The Formulation of Local Housing Strategies

A Critical Evaluation

Chris Nicol

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351889513
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Local & Regional Planning Public Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Housing provision is a major dilemma for local authorities. There is currently a huge demand for more housing, while increasing environmental, economic and political pressures must be considered when local authorities develop their policies. This remarkable volume investigates how local authorities formulate their housing strategies. It questions whether the local authority can be seen as a single entity in terms of housing or whether it is fragmented into separate departments. Incorporating in-depth empirical research from England and Wales, the book discusses whether the process of developing housing policy and allocating land needs to be more integrated, and whether key players such as speculative house-builders should be involved in the development of policy. Analyzing which information sources influence the local authority's land allocations and housing strategies, the volume debates whether they provide the most useful data and suggests alternative information sources that may assist in better land allocation policies.

1
Introduction

Context

This study comprehensively examines the housing market as it existed in the 1990s, with a particular focus upon the manner in which local authorities both formulated housing strategies and monitored housing needs and demands. The 1990s provided an interesting period for such an examination. Not only were housing pressures becoming more complex with uncertain demographic projections and changes in household formation, but there was also a return to integrated housing strategies, a policy that had first developed in the 1970s.

This research arises from a general question as to whether or not the provision of housing efficiently and effectively meets the demands and needs of the population. At the time there existed significant debate regarding this issue (Ball, 1996) and the related area of housing needs estimation. (National Housing Forum, 1989; DoE, 1991a; 1995a; Whitehead and Kleinman, 1992; Holmans, 1995) and is still an issue now as we enter a new decade (Bramley, Pawson and Parker, 2000; Holmans, Kiddle and Whitehead, 2000).

One question, examined hitherto to only a limited degree, is the extent to which local authorities can facilitate and contribute to the structure of more integrated and responsive housing provision through housing strategies (Audit Commission, 1992; Cole and Goodchild, 1993; DoE, 1995c). As housing strategies are central to this discussion, it is necessary to focus upon what is meant by this descriptive term (Chapter Four contains a fuller discussion) and a housing strategy is seen as an approach by a local authority to achieve three related objectives;

• To develop housing polices which reflect all tenures.
• To reflect the views of the diversity of different participants in the housing market.
• To ensure that policy and implementation are better co-ordinated.

It is this notion of strategy that has been advocated in government advice, and which may be seen as being a return to the initial concepts of Housing Investment Programmes (HIPs), which will be discussed later.

To achieve these objectives, the manner in which local authorities develop links with private housebuilding companies is clearly relevant, as is the degree to which authorities overcome departmentalism in the preparation of polices which direct housing provision. To clarify these issues, it is worthwhile briefly discussing housing provision, stressing why it is necessary for private housebuilders to be included in the formulation of housing strategies.

Currently and throughout much of the last decade, over 80% of all new homes are constructed by the private sector and public sector completions rarely rise above 35,000 homes per annum (see Table 2.1). In this situation, it is perhaps necessary for housing strategists to take a pragmatic view, acknowledging that the speculative housebuilder is the main instrument of implementation. A recognition of the need to work with private speculative housebuilders as an agency of implementation is not recent. In 1977, for instance, the introduction of a form of local housing strategy, the Housing Investment Programme (see Chapter Four) explicitly referred to the need for a local authority to examine the contribution to the supply of housing that could be made by the speculative housebuilding industry.

It has to be stressed that new housing supply is relatively limited in relation to the overall housing market. For instance, in 1994 less than 1% of the housing stock was newly built properties (CML/BSA,1996). By the end of the 1990s this had reduced to around 0.75% (Wilcox, 2000, Table 17c). One alternative to new build may be the conversion of existing properties, either from other uses into housing or from an extensive housing use to one which is more intensive. Both of these options have been discussed in recent years by amongst other Lord Rogers in the publication Towards an Urban Renaissance (Urban Task Force, 1999) and then more practically the DETR report Conversion and Redevelopment: Processes and Potential (DETR, 2000).

Even in respect of social housing, private housebuilding companies are important. For instance, as direct social housing provision by local authorities has declined (see Table 2.1), there has been an increasing expectation that the shortfall will need to be met by private housebuilders. The form that this type of social housing will take varies greatly, ranging from low-cost sale, through cross-subsidy developments, to homes for rent in co-operation with housing associations (Dunmore, 1992). Affordable housing provision by the private sector has been supported by central government through a number of different Planning Policy Guidance Notes and policy circulars and this continued to develop throughout the late 1990s (DoE, 1991f; DoE, 1992a; DETR, 1998; DETR, 2000).

Before moving on to examine the implications for housing provision, it is necessary to point out one further factor that complicated the housing market of the 1990s. Of the 35,000 social housing units annually completed, an increasing proportion are provided by housing associations. Table 2.1 indicates that, in 1990, housing association and public sector housing completions were almost equal. This situation altered considerably, in the early 1990s so that by 1994 housing associations completed 12 units to every 1 completed by the public sector. By the end of the 1990s the situation was even more pronounced with 1 local authority home being constructed for every 50 housing association units (Wilcox, 2000, Table 19k).

