Recently, Curia’s Levelling Up Commission held an inquiry session on housing and homelessness. The inquiry was split into three sessions, with the second section focusing on place-based deprivation and how the government can address the role of infrastructure in regional inequalities.
The panel was hosted by the commission’s chair, former Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care Paula Sheriff, and she was joined by three individuals who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in this area.
These were:
- Lucy Dixon – Head of External Affairs at Karbon Homes
- Daniel Patterson – Director of External Affairs at Make UK Modular
- Nicholas Boys Smith – Director of Create Streets Foundation
Levelling up the North East
Lucy Dixon was the first panellist to offer her thoughts on regional inequalities and as the Head of External Affairs at a housing association in the North-East, she is arguably a better place than most to discuss this. While Dixon believes the government have good intentions when it comes to the Levelling Up Agenda, she says they’ve gone about it the wrong way:
“Looking at previous levelling up policies, we know that various governments have put a lot of money into the Levelling Up Agenda and there is no lack of political will. However, these policies are yet to have worked in deprived communities.
“They’ve focused primarily on creating more jobs with higher income in cities and urban areas in the hope that it trickles down into surrounding rural areas. We’ve seen in practice that this hasn’t worked. In the areas that we work in there’s been a lack of investment in infrastructure including housing and transport for many years.
“Our research found that, in deprived parts of the North East, a two-adult, two-child household has an average income of around £31.5k from work and benefits.”
Research on the foundation economy
Lucy has been a key player in Karbon Homes’ research into how they can improve outcomes for people in two of the North East’s most deprived areas. Talking about what that research has entailed, she said:
“The research looks at tackling two specific areas in our patch that are classed as “left behind.” We’ve done this to get to grips with the challenges of the people who live there but also to understand what interventions would have the most impact.
“Our research has focused on the foundation economy. We’ve called it fair foundations and it looks at strengthening the essential goods and services that people need for everyday life, for example, food, health, housing, utilities etc, but also on increasing residual household income rather than gross income.
“As a housing association, we see our role as vital in this. We have identified a series of interventions such as providing out-of-hours childcare support, holiday clubs, and more social housing in certain areas. This is just the beginning but it will help us to both strengthen the foundation economy and increase residual income.”
Changing the way we build
The second panellist to offer his thoughts on the housing crisis, and how the sector can help people in “left-behind” areas was Daniel Patterson, the Director of External Affairs at Make UK Modular. Explaining what modular housing is and how it can help, Patterson said:
“Modular is a house or building like any other but built in a factory and then assembled at site. Modular builders are able to complete projects at pace without loss of quality, increase productivity and use the available labour in a smarter way. Our economic model is to ensure that factories do not experience downtime, which means more housing.”
While that all sounds great, how and why will this type of housing be more affordable for people in deprived areas? Patterson explained:
“To make housing more affordable we need to incentivise building. Modular does this, and I’m not saying this is the entire solution to all of the housing issues we are facing, but it can contribute to squaring some of the circles.
“Modular manufacturers have permanent overheads – such as the costs of keeping a factory and paying permanently skilled open. They have costs that builders don’t typically contend with and as a result they need to keep building.
“We have seen some of the successes of the Affordable Homes Programme in recent years and that has been a driver behind Modular. Modular builders can keep building more affordable homes through the speed of delivery.
“As Modular homes are cheaper to build than traditional builds, it means that they are more affordable to live in. This in turn leads to improvements in quality of life, and from that greater local economic development.”
Easy ways to improve deprived neighbourhoods
The final panelist to speak was Nicholas Boys-Smith who is the Director of the Create Streets Foundation. The foundation conducts research into the impact of urban planning on human wellbeing and Boys-Smith was keen to stress some of the quick ways in which left-behind areas can quickly become more desirable. Talking about examples, he said:
“There is incredibly strong and consistent data on the positive correlation between more street trees and good wellbeing outcomes for residents. They promote more walking, result in fewer accidents due to cars driving slower, and bring about clean air and better health. There are staggeringly fewer trees in poorer areas.
“Additionally, high levels of traffic traffic are associated with knowing fewer of your neighbours. Through our research, we have found that knowing our neighbours is good for our personal well-being.
“A good way to encourage neighbourly friendships is by having modest front gardens. A study found that 35% more people used outdoor areas with front gardens than without and that 69% of neighbourly interactions took place in or adjacent to modest front gardens.
“Traditional block patterns also matter. They are associated with lower crime with more children playing outside. We can absolutely create streets that are more neighbourly which is something every council can do.”
Summary
- The panel discussed the issue of place-based deprivation and how the government can address the role of infrastructure in regional inequalities.
- Lucy Dixon, Head of External Affairs at Karbon Homes, discussed the need for more investment in infrastructure, including housing and transport, in deprived areas. She also talked about the importance of tackling the foundation economy and increasing residual household income.
- Daniel Patterson, Director of External Affairs at Make UK Modular, discussed the benefits of modular housing, including increased productivity and the ability to build more affordable homes. He also mentioned the importance of incentivising building to make housing more affordable.
- Nicholas Boys-Smith, Director of the Create Streets Foundation, discussed the importance of urban planning in improving the well-being of residents. He highlighted the positive correlation between street trees and good well-being outcomes and the importance of modest front gardens in encouraging neighbourly interactions.
Final thought
The panel highlighted the various factors that have contributed to the current housing crisis, including the lack of affordable housing, while also offering some solutions to the issues that plague deprived areas. It is clear that the government have a role to play in steering the Levelling Up Agenda away from large cities and towns and into “left-behind” communities, and these recommendations could be a great starting point for the housing crisis.
Watch the full video here: