New NHC Chair and Board Members Appointed

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Tracy Harrison (left) and Charlie Norman (right)

We have appointed a new chair, vice chair and four new board members to join our member-led board. The board will continue to support our mission to be the voice of the North and make sure everyone has access to a good quality home they can afford.

We are pleased to welcome Charlie Norman, Chief Executive of Mosscare St Vincent’s Housing Group (MSV), as the new Chair of the NHC. Charlie replaces outgoing Chair, Paul Fiddaman, Chief Executive of Karbon Homes.

Chair of Outward Housing and Newlon Housing board member, and former Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) senior civil servant Jane Everton  CBE will step up to be Vice Chair.

Rachael Dennis, Chief Executive of Incommunities; Tracy Gordon, Lead Officer for Housing Partnerships at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; Steve Hepworth, Chief Executive of Ongo Homes; and Noel Sharpe, Group Chief Executive Officer of Bolton at Home, all take on the role of board members.

NHC Chief Executive, Tracy Harrison, welcomed the new board members, saying:

“We feel incredibly lucky to be able to appoint such an experienced and knowledgeable group of people, who bring with them many years of expertise from the housing, environmental sustainability and public sectors.

“They begin their new roles at an exciting time, as our new government continues to prioritise housing. Every board member’s expertise is valuable, as we support our member organisations to work in partnership with government to deliver real change for communities across the North. They will also play a key role in supporting our new corporate plan which will launch in spring 2025.”

She added:

“I’ve worked with Charlie for several years now and know she will bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm to the role of Chair. I’d also like to thank Paul Fiddaman for his leadership and support over the past four years.  I know we will continue to work with him closely.”

 Charlie Norman, who previously held the position of vice chair and a member of the board for five years, has worked in the housing sector for over 30 years, both across the North West of England and in Vancouver, Canada. She has a background in community and co-operative development, neighbourhood management, supported housing and regeneration, and is Chair of the Greater Manchester Housing Providers Partnership.

Charlie said:

“The NHC is a unique organisation bringing together housing associations, local authorities and combined authorities from across the North. It’s a fantastic vehicle for sharing different perspectives, collaborating and learning from each other – that feels more important than ever.

“I’m honoured to become Chair at such a crucial time, working with a fantastic board and the wonderful team at NHC. The NHC has been right to prioritise regeneration and green homes and jobs in the North, and there is an opportunity to increase our influence with the new government. Devolution in the North is growing which is driving even more partnership working and will hopefully help target investment where it’s needed most.”

 New NHC Vice Chair, Jane Everton, joined the board in 2022. She had a long career as a senior civil servant in Whitehall including leading MHCLG’s social housing division, as well as working on the private rented sector and planning. She was awarded a CBE for public service in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2015.

New board member, Rachael Dennis, has been chief executive at Incommunities since February 2021 and has more than 20 years of senior experience in housing. She has a background in strategic leadership, delivering change and business improvement, strategic finance and governance.

Tracy Gordon brings almost 30 years’ experience in the public sector, covering both environmental sustainability and housing. Tracy joined Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in 2019 and has established several new build and retrofit housing programmes, overseeing the housing element of the Net Zero Carbon plan and leading the North West Net Zero Hub.

Chief Executive of Ongo Homes, Steve Hepworth, has more than 30 years of experience in social housing and has worked at Ongo since 2007, taking on the role of Chief Executive in 2018. Whilst working for North Lincolnshire Council, he led the team responsible for consultation with tenants that resulted in the formation of North Lincolnshire Homes and the transfer of 10,000 homes from the council.

Noel Sharpe has been working in social housing in the North West at an executive level for over 20 years, working in London for 10 years before that. She has a keen interest in the relationship between health, wellbeing and good quality homes, and is also currently Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Housing Partnership.

The new members, along with the nine existing members of the board, will play a key role in shaping our new corporate plan, which will launch in spring 2025.

