Housing Committee Member Briefing
“Investing in Affordable Housing”: A quick guide for committee members
EVH

EVH’s topical briefing notes on the Scottish Government’s consultation document, “Investing in Affordable Housing”.

In future, the Government is proposing that funding should be directed to a much smaller number of “Lead Developers” who would build new houses for themselves and for other housing associations. In the short term, groupings of housing associations (“consortia”) and single housing associations would also be able to take part in regional competitions for funding.

Download full document here

Councils for voluntary service in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to form their own umbrella body to represent them in discussions with community planning authorities.

In a poll of the country’s 57 CVSs in January, 92 per cent voted to set up a new umbrella body. Harry Whiteside, chair of the steering group responsible for drawing up the proposal, said she was delighted by the result. She said it showed a growing self-confidence among Scottish CVSs and reflected their increasing role in helping local authorities to draw up the Single Outcome Agreements required under new Scottish governance arrangements, which will set local priorities

Whiteside said: “To get to the position where 57 independent CVSs can agree to work together in a more structured and cohesive manner is good news for the Scottish voluntary sector. There is a key role for CVSs across Scotland to help ensure the building of an effective interface between the voluntary sector and local community planning partners.”

She said a board would be elected in the next two months, whose first task would be to draw up a business plan and strategy. She said she hoped the new body could also represent Scotland’s volunteer centres and local social economy partnerships, which promote social enterprise. She said: “Such a move may not be easy but does need to be explored. With open dialogue and mutual respect I do believe we can get to a position where there are gains all round and, more importantly, gains to our communities.”

Scottish CVSs are currently represented by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. Paul White, director of networks at the SCVO, said: “We very much welcome the development of a strong representative voice for the CVS network.”

Change the direction of travel – invest in community led regeneration.
Paper by LPL

The consultation being led by Scottish Government on how Scotland’s share of the dormant bank accounts should be spent and the associated the debate that is has stimulated across the Third Sector is to be welcomed. This financial windfall presents a unique opportunity for Scotland to fundamentally challenge and improve upon existing orthodoxy in terms of how to tackle the deep rooted and enduring challenges in Scotland’s most deprived communities.

This proposal is based on the following propositions concerning Scotland’s community regeneration policy over the past 25 years :

* That despite a succession of targeted, area based regeneration initiatives over this period, the baseline indicators of improved outcomes for the people living in these communities show that little meaningful progress has been achieved
* That these initiatives can be characterised as being, without exception, top-down and led by the local authority in partnership with other public sector bodies.
* That these initiatives result in programmes of short term funding for community based projects that are not able to sustain themselves beyond the end of the regeneration scheme.
* That despite the evidence that this top down, short term investment approach has failed to make a sustained impact, the same approach with minor modifications, has been applied repeatedly ever since New Life For Urban Scotland in the early 1980’s.
* That regeneration policy and practice in Central/Lowland Scotland has failed to recognise the value of lessons learnt in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland in relation to the potential impact of community ownership and control and the importance of linking social and community development with economic growth.

The annual turnover of Scotland’s Third Sector is approximately £2.5 billion. In relative terms, £40m is a small amount of money and there is a real danger that if it is committed along existing patterns of expenditure, it will generate little in terms of overall impact and additional value.

It could however be used in such a way that would both signal the start of a new era in the regeneration of our most deprived communities, and provide the Government’s current policy commitment on community empowerment with a flagship initiative that would reinforce its devolutionary credentials.

The proposal – to establish community endowments

The £40m should be used to establish a £2 million endowment fund in twenty of the most deprived communities in Scotland (the index of deprivation that is used should include a rural component) under the ownership and control of a community owned regeneration vehicle. Each endowment would be set up as a legal trust and managed by a team of professional fund managers contracted to work with a nominated local anchor organisation. Each community would enter negotiations with the awarding body (BIG Lottery) as to which local anchor organisation should assume the role of ‘accountable body’ for the endowment. The nominated local anchor organisation and the management arrangements for the endowment would be subject to rigorous due diligence, with a requirement that reporting on investment decisions and any disposal decisions with regard to the income generated, have to be wholly transparent and publicly accountable.

If implemented, this proposal would fundamentally change the framework within which local regeneration could take place. It would:

* provide the community with a long term income stream that is not dependent on the continued patronage of a grant provider
* change the dynamic of the relationship between the community and other stakeholders . The power imbalance created by the ‘begging bowl’ culture would become less significant.
* enable the community to take their place at the ‘partnership table’ as a genuine partner with a financial stake to contribute towards common objectives
* enable the community to assume greater control in determining what local priorities it chooses to address
* increase levels of community self confidence and local capacity as the sense of controlling more of their own destiny grows

Underpinning this proposal is the principle that the people who live in a community are best placed to lead any process of change or renewal that occurs within that community and should always be given the opportunity to do so. Furthermore, inherent in this proposal is a recognition that when local people are presented with this type of opportunity, a hitherto untapped pool of creative energy and local commitment and effort can be harnessed and channelled towards the overall regeneration effort.

