Three Manchester ‘superhomes’ are having open days soon as part of the Sustainable Energy Academy spring openings programme. All the homes demonstrate how traditional Victorian and Edwardian houses can be retrofitted to a high standard reducing CO2 emissions by between 60-80%. Two of the homes are in Chorlton and the other is the Council’s Eco-House in Miles Platting.
Details of times and dates here (you may need to book):
Filed under buildings, climate change, energy, environment, events, housing, manchester
Do you want to help make Manchester a better place to live? Here’s a great opportunity to shape the future of the city’s homes and housing services.
Wherever you live in the city, you’ve got views and experiences that can help us get Manchester’s housing plans in good shape for years to come. Homelife is a great way for landlords and other housing organisations to consult with, inform and involve local people like you. Homelife gives you the chance to:
Filed under communities, community engagement, consultation, housing, manchester
Manchester’s Housing Strategy, Building Manchester’s Neighbourhoods, will set out the principles and goals for developing homes and neighbourhoods in the next ten years. It will set out how Manchester City Council and partners will enable the delivery of a high-quality, balanced and diverse housing supply that meets the needs and aspirations of Manchester’s current and future residents and supports the Greater Manchester Strategy’s vision for sustainable economic growth that is enjoyed by the many not the few.
The Housing Strategy is a draft at the moment, and now is your chance to have your say.
Filed under consultation, housing, manchester
The SNP Forum on the Housing Strategy that was due to take place tomorrow afternoon has been cancelled. No more details I’m afraid, but I understand it will be rescheduled. Updates will appear here as soon as I receive them.
Filed under consultation, housing, manchester
Draft minutes from January’s Environmental Strategy Programme Board are now available to download from the ESPB page. Any queries drop me a line. I’ve also written some a briefing paper for SNAG groups which I can send you can request by dropping me an e-mail.
Filed under climate change, energy, environment, housing, manchester
Manchester City Council’s budget proposals were announced today and included proposals to close five smaller libraries, two swimming pools, the loss of 340 places in supported homes for vulnerable homeless people, and the reduction of general household waste collections to fortnightly (recycling collections remain the same) amongst many other things. You can download all the paperwork from the Council website: www.manchester.gov.uk/budgetproposals
Inside the M60 have also written a breakdown of the cuts.
Timetable:
Impact assessments for the various different aspects of the Localism Bill have now been published. You can read them on the Communities and Local Government website.
Filed under housing, planning, voluntary and community sector
Sustainable Neighbourhoods Partnership Forum, Tuesday 15th February, 2-4 pm, Manchester Town Hall, Committee Rooms 1 and 2.
The next Sustainable Neighbourhoods Partnership Forum will focus on the consultation draft of our Housing Strategy for 2011-2021. The strategy outlines the principles and goals which will guide delivery of our housing objectives. The Forum will consist of a short presentation followed by facilitated workshops where we will be discussing the Draft Strategy and taking note of your comments. For more details please see the SNP Forum page, and if you plan to attend please RSVP to Susan Radcliffe, s.radcliffe2@manchester.gov.uk
Filed under consultation, housing, manchester
The next Sustainable Neighbourhoods Partnership Forum will take place on Tuesday 15th February 2011, in the Town Hall, Committee Rooms 1 & 2, from 2-4pm. The focus of the next forum will be the new Housing Strategy, and it will pick up from the forum held last July that looked at the equality impacts of the housing strategy. More details will be posted on the SNP Forum page soon, but if you would like to come along please put the date in your diary.
Filed under consultation, housing, manchester
The Localism Bill Committee are hearing oral evidence from a variety of organisations all of today and this Thursday 27th January. They will then start line by line examination of the Bill every Tuesday and Thursday until Thursday 10 March (apart from the week beginning 21 February when the House of Commons will not be sitting).
You can read the full list of witnesses and the timetable on the Parliament website, where you can also find links to watch the committee stage online.
Filed under housing, planning, voluntary and community sector
The Localism Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday. The Bill passed with a vote and will now be considered by a Public Bill Committee. You can watch and read the views expressed by MPs who took part in the debate on the Parliament website.
The Bill has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee for scrutiny and there is a call for written evidence.
Do you have relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Government’s Localism Bill? If so, you can submit your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is going to consider this Bill. Download the guide to submitting evidence from the Parliament website.