Find out more about Northern Housing Consortium’s board members at www.northern-consortium.org.uk/about-northern-housing-consortium/our-board/.

The Northern Housing Summit 2024 – Event Write-up

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NHC convenes housing leaders for 2024 Northern Housing Summit

In November, the NHC held its flagship event, the Northern Housing Summit.

Chaired by Mark Easton, the Summit’s focus was on a new Parliament and new partnerships. The event provided attendees the opportunity to discuss the most important priorities for the North’s social housing sector, with the key themes of:

  • new supply and regeneration
  • improving the quality of existing homes
  • reaching net zero
  • the opportunities from greater devolution in the North

Welcoming attendees to Leeds for the event, NHC chief executive Tracy Harrison detailed the early work the new government has done on housing as it attempts to reach its ambitious target of 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament. Tracy also highlighted the work the NHC has been doing to work in partnership with government and NHC members to achieve shared ambitions.

From one Tracy to another, the first keynote speech of the day was from Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin. Mayor Brabin emphasised the importance of devolution in bringing thousands of new homes across the region, with “decisions made for our region, by our region”. She also confirmed that she is committed to delivering 5,000 new affordable homes over the next five years and said that there is potential for at least 38,000 new homes to be built on brownfield land in the region. The mayor also cited the collaborative work of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership in supporting the devolution deal and transforming the lives of people across the region.

It was a special Summit this year, with cause for celebration for the NHC’s 50th anniversary. Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East and former Chair of the Housing Select Committee, provided a keynote address on the last 50 years in housing and looked ahead at the opportunities for the future.

To coincide with the Summit, the NHC launched the early release of a keynote chapter from its annual state of the region report, the Northern Housing Monitor. The chapter, ‘Housing Poverty in the North’ finds that 25% of households are in poverty after housing costs. To launch the chapter, delegates heard from NHC executive director, Patrick Murray, and Onward Homes CEO, Bronwen Rapley, who discussed the research and the impact of housing costs on northern communities.

On to another key theme of the day – meeting the net zero challenge in the North. Delegates heard from panellists Thirteen Group CEO, Matt Forrest; Yorkshire Housing Resident, Steve Mackenzie; and Director of Net Zero Buildings at the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, Selvin Brown. Matt Forrest provided the housing association perspective on energy efficiency funding and partnership working. Steve, also a The Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury juror, focused on the importance of engaging closely with residents when improving homes, saying that “we’re the ones that live in the homes, live in the areas, it should be about us”.

Selvin highlighted the work the new government has done on net zero funding and the great work being undertaken by housing providers across the country. He announced that in the most recent tranche of the ‘Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund’, there were bids totalling £900m more than the £1.29bn provided in funding, illustrating the appetite in the sector to improve the energy efficiency of homes.

Delegates had the opportunity to hear from Chief Executive of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), Fiona MacGregor, who provided a keynote speech on regulation and innovation. Fiona noted the RSH had seen in decrease in the forecast of housing delivery from social housing providers. She also said the recurring theme when providers don’t meet the new consumer standards is the link to poor data-keeping.

The event also provided delegates with a choice of various professional practice sessions focused on key issues for the sector. These were ‘Building Resilience: Developing a response to climate change’, Technology and Health – how digital can enable the sector to do more’, ‘Creating Cultures Fit for the Future’ and ‘Implementing Awaab’s Law’. Social housing tenants, civil servants, housing professionals and NHC partners made up panels for these sessions to discuss these key topics and answer questions.

With quality a key priority for NHC members, attendees then heard from a panel of experts about improving the quality of social homes in the North.

Ruhena Ahmed, Deputy Director of Social Housing Quality at MHCLG; Sharon Kemp, CEO at Rotherham MBC; Louise Bassett, CEO at Gentoo Group; Hull City Council’s Ben Hanson; and the NHC’s Patrick Murray explored the lessons from past quality and regeneration work as well as the opportunities for the future. Ruhena noted the imminent implementation of Awaab’s Law and a Decent Homes Standard coming in 2025.

