Reimagining regeneration in Wales

Housing-led regeneration has never been more active than it currently is in Wales.

Many thought that welfare reform would reduce the amount of regeneration activity that housing associations are involved with. This has not been the case. Regeneration activity has become more focused on tackling poverty and improving the lives of tenants due to welfare reform measures.

Figures from our annual WERU report indicate that during 2013/14, housing associations spent £514m on regeneration across Wales. This is broken down into a £185m spend on new build housing development, £292m on repairs and maintenance and just over £36m spend on community regeneration. Community regeneration projects include, for example, financial inclusion, energy efficiency retrofit and advice, employment and training, digital inclusion, social enterprise creation and collaboration (with support from our Building Enterprise project), and community development.

It is an overused saying, but social housing really is much more than bricks and mortar!

Housing associations are increasingly recognised as regeneration delivery agents and many are involved in partnerships to deliver the Welsh Government's ‘Vibrant and Viable Places’ programme which has provided over £100m to regenerate communities across Wales. We welcome the recognition of the sector and believe that housing associations can play a key role in local service delivery and community regeneration as the cuts to public services continue to hit.

On 18th June, we will celebrate the sector’s role in regenerating communities at our annual fesTYval at Cyfarthfa Castle, Merthyr. The event is an an informal and interactive day suitable for all those involved in community regeneration including housing associations, local authorities, social enterprises and third sector organisations. This year has a "school theme" and we have a variety of sessions planned around the themes of wellbeing, health, social enterprise and engagement. We are expecting another sell out event with over 200 attendees!

To find out more and to book your place for only £30 per head, visit CHC's website.

You can also take a look at last year’s event on YouTube.

#fesTYval

Hayley MacNamara

Regeneration Officer

Digital exclusion - a tackling poverty issue

Having internet access within the home is fast becoming a necessity, not a luxury. The divide between those that are with broadband and those that are without because they cannot afford it is creating a social divide. Digital exclusion is therefore a tackling poverty issue.

Twenty per cent of social housing tenants who are not online cite that it is because they cannot afford home broadband. This equates to over 40,000 tenants across Wales who cannot afford to use the internet and take advantage of:

• Saving money through purchasing products/services online
• Searching and applying for jobs 
• Accessing online education and information services 
• Improved, fast communication with family and friends 
• Accessing online public services, including health services and remote monitoring
  

Having online access also leads to improved wellbeing and mental health, especially for the elderly. A study at the Phoenix Centre found that internet use leads to around a 20% reduction in depression classification and, compared with the digitally excluded, internet users feel less lonely and their personal wellbeing is enhanced.

Having access to the internet can mean the difference between work and unemployment, inclusion and exclusion, and happiness and depression.

Helping tenants to get online involves supporting them with developing online skills, helping them to realise the benefits of using the internet, and enabling them to have access to the internet. Community hubs currently provide a fantastic resource to up-skill the community through online training courses and some also provide free internet access. However, not everyone is able to access these facilities, especially those isolated or housebound. Of those that are online, 84% prefer to access the internet within their own home.

‘Fighting Poverty’ is about tackling the root causes of deprivation and enabling those in poverty to have the same opportunities as others. It is one of our five key aims in our CHC Corporate Plan and we therefore support our members to impact positively on the economic, environmental and social circumstances of tenants, leaseholders and communities. Our Your Benefits are Changing campaign and Moneyline Cymru service have done just that, and we are now looking to further support our members to raise the benchmark and help tenants to get online in the comfort of their own home.

To find out more about the work we are involved with on digital inclusion, contact Hayley MacNamara on hayley-macnamara@chcymru.org.uk .


Hayley MacNamara
Regeneration Officer

RSLs as place makers

The Royal Society of Architecture Wales conference I attended recently on 'The place of home' inspired me to write this blog post. For me, the conference raised a key question: How do you define a home? In the sector we often refer to creating 'homes' instead of 'houses', but what is the difference?

In my opinion, the word 'housing' denotes a physical structure or a 'unit' as the development industry would say. Comparably, the word ‘home’ is a word with deeper meaning. The perception of the word ‘home’ depends on the individual and their experiences but will often resonate feelings such as security, happiness, freedom and comfort. It may refer to a residence or a place such as the community or the city you live in.

So how do RSLs create the ‘place of home’?

No longer are RSLs considered as just affordable housing providers. The 2013 Welsh Economic Research Unit report highlights this by showing that in addition to new build development, maintenance and renovations, RSLs spent approximately £509m during 2012/13 on community regeneration initiatives. In this year’s WERU report, we wanted to highlight the types of community regeneration that this includes which cover areas such as financial inclusion, skills and employment, tenant engagement, food poverty, energy efficiency, open space improvements, social enterprise, digital inclusion… the list goes on.

What all these areas of work have in common is the fundamental principle of supporting deprived people to help them to reach their potential and have a place they can call home. Supporting both place and people through these initiatives ultimately contributes towards the thriving of communities, empowering those who live within them. RSLs are place makers in this sense, contributing to both the physical and social regeneration of the most deprived communities across Wales.

The WERU infographic summarises the findings of the report and you can view the full report on CHC's website.

Hayley MacNamara
Regeneration Officer, CHC and CREW Regeneration Wales