Articles

by Victoria Galligan, Housing Association Magazine editor

Chancellor Philip Hammond’s affordable housing guarantee scheme means that housing associations can borrow up to £3billion to deliver 30,000 new affordable homes in England.

This is not additional funding, but merely the OK for HAs to borrow more money.

And it is not enough to provide the number of social rent properties which are so desperately needed.

By Bob Hide, director at risk management consultancy, Equib.

Recent funding cuts have left many Housing Associations reeling as they explore ways to transform their business model. But how should they go about this when the future holds so many challenges and uncertainties and could greater focus on horizon scanning help? 

Has the governments announcement to remove council borrowing restrictions affected the housing market? Joe Bradbury of HA Magazine discusses....

The winter is a tough time for anybody who has difficulty heating their home, but there are practical steps that can be taken - aside from a complete overhaul of the heating system - which can minimise cold and maximise savings for tenants and landlords alike. Joe Bradbury of Housing Association Magazine investigates:

We live in difficult times. The rapid increase in energy prices forces good people into bad debt for necessities such as warmth and water. It seems that despite living in the age of great excess, many find themselves existing day-to-day – surviving Britain.

Heating or eating?
Recent studies indicate that food bank use has increased exponentially over the last 12 months, painfully revealing how miserably welfare benefits fail to cover basic living costs. Figures from the UK’s national food bank, the Trussel Trust show that in the year running up to March 2018, 1,332,952 three-day emergency food supplies were delivered to people in crisis across Britain. People can’t afford to eat, let alone make payment next time an over inflated heating bill lands on their mat.

Weaver Vale Housing Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Jo Fallon as Assistant Director of Development, adding to its key Directorate of Property, as the Trust embarks upon its biggest house building programme to date.

Jo has joined Weaver Vale Housing Trust from Affordable Homes Consultancy, where Jo had worked as a Director for 7 years.  Jo was responsible for delivering consultancy services to a range of Registered Providers and Local Authorities.  Most recently, Jo was acting as Interim Assistant Director of Assets and Growth at Muir Group Housing Association in Chester.

The holly trees are full of red berries. The leaves are burning brighter and falling late. The acorn shells are thick. The houses are full of spiders and the birds are leaving early. If old wives’ tales are anything to go by, we could be looking at a harsh winter ahead. How should the industrious housing professional best prepare for the cold? Joe Bradbury of Housing Association Magazine investigates.

Long-range weather forecasts claim Britain could be braced to face the coldest and harshest winter for almost a decade. The brutally cold weather is expected to be driven by a plunge in solar activity and the El Nino warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean, bringing the first snowfall as early as November and “potentially crippling snowfalls and ice storms” between Christmas and New Year.