to Be Evicted Over Bedroom Tax

A council has declared that none of its social tenants will be evicted if they cannot afford to pay the government's forthcoming bedroom tax.  Brighton & Hove City Council has become the first local authority in the country to take such a stance. Read more on 24dash.

Shipping Containers to Solve Housing Crisis?

A planning application for a scheme to provide temporary housing in converted shipping containers has been submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council.  Brighton Housing Trust and developers QED have proposed the 36 containers in order to provide temporary accommodation for the city’s homeless.  The temporary homes would sit on the site for a maximum of five years.  Ross Gilbert from QED, said: “This scheme, if agreed, would put Brighton and Hove at the forefront of innovation, alongside Amsterdam and Bremen, in providing imaginative and high quality temporary use.”  Read more on 24dash.