Dean Gray’s Post

More house building news in what is likely to be the biggest week of change for housing that we have seen for a long time. Angela Rayner’s initiative to develop low-quality green belt land, or ‘grey belt’, is a pragmatic approach to address the UK’s housing shortage. By focusing on underutilized areas, this policy aims to deliver 1.5 million homes over five years, with 50% designated as affordable housing. This strategy not only provides much-needed housing but also ensures the preservation of valuable green spaces. It’s a balanced solution that supports economic growth and meets community needs.

Design impacts emotions, emotion impacts actions, action impacts outcomes. When it comes to housing design, the unique and small details can mean the difference between a place to live and place to thrive. Efficiency is typically king when it comes to affordable housing. At The Gateway Collective, a first priority is socially connectedness. Design focused on fostering a sense of community What are we looking at in this picture? - 16 foot wide corridors - 18 foot tall ceilings - 6 foot tall double windows in each unit - skylights being installed next week throught the corridors and units Instead of a hallway, it becomes a neighborhood. Learn more about our Socially Inclusive Housing project coming this summer to support hard working and cost burdened households in Green Bay - https://lnkd.in/gTkFgCWV #affordablehousing #greenbay

WEBINAR: Using CLTs to Deliver Energy Renovation and Permanent Affordability to Existing Housing 📅 Sep 25, 2024 - 05:00 PM 👉 Register: https://lnkd.in/eHNWGSVb This 75 minute webinar will highlight innovative CLT approaches to deliver just and equitable solutions that respond to these challenges by featuring two exemplary CLT initiatives from Europe and the United States : 🔸 The Upcycling Trust, a partnership between five European CLTs and OFS. The Upcycling Trust partnership works at delivering sustainable housing renovations while bringing existing housing into community ownership. 🔸 The Sustained Legacy Project from City of Lakes CLT in the city of Minneapolis, MN. The Sustained Legacy Project uses the CLT as a way to assist low-income elderly homeowners facing significant housing rehabilitation challenges while deeding the land to the CLT. 👉 The presenters will provide overviews of their respective projects, while addressing the specific challenges they face and the strategies they employ to overcome these obstacles, providing valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers alike. Presenters: Staci Horwitz (Operations Director - City of Lakes Community Land Trust), Virginie Schoëff (Project Manager for Sustainable and Inclusive Renovation - Community Land Trust Brussels) and Nathalie Demeslay (Housing Director - Rennes Métropole). #communitylandtrust #upcyclingtrust #interreg

Thanks to funding from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), many #ACRENetwork members are currently available to support #rural communities appraise and meet local need for #affordablehousing as part of our Rural Housing Enabler Programme. #RuralExceptionSites like this are a good example of what can be achieved. https://lnkd.in/eAjET88a

What does the just transition look like in practice? Listen in to this webinar - Using Community Land Trusts to Deliver Energy Renovation and Permanent Affordability to Existing Housing 📅 Sep 25, 2024 - 05:00 PM 👉 Register: https://lnkd.in/eHNWGSVb

40 new affordable homes in Marston. Our partnership with Lucy Developments means a low-carbon housing development in Marston will now be 100% affordable. 🏡 Fishers Vale focuses on a 'fabric first' approach with superior insulation, air tightness, and high-performance windows. 🚰 Air source heat pumps will supply heating and hot water, reducing reliance on gas and exceeding national carbon reduction targets by 56% 🚲 The development encourages sustainable travel with secure cycle storage and electric vehicle charging points for all 40 parking spaces. Helen Horne , Managing Director of OX Place, said: "As Oxford City Council's housing company it is OX Place's mission to deliver affordable homes and our partnership with Lucy Developments is helping us do just that. Marston Paddock provides 40 high-quality sustainable homes and each will make a life-changing difference to people on the council waiting list or struggling to get on the housing ladder in Oxford." #OXPlace #OxfordNeedsHomes #Marston #SharedOwnership"

The Government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, has approved a £124 million funding package to unlock more homes and deliver new state-of-the-art infrastructure at #BarkingRiverside in #eastLondon. Barking Riverside, a 443-acre brownfield site formerly occupied by #Barking #PowerStation, is one of Europe’s largest placemaking projects. Upon completion the new mixed-use development will provide affordable family homes, enhanced green spaces, 7 new schools and better access to the #RiverThames, as well as a significant amount of retail, employment and community space. Read more ➡️https://lnkd.in/egXt82Dr

Who will look after the concrete cows? For me that is one of the key issues emerging from the push to build 1.5million new homes articulated in the King's Speech. If the intention is to create homes and not just houses, new development on the scales indicated, needs to be made attractive and appealing by including public spaces, parks, active travel routes, community centres and art venues. Such provision is not only about creating such facilities but establishing viable ways to manage them in the long-term. The MILTON KEYNES PARKS TRUST LIMITED is a great example of an organisation set-up to look after concrete cows amongst key community assets and infrastructure. It's one of the case studies cited in comprehensive guidance on creating New Town and Garden Cities provided by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). The Milton Keynes Park Trust is a legacy of the City's Development Corporation that was given 1,850 hectares of high-quality parkland and greenspace to look after. Returns from its £20million property endowment help the Trust employ 100 staff to undertake essential maintenance, organise 500 outdoor events each year and run an environmental education programme. All of which adds greatly to the appeal and attractiveness of Milton Keynes as a place to live. Another example is the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation that People & Places have been working with as part of planning for recovery and revitalisation in Letchworth.  Their assets include 185,567 sq ft of offices; 181 industrial units; more than 100 shops; a 20km ‘Greenway’ and over 900ha of farmland. Read more about good practice in the finacially viable stewardship of community assets using the link to The People & Places Partnership Ltd. blog in the comments below. #kingsspeech #newtowns #gardencities #communityenterprise #miltonkeynes #communityassets #infrastructure #housing

It is time for us to move from being housebuilders to becoming town builders. This will require a concerted effort to join up the planning and delivery of housing, infrastructure and clean and green inclusive public transport. Ultimately it will require us to create streets for our children to play in, create neighbourhoods with shops, that are tree lined and nature rich, community gardens and schools to walk and cycle to, safely. Create towns that have an independent, foundational economies, meaningful employment, public services close, that drive the growth and prosperity of inclusive wellbeing. Where food belts sit close, and mixed combined community renewables are integrated and community owned. https://lnkd.in/eQ9-UQiy - I added a bit. I've read about this before. The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales Wellbeing Economy Alliance - WEAll Wellbeing Economy Cymru (WE Cymru) #wellbeingeconomy All sounds a bit utopic right now, with the media platforming of Reform, and the political lurch to the right?

Green building policies in the United States are anything but uniform. Our new in-depth analysis by Roshan Abraham examines the variation in those standards across cities and states. From Austin's guidelines to New York City's Local Law 97, we explore how this patchwork of policies affects affordable housing development. We investigate the potential benefit of a more unified approach, as well as federal efforts towards standardization. Looking into standards set by organizations like U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Green Building Council, Enterprise Community Partners and more, this article points to the complexities of sustainable, affordable urban development: https://bit.ly/3WzxCHh #Sustainability #UrbanPlanning #HousingPolicy