Grassroots Grants

.
Third Sector reports that the Government’s Grassroots Grants scheme has paid out £34million in its first year. Nearly 13,500 grants worth an average of £2,500 were distributed to community groups between September 2008 and September 2009. For details of how to apply for a grant, click here.

Number of long-term empty private homes above 300,000

Regen.net reports that the number of private homes standing empty for more than six months has risen above 300,000 for the first time in five years.

Early Day Motion on Empty Homes

Conservative Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps tabled an early day motion noting that of the 784,000 homes which are currently vacant, 327,000 have been empty for a period of more than six months; despite the presence of 1.8 million families on the social housing waiting list.

The motion calls for an end to Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) and the adoption of a less bureaucratic approach to the use of empty dwellings.

The motion can be read here: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=39460&SESSION=899

Lib Dem plan for action on empty properties

Liberal Democrat housing spokeswoman, Sarah Teather, has used a speech at her party’s annual conference to call for empty social homes to be brought back into use. She said: “My fear is that the recession will leave us with whole estates of empty properties…we could use these estates for short-life housing to help a young person on low wages get a temporary helping hand.”

Social Change Awards nominations open

This year’s DSC Social Change Awards are now open for nominations. These awards are really useful for raising an organisation’s profile – which never does your funding prospects any harm. What’s more, you can nominate yourselves.

Conservatives back self help solutions

Conservative housing spokesman, Grant Shapps MP, has signaled his support for self help solutions to tackle inner city deprivation. New Start reports his comments in a speech to Royal Institute of British Architects. Mr Shapps said: “We will encourage power to be exercised at the very lowest levels of local government, by which I mean parish, ward, but also street level in order to force faster change directed by the very people it will most affect.”

New Statesman offers prize for regeneration and renewal social enterprises

The New Statesman magazine has now begun its search for the best in social enterprise from 2009. From start-ups to established companies, from teachers to MPs, the New Statesman Upstarts Awards recognise excellence in social enterprise.

Of particular interest to self help housing projects, the emphasis of the awards this year is  innovative and sustainable initiatives that sustain regeneration and community renewal.

If you know of a community-lead enterprise that has contributed to the advancement of your community, or are involved in one, look at the guidelines and nominate now.

To make a nomination and to learn more visit: www.upstarts.org.uk

Empty flats let for six months to people in need

For the next six months, people in housing need in Brent are being let flats due to be demolished in a joint scheme between Brent Council, Brent Housing Partnership and Brent Community Housing.

Tenants on the Barham Estate have already begun to move out to make way for a £80 million redevelopment. Instead of leaving the empty flat disused before the redevelopment begins, they are being made available for people in short term housing need.

Brent Community Housing works with voluntary organisations that need places for their homeless clients to stay at short notice, often single working people, who cannot afford to rent privately but are willing to stay or move somewhere for a short period of time while they make alternative housing arrangements.

Five flats are occupied already with the sixth person expected to move in to their new short term home soon.

Martin Cheeseman, Director of Housing and Community Care at Brent Council said: “This agreement works really well for everyone – especially the residents of the Barham Park Estate. Rather then leaving flats on the estate vacant, which are expensive to protect and attract anti social behaviour such as graffiti and vandalism as well as squatters, we have arranged for members of Brent Community Housing to move their clients into some of the flats on a short term basis which will provide them with some much needed housing and give both the tenant and BCH sometime to address their housing issue.”

For more details see:

www.bhphousing.co.uk
www.brent.gov.uk
www.bch.coop

Empty shops given new life

The number of empty shops on high streets is growing.  The Meanwhile project sees this as an opportunity rather than a tragedy.  Set up by the Asset Transfer Unit, Meanwhile is promoting the use of empty shops for community purposes.  Looked at in this way, empty shops can become excellent centres for community activities, art exhibitions or other valuable and enriching uses.

The current issue of  New Start magazine is covering this here:

http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news/article/empty-shops-given-new-lease-of-life-by-meanwhile

Shelter Cymru Empty Homes Project

For those of you who might have missed it,  Shelter Cymru received a Social Housing Management Grant for 2008/09 and 2009/10 to carry out an all Wales project on empty homes.

They are working with local authorities, developers and decision makers to get empty homes back into use.

This is more evidence that self help housing and getting empty properties back into use is the way forward for neighbourhood renewal and affordable housing shortages.

The latest project update can be found here:

http://www.sheltercymru.org.uk/shelter/advice/pdetail.asp?cat=20

« Previous Page — Next Page »