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The Coalition Publishes Its Empty Homes Strategy

 

On Monday 21^st November the Coalition published  its  housing strategy document “Laying The Foundations: A Housing Strategy For England”

Chapter 5 sets out their Empty Homes Strategy which confirms that the already announced £100m Empty Homes Programme (2012-2015) will be divided into two separate fundingstreams:

The  HCA Empty Homes Programme: Bidding for this programme, to the HCA, is now open and runs until 23^rd January 2012. Community led self-help housing organisation can access the programme, but only via a  partnership with a registered social landlord (eg  a housing association). Further details this programme will appear very shortly on this site, in the section dealing with the Empty Homes Programme.

The Community Grants Programme: Bidding for this programme is currently delayed, pending the appointment of an intermediary agency that will administer it. Community led self-help housing organisations will be able to bid directly in their own right for funding. No date has been set for the commencement of bidding, but the deadline for bids will reflect the delay and is expected to be around late February. The Empty Homes Strategy states that this programme could be as much as £30m, subject to there being sufficient quality bids.

Full details of the CGP and bidding arrangements will appear on this site as soon as they are available.

You can read the full Housing Strategy Document here.

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Community Grants Programme & Support For Organisations Wanting To Bid

Communities Minister Andrew Stunell has announced that community groups will be able to apply directly for money from the £100m Empty Homes Programme through a Community Grants Programme:.

“Community and voluntary organisations will now be able to bid for part of £100m Government funding for pioneering housing schemes that will ensure empty properties that ruin neighbourhoods are lived in once again, and at the same time provide affordable housing. Many of these schemes will also have wider benefits such as providing excellent training opportunities for local people….. ……..Community and self help groups will now have the opportunity of applying for financial backing to tackle empty homes, with formal bidding guidance to be published shortly. Previously only conventional housing providers could apply. Community-led schemes are already doing excellent work in this area, as well as providing valuable skills for local people, helping them get a job and a roof over their heads”

 The Department of Communities & Local Government are now in the process of appointing an intermediary body to distribute the funding. This should be completed during November and bidding will start thereafter. The Programme is expected to amount to at least £10m

 Meantime, Tudor Trust has agreed to fund Self-Help-Housing.Org and HACT to run a Capacity Building Programme which will promote the Community Grants Programme to community led organisations and provide support to organisations wanting to bid. A new section will shortly appear on this website which will explain all about the Community Grants Programme  and what help will be available

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Bow Arts Trust’s Live/Work scheme

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Funding For Self-Help Housing On The Way………

Earlier this year the Co-alition announced a £100m Empty Homes Programme as part of  the Homes & Communities Agency’s Investment Programme, with the intention of  bringing  3,300 empty homes back into use between 2012 and 2015. 

 Over the past few months, negotiations have been taking place  around how this funding can be made accessible to community led housing organisations.  News of  how this is going to work will soon be published as part of the Co-alition’s Empty Homes Strategy and thereafter organisations will be invited to bid for funding. Bidding is expected to open in September and close in January 2012. The programme will start as from April 2012

Further details will appear on this site once the Strategy has been published. However, if you want to receive details directly about how it will work and how to bid, or or simply find out more in the meantime, then Email  self-help-housing@agents-for-change.com

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New Report Endorses Self-Help Housing

The Government should actively promote community groups who are working with local people to bring empty properties back into use, and make existing funding available to them. These recommendations come from a report released by the Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) into ‘self-help housing’. The report highlights how self-help housing can contribute to a number of government aims, such as increased localism, addressing the blight of empty homes, and building a Big Society of active community participation.

Read it here:  Self-Help Housing- Supporting Locally Driven Housing Solutions

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