The Localism Bill is receiving its second reading in the House of Commons today. To coincide with this the Department for Communities and Local Government have published a Plain English Guide to the Localism Bill and have released messages of support for the bill from several organisations including Civic Voice, British Property Foundation, Chartered Institute of Housing, National Association of Local Councils, Town and Country Planning Association, Action for Market Towns and Res Publica.
Also today Labour have tabled a motion to block the second reading of the Bill. The motion, signed by shadow Communities and Local Government secretary Caroline Flint and Labour leader Ed Miliband, said the devolution of power proposed by the bill is undermined by the level of power in the hands of Eric Pickles. The motion suggests that the bill should have been preceded by a fuller consultation process.
Watch the Localism Bill debated in parliament live from about 4pm on the BBC’s Democracy Live website.
Filed under housing, planning, voluntary and community sector
Friends of the Earth have launched a new campaign calling for a law to make it illegal for private landlords to rent homes which are so damp and cold they are unfit to live in and even damaging to people’s health. Many tenants suffer in poorly maintained private rented accommodation as there are few legal requirements of landlords to maintain properties to a high standard. And this is compounded by the issues that many tenants have with uncooperative and unhelpful landlords – Shelter recently launched a campaign to ‘Evict Rogue Landlords’.
The Communities Minister, Andrew Stunnell, has today announced new plans to encourage councils to get empty properties lived in again. The Government will match the council tax raised for every empty property brought back into use, and the council can then spend this money as they wish. Mr. Stunnell urged local communities and councils to work together to identify the locations of the approximately 300,000 homes that are currently empty in England.
For more info see the CLG website.
Filed under buildings, civic space, housing
Following Manchester ‘s acceptance into the World Health Organisation’s Global Network of Age Friendly Cities, the Valuing Older People partnership held a working policy conference in partnership with the Beth Johnson Foundation and the Centre for Social Gerontology at Keele University in the Town Hall on Monday 1 November 2010. The full conference report is now available.
Filed under buildings, civic space, housing, manchester, older people, street space, urban environment
Care & Repair, a charity set up to improve the housing and living conditions of older people and disabled people, has just published a report entitled A Perfect Storm: an ageing population, low income home ownership, and decay of older housing. The report looks at the problems older people on a low income are facing as repair and maintenance of their home becomes increasingly unaffordable. This problem is becoming more and more acute as the demographic profile of the country shifts with more people living longer, and as a result of a radical shift from renting towards home ownership in lower income groups.
Filed under buildings, housing, older people
In response to the proposals announced in the Decentralisation and Localism Bill NAVCA have launched a campaign to ensure that the Bill means real power is devolved to communities. The campaign aims to make sure politicians are held to account and that power is really devolved to communities and does not stop at local government, and emphasises the vital role charities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and community groups have in helping communities to exercise their power.
Visit the website for more info and details on how to lobby your local MP.
Filed under civic space, housing, planning, voluntary and community sector
Planning Portal have collected reactions from several organisations to the bill:
Planners, lawyers, consultants and pressure groups have given a cautious welcome to the Localism Bill but highlighted considerable uncertainty over the detail of key measures.
Shaun Andrews, director of planning, development and regeneration at GL Hearn, said: “Yes local people will be given some power through the new neighbourhood plans, and increased power to Parish Councils, but will local communities grab the opportunity in the numbers envisaged by the coalition government? Or, as we have seen with the local development framework process, will some local authorities have a threadbare, patchwork quilt of half-plans for many years to come?
Filed under civic space, housing, planning, voluntary and community sector
On Monday the much awaited Localism Bill received its first reading in Parliament. The Bill includes new measures to allow communities to run local services, buy local assets, to demand referendums, as well as giving councils a ‘power of competence,’ more freedom for councillors to campaign on local issues, the introduction of ‘pay as you throw’ charges for household waste, and the removal of regional house-building targets. It also includes changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy, the introduction of ‘neighbourhood plans’ bringing planning down to a much more local level, and the possibility for communities to put forward development that can go ahead without planning permission if it gets more than 50% of support in a local referendum.
There’s a handy ‘At a Glance’ guide on the BBC website here, and you can download the government’s guide to the bill here. For more info on the timetable for the Bill see www.parliament.co.uk. CLES have also just published a critique of the Bill and Urban Forum have produced a briefing.
Filed under civic space, housing, planning, reports & briefings
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Sustainable Neighbourhoods Action Group 