Entries by dellwood

Brownfield Land Release Fund Opens

Last year, the North’s combined authorities were allocated £276m from the Brownfield Housing Fund. Building on that success, at the Budget in December 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced further funding for brownfield land release in areas not currently covered by Mayoral/Combined Authority arrangements. The Brownfield Land Release Fund is being managed by One […]

Levelling Up – Reimagining Town Centres

From our market towns to our major cities, the North is home to a diverse range of town centres with a wide variety of assets and opportunities. But changing retail habits and the impact of Covid-19 pose challenges.  The focus is now on how we can renew and reshape town centres to ensure they continue […]

Influential Select Committee Energy Efficiency report reflects NHC evidence

An influential Conservative-led House of Commons Select Committee has recommended urgent action to improve energy efficiency of homes, citing written and oral evidence provided by the NHC. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has this week recommended rolling out the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Homes Upgrade Grants ‘without delay’ with funding front-loaded. The […]

Regional climate coalitions gather pace

Regional climate coalitions in Yorkshire & Humber and the North East have gathered pace this month. The North’s housing sector is playing an important role in both coalitions. On 17th March, the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Comission held a well-attended launch event, which is available to watch again on YouTube. The Commission is an independent […]

NHC meet the minister

As part of our efforts to influence housing decarbonisation plans, NHC Chair Paul Fiddaman and CEO Tracy Harrison met with Climate Change Minister Lord Callanan earlier this month.  A former MEP and local councillor in Tyne and Wear, Lord Callanan is now a minister at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The meeting […]

Thirteen’s experiences since the roll out of Universal Credit

Susan Borrow, Care and Support Manager (contracts) at Thirteen, reflects on Thirteen’s experiences since the roll out of Universal Credit, the measures we’ve put in place and investments we’ve made to ensure tenants have been able to manage their claims and maintain their tenancies. Universal Credit (UC) has been with us in the Tees Valley […]

Universal Credit – Your Homes Newcastle Perspective

Newcastle upon Tyne was one of the first areas where Universal Credit was introduced, and Your Homes Newcastle have been managing its impact for 6 years. We have seen the progress of roll-out, from minor tweaks around the edges, to significant overhauls in IT systems and legislation. We are now in a position to reflect […]

Changes to the New Homes Bonus – we want your views

The Government is consulting on potential changes to the New Homes Bonus.  The NHC will be responding to the consultation as part of our efforts to make housing policy work for the North, and we’d like to hear member views. The New Homes Bonus was introduced in 2011 as part of the Coalition government’s localism […]

Decent Homes Review – update

The NHC is a core participant in the Sounding Board for Government’s Review of the Decent Homes Standard. The Review is now underway, and the Sounding Board met for the first time in February. MHCLG are running the Review in two phases – the first phase, running over Spring and Summer, is considering the case […]