With the new government’s headline target for new homes, expert panellists discussed the challenges and opportunities for delivering the homes the North needs and how to make delivery a reality. The panel was made up of Shahi Islam, Director of Affordable Housing at Homes England; Jonathan Clifton, Deputy Director for Homes Ownership at MHCLG; Charlie Norman, NHC Chair and CEO of MSV Housing; Pam Smith, CEO at Newcastle City Council; and Marcus Dixon, Director of UK Residential Research at JLL. Shahi asserted Homes England’s emphasis on placemaking and ensuring the homes we build have a strong connection to their locality. Shahi also confirmed the agency is keen to establish long-term partnerships with local and combined authorities and is committed to the devolution agenda.

In the final session of the day, delegates heard a range of speakers building on the NHC’s Pride in Place research to consider the role of NHC members in the devolution agenda and creating thriving communities. Chairman of Create Streets, Nicholas Boys Smith, explained the Create Streets view on what makes a great place to live. Chair of Placeshapers, Matthew Walker, declared that it’s about the decision being taken at an appropriate level to ensure people’s needs are considered. Jill Summers, Head of Safer and Stronger Communities at Liverpool City Council, explained the work of her team in ensuring that community cohesion is a priority, particularly in the wake of the Summer 2024 riots. To bring the day to a close, Benwell resident Leanne Salem highlighted the community initiatives and support available which allow her community to feel pride in their area and their homes.

 

The NHC would like to thank its sponsors for making the Summit possible: Appello, Campbell Tickell, BullWall, Consortium Procurement, FRC Group, JLL, Locata, Marsh, Mediaworks, Prosper, Taking Care, TSA and Ward Hadaway.

 

If you would like to find out more about the Northern Housing Summit, or be involved in the next one, please contact Kate Maughan, Director of Member Engagement Kate.Maughan@northern-consortium.org.uk

 

A Proud Promise: The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge

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The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge, by HouseProud and delivered by Stonewall Housing, is a scheme for social housing providers to demonstrate their inclusion of and support towards LGBTQ+ residents.

Back in 2017, a piece of research called No Place Like Home? found that LGBTQ+ social housing residents experienced a lack of safety and a lack of belonging in their neighbourhoods. 60% of trans respondents felt that their neighbourhood was not a safe place to live as an LGBTQ+ person. Individuals disproportionately reported censoring their homes when preparing for staff visits and felt doubtful of their landlord’s approach to harassment and discrimination.

The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge was created to address these findings. The scheme is free to sign up to and offers two levels of accreditation: Pledge Pioneer and Pledge Pioneer Plus. Each of these has different requirements centred around themes like inclusion, visibility and co-production. The criteria is flexible and proportionate, and therefore caters to all landlords irrespective of an organisation’s size or geographical location.

By signing up – making the Pledge Promise – you will be spearheading LGBTQ+ inclusion and joining a growing network of organisations proudly taking this step towards equality. You will be working towards a formal recognition of inclusive practice to improve both resident and staff satisfaction.

If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch with us directly at houseproudpledge@stonewallhousing.org.

 

 

 

£30m allocation for Bradford City Village development

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We are pleased to see the allocation of £29.9 million to Bradford Council through Homes England’s Brownfield Infrastructure & Land (BIL) funding for its Bradford City Village project.

The grant funding will be used to deliver around 1,000 new homes along with retail and leisure spaces including three community parks, right in the heart of Bradford city centre.

In May, the NHC welcomed senior civil servants from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to West Yorkshire for a visit around members’ sites in the region. This included a visit to the Bradford City Village development where MHCLG colleagues saw the plans for the projects and the focus on creating a healthy, sustainable, community-friendly city centre neighbourhood.

Proud to contribute to something meaningful

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We welcomed Rosie Beckford to the team earlier in the year. She is a Procurement & Contracts Officer, working for Consortium Procurement, our commercial arm which delivers compliant, practical, and efficient procurement for public sector organisations.

