Good Neighbours: The role of housing associations in neighbourhood governance

Housing associations could do more to work with local authorities to give their residents a voice in local communities and neighbourhoods. Although many housing associations are developing excellent work in neighbourhoods - through local partnerships and finding new ways to promote tenants’ voices - many could do more.

Housing is at the top of the new Prime Minister’s agenda, but plans to build more social housing must be firmly linked to improvements in neighbourhoods. Housing associations should make sure that their future residents are not only given new homes, but also a voice in their local communities.

Housing Associations now manage over two million homes, outstripping the number owned by local authorities. The services they provide, both in terms of housing provision and increasingly community services and facilities, often support the most vulnerable individuals and deprived communities.

The 2006 white paper Strong and Prosperous Communities outlined central government’s commitment to localism and community empowerment. At present many housing associations do not work in close collaboration with local authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) despite the benefits this can bring.

Innovation and Good Practice funding from the Housing Corporation was awarded to the Young Foundation in 2006 to explore the potential for housing association involvement in neighbourhood governance.

'Good Neighbours' found that:

• housing associations succeed in pushing forward neighbourhood governance when they:
1. combine neighbourhood level partnerships and strategic involvement with the LSP
2. invest their own resources in neighbourhood governance
3. value both formal and informal resident involvement
• when associations fail to work closely with local authorities, it is their residents – including many of the most deprived communities in England – who loose out
• political pressures over the next five years, plus longer term demographic trends – especially growing social polarisation - will push housing associations to focus more on neighbourhoods
• regulation must find a balance between encouraging innovation, and ensuring synergy between housing associations’ neighbourhood working and LSP strategies.

Our research investigated four housing associations that were perceived to be leading examples of associations that were strongly committed to neighbourhood working, both because of their involvement in local governance structures, and their commitment to providing services above those traditionally offered by landlords.

The findings from our case studies were then discussed with and tested against the experiences of another 10 housing associations that represented a cross-section of the housing association sector.

Finally a stakeholder seminar was held in March 2007 to discuss our findings and to help refine the final report's recommendations.

Report

The final report was launched at an event held in central London on the 13th July, and is available to down load here in both full and summary form.
Hard copies of the summary report will also be available from our online shop

Following the launch of this report, CLG commissioned the Young Foundation to organise a seminar bringing together key policy makers and practitioners to discuss the practical aspects of the report’s findings. To read more about the seminar, and to download a summary of the discussion, click here.

For more information contact Liz Bartlett, Associate, Local Innovations Team:
020 8709 9294 or liz.bartlett(AT)youngfoundation.org