Clearly, the situation that existed in the 1990s, and one would argue continues to exist presently, is one where the development of housing policy is disconnected from its implementation. For instance, a local authority produces policies which attempt to direct housing investment, yet it is left to the strategies of other agencies (private housebuilders and housing associations)¹ to put these policies into practice, resulting in policy being seen as a means of ‘enabling’. As indicated, the supply of housing is presently fragmented, creating a situation where co-ordination is required to ensure supply meets overall demand. Similarly co-ordination is required as the focus has changed so that no longer is traditional housing development on greenfield sites the best option. Policy reflects that higher densities may be expected close to transport nodes, whilst conversions of redundant industrial buildings may be best placed to meet housing shortfalls. Traditionally, a range of agencies have worked with specific local authority departments: planning departments with private housebuilders; housing departments with housing associations; private old persons homes with social services. This has produced a complex network of working relationships, which may create a situation of poor integration in terms of policy and implementation.

Of crucial importance for housing strategies is the accurate determination of housing demand and need, particularly the manner in which this can be determined at a local’ level (see Chapters Two and Three). This can be seen at two separate levels. The first is in terms of overall housing requirements. The second level is the determination of the degree to which these households will require certain house types, certain locations, and certain tenures. Whilst the issue of global housing need has been comprehensively examined (Dorling, 1991; King, 1991; Shaw, 1993; Champion, 1993; Holmans, 1995) in recent years, the latter issue has been somewhat neglected. This work develops the debate regarding co-operation and collaboration through the inclusion of a field of study which has been the focus of limited research, namely methods by which local authorities can effectively monitor housing markets at the local level (Coopers and Lybrand 1985c; Coopers and Lybrand, 1987; Guillou, 1990; Scottish Homes 1993; Maclennan et al., 1998).

Objectives

Having established the general context of this research, it is necessary to focus more directly on the objectives of the study and this is achieved through stating three research questions;

1. To what degree do local authorities operate in a fashion that allows policies to be integrated and co-ordinated?
2. To what extent are private housebuilding companies, as the main implementers of housing policy, involved in the development of housing strategies?
3. To what extent do local authorities employ relevant data as a means of monitoring the housing market?

Before moving on to the methodological issues, it may be useful to expand these research questions in terms of the themes in which they relate.

• Interdepartmental Working. The first theme to be examined is the manner in which local authorities work interdepartmentally to create housing policies which reflect the views of both the housing and planning departments. This has been examined and promoted by both academic researchers and the government over recent years (Carter and Brown, 1990; Carter, Brown and Abbot, 1991a, 1991b; Audit Commission, 1992; Cole and Goodchild, 1993; DoE, 1995c).
• Interagency Working. As highlighted above, most new housing is provided by agencies other than the local authority. This creates a situation where the local authorities housing strategy has to be implemented by a third party. It is important, therefore, for the authority preparing the strategy to have a strong relationship with the agencies which are responsible for implementing the polices.
• Monitoring. An informed knowledge of the housing market through monitoring changes in demand and need will enable housing strategies to be responsive. Part of this study will examine the degree to which the data was employed by local authorities.

Methodology

General Approach

The research objectives stated above require the research to undertake both new empirical work and critical analysis of existing literature. Reference has already been to important relevant research related to the field of housing strategies, and the literature will be examined further in later chapters.

The literature review indicated which areas had been well covered (house prices for instance), which areas had been the focus of less attention (joint agency and joint department working) and where past research had been almost completely lacking (the data which local authorities actually monitor). The depth of material that examines house prices (for instance Evans, 1978; Fleming and Nellis, 1987; Holmans, 1990; Muellbauer, 1990) was found to be considerable.

Whilst examining ‘housing markets’, the research indicated that this generic definition contained numerous different conceptual research areas. For instance housing and its influence on expenditure patterns and savings behaviour (Gentle et al., 1994; Maclennan et al., 1994) or the change in government support for housing (Wilcox, 1994, Table 13b; Kearns and Maclennan, 1991). Although this study focuses upon one area of research, it is clear that a detailed examination of certain supplementary ‘themes’ was necessary to fully understand the issues involved. To retain this focus upon the core issue of housing market monitoring and policy integration, the literature reviewed has been integrated into the individual chapters. It is hoped that employing this methodology allows the discussion to develop logically.

Since both Coopers and Lybrand and Gulliou examined the field in the 1980s conditions have changed significantly. With the adoption of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, the local authority has found itself in a position where the development plan has become increasingly important. The adoption of section 54a,² has placed an added responsibility upon planning authorities. Development plans have become policy documents of increasing consequence, and increasing importance is being placed upon formally adopted policies, so ...