Rosie shares her experience so far.

 

What attracted you to your role?

I really enjoy the variety of the role – no day or procurement solution is the same and it is very important to me to work in an environment where I am continuously learning.

I am proud to work for Consortium Procurement and Northern Housing Consortium – they have a brilliant organisational model, and I feel like I am contributing towards something meaningful.

 

Describe your typical day?

I work with members to manage the call–off process for frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems.

 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The most valuable thing you can give someone is your time.

 

What do you like to do to switch-off?

I’m always content curled up with a book, a cup of tea and my cat. I also love long walks and spending time in nature.

 

How would you sum up working for the NHC and Consortium Procurement, in three words?

Interesting, positive, collaborative.

Partnership working on show as MHCLG visit the North East

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As part of our work to support housing partnerships across the North and work closely with key government departments, we welcomed colleagues from the Social Housing Directorate at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to the North East for a tour of members’ sites.

Emma Payne (Director, Social Housing) and Nick Burkitt (Deputy Director of Affordable Housing Regulation & Investment), who are responsible for the Affordable Homes Programme, spent the day engaging with the North East Housing Partnership (NEHP) with visits to regeneration and development sites across the region.

The tour began with a visit to Livin Housing’s Jubilee Fields Estate in Shildon. The estate is a shining example of Livin’s placemaking approach to regeneration, with a strong focus on engaging with the community and local partners to address estate-wide issues.

Next stop was to Livin’s Laburnum Grove development in St. Helen Auckland, a new 59-home development on brownfield land. All homes meet the Building Regulations Part M4(2) for accessibility and adaptability, and Livin made one home in the development a high energy efficiency demonstrator home in anticipation of a Future Homes Standard.

Midway through the day, delegates stopped for a lunch event with a presentation from NEHP Chair, Paul Fiddaman. With housing association and local authority representatives from across the NEHP in attendance, Paul presented on the challenges and opportunities for north east housing providers in delivering new homes and regenerating communities.

Included in the visit was Karbon Homes’ 750-home Seaham Garden Village development site, with funding for the project coming through Karbon’s Strategic Partnership with Homes England. The development will feature a primary school, health and wellbeing facility, and an innovation centre. Karbon plans to heat the affordable homes using a district heating scheme powered by minewater heat.

Travelling further North along the coast, delegates visited Gentoo’s Cricketers Hill development in North Sunderland. The site was previously a Primary School but was demolished in 2009 and in 2023 the site transferred to Gentoo, with 115 affordable homes now under development. Each home will achieve an EPC A rating, with Air Source Heat Pumps, PV Panel, fill insulation and electric vehicle charging.

The final leg of the visit brought delegates to Bernicia’s Holborn Docks development in South Shields. Bernicia’s 36 affordable homes will be delivered alongside a wider regeneration project on the former industrial site, with South Tyneside Council leading the project with the aim to reinvigorate the brownfield land and deliver high-quality family homes.

The visit provided senior civil servants, responsible for funding and policy decisions – including the delivery of the Affordable Homes Programme – which impact social housing providers, with the opportunity to see the productive work members are doing. It highlighted the great partnership work which is happening across the North to deliver new homes and regeneration projects.

The NHC will continue to engage with civil servants and other key stakeholders to highlight the work our members are doing to transform communities across the North.

 

 

 

Consultations on Rents and Right to Buy now open

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Two key consultations have opened following the Budget.  

At the Budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that social housing rents would be permitted to rise by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) +1% for five years from April 2026. This has been accompanied by a consultation into future rent policy, including looking at potentially extending the proposed rent settlement to ten years, something the NHC and other sector bodies have called for.  

The Government also opened a consultation on proposed changes to the Right to Buy. This includes reducing and capping the discounts available to tenants, extending the number of years somebody would need to be a tenant before they could benefit from the Right to Buy, and potentially exempting new build properties from the Right to Buy. The NHC  welcomed these proposals providing a comment in the government announcement.  

We will respond to both consultations and are keen to hear the views of our members on these issues. We are especially interested in hearing how extending the rent settlement to ten years would help members to invest in new and existing properties.  

You will find the consultation on future rent policy, which closes on 23rd December here, and the Right to Buy consultation, which closes on 15th January here. If you would like to share views on either consultation or arrange a conversation, please contact tom.kennedy@northern-consortium.org.uk   

Budget briefing letter from Angela Rayner MP

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Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner MP has asked the NHC to share a letter outlining the key housing announcements in the budget.

The letter covers:

  • Affordable Homes Programme £500m top-up
  • Rent settlement – proposal for 5-year CPI plus 1% settlement with a consultation which looks at longer term options.
  • Right to Buy changes – including reducing discounts to their pre-2012 regional levels and enabling councils to keep all the receipts
  • Building safety – £1 billion fund for the remediation of unsafe housing.

NHC Chief Executive, Tracy Harrison, said:

“We appreciate the Deputy Prime Minister taking the time to write this letter. It’s another welcome indication of the importance she places on housing, and a desire to work in partnership with the sector.

“There are lots of positives to take away from this Budget. We strongly advocated for a top-up to the Affordable Homes Programme in the run up to the Budget. The rent settlement will give housing providers more certainty to plan investment and changes to Right to Buy should help stem the loss of social homes.

“These are all great first steps, but there’s lots of work to do to in the run-up to the Spending Review and through the rent consultation. We know our members need long-term financial certainty to improve the quality of existing homes, including making them warmer and greener, and to deliver new homes on the scale required to meet government ambitions.

“We will continue to engage with the Government so the housing sector in the North can work in partnership with Government to deliver real change on the ground.”

The NHC On-the-Day Budget briefing gives more detailed information about what the budget means for housing in the North. Please contact Executive Director of Policy and Public Affairs Patrick Murray(patrick.murray@northern-consortium.org.uk)  if you would like to discuss the Budget.

Heartwarming Homes shortlisted at UK Housing Awards

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Heartwarming Homes, a joint NHC, Placeshapers and Tpas project, has been shortlisted for Campaign of the Year at the UK Housing Awards.

Developed in partnership with residents and representatives from the housing sector Heartwarming Homes supports housing providers to engage and communicate with residents about energy efficiency improvements. It includes advice about how to make energy efficiency an easy choice for residents, a step-by-step communication guide, template letters, a video tour of a retrofitted home, and much more.

The website had over 10,000 visits in the first year and has received excellent feedback from the sector and residents. 94 per cent of housing providers surveyed said the recommendations were practical to implement and residents felt it offered something genuinely different.

A resident said:

“It makes you feel as though you and your home and health matter to your landlord, and they are trying to help you reduce your bills to give you more money in your pocket.”

NHC Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:

“I’m very proud that this piece of work has been shortlisted for Campaign of the Year. Resident engagement about retrofit consistently comes up as a challenge for members, and this toolkit offers practical advice about how you can improve communication and make sure resident engagement is embedded in your energy efficiency planning. This toolkit is a fantastic example of collaboration, it shows what can be achieved when we work together to address a common problem.”

Placeshapers Chief Executive Catherine Ryder said:

“The Heartwarming Homes toolkit is a great example of co-creation between residents and social housing landlords. When landlords use this toolkit, they can be confident it has been robustly shaped by residents and builds on best practice from across the sector.

“We are delighted it has been shortlisted for this award, but more importantly that the practical advice in the toolkit is being put into practice by landlords across the country, improving the experience of residents when they have retrofit work done on their homes.”

The project was born out of recommendations from the NHC’s Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury and Placeshaper’s and Tpas research Residents’ Voices in the Net Zero Journey about improving communication with residents about retrofit.

The results of the UK Housing Awards will be announced on 26th November.