As supporters of Local People Leading – The Campaign for a Strong and Independent Community Sector, we endorse this submission to the Scottish Government Consultation on Dormant Bank Accounts

Signed

A DOSSIER into Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site has strongly criticised the handling of a controversial development in the heart of the Old Town.

The Unesco report, delivered to the city council last week, has singled out for criticism the way the £300 million Caltongate scheme was approved by the authorities despite protests from a host of heritage groups.

Councillors approved plans to knock down two listed buildings to make way for a five-star hotel and conference centre less than a year after detailed plans were submitted.

The scheme had earlier been backed by Historic Scotland and was subsequently approved by the Scottish Government, after ministers ruled out a public inquiry.

Yesterday, the city council was facing fresh demands to urge the developer to produce new plans for the site. Criticism by bodies such as the International Council on Monuments and Sites, Edinburgh World Heritage and the Cockburn Association is widely believed to have triggered the Unesco investigation, which was ordered at the body’s annual world heritage summit in Quebec last July.

The council is thought to have borne the brunt of criticism on Caltongate, although Historic Scotland and the Scottish Government are also believed to have come under fire from the inspectors, who visited the capital last year. One area of criticism is that the council and the developer both failed to pay enough heed to the protests over the development, or make substantial changes before a final planning decision was made.

About 2,000 jobs have been promised by Mountgrange, the developer of Caltongate, which includes 200 homes, a public square, office blocks and a new arts quarter. Last week the developer rebuffed claims the project was in danger of being shelved.

Jim Lowrie, the city council head of planning, said: “(The report] does criticise us over the Caltongate development. We are going to have to look at (that] before we respond in detail.”

Edinburgh city council has several weeks to submit an official response to the report, which will be discussed at the next world heritage summit in Seville this summer.

However James Simpson, one of Scotland’s leading conservation architects, said: “Too many developments in Edinburgh have been pushed through as a result of greed on the part of developers and fear on the part of councillors and officials.

“I sincerely hoped that the downturn will mean that developments like Caltongate do not go ahead and that it will give the council breathing space to rethink the whole approach.”

Sally Richardson, the spokeswoman for the Save Our Old Town campaign, said: “Since this site is unlikely to be developed for the next few years, we would like to see the council encourage some kind of temporary use, such as community allotments or a new park.”

With Caltongate Developers Mountgrange in financial distress, a window of opportunity has arrived for city planners and the council to reconsider their stand on how the New Street Site is to be developed.

The buildings at risk from demolition should be bought back to life and serve the community and city’s needs once again and the council should freeze all work on land sales to Mountgrange in present situation, say Save Our Old Town campaigners.

The campaigners are continuing to call on the council to uphold the decision to use the £100,000 Bond from Mountgrange to allow a temporary landscape scheme to be implemented on the New Street gap site.

The Old Town campaigners presented the results from a year long community research project at a seminar held last weekend which decision makers as well as the public have been invited to attend.

Key Findings of the Report are likely to prove embarrassing to planners and politicians.

They include:

Having a living world heritage site in the city centre came out as a top priority but housing policies and city development fails to support this.

There is an urgent need for community facilities and spaces.

There is a clear lack of ‘public’ responsibility in the management of public space.

Small independent and start up businesses require support and initiatives.

Opportunities and sites for community development should be identified.

Urban communities should get access to ‘”community right to buy”

Pressure on council to keep a properly accounted and managed register of Common Good Land & Assets.

No more “selling off of the family silver” and no more privatisation of public space.

Over the year opinion was sampled from residents and public –

79% want social & affordable housing
77% want family housing
77% want play parks/areas for children & teenagers
70% want a better mix of shops
62% want more grassed areas & trees
57% want artist’s working facilities

Elder Park in Govan opened in 1855 but local people insist it has been virtually ignored for many years.

All that is about to change as a range of new ventures are either under way or in the pipeline.

The largest is a £2million gardening and healthy living project planned by Linthouse Housing Association.

It involves transforming a derelict former B-listed farmhouse, believed to be the oldest building in Govan, in the park into a community hub.

Ingrid Campbell, Linthouse Urban Village co-ordinator, said: “The city council approached the housing association and asked us if there was anything we could do with the farmhouse.

“We’ve been working on a proposal for two years which involves reinstating the building to its former glory.”

The plans include a small museum with a display of local artefacts, a meeting room, office space, a botanical glasshouse and a family-friendly cafe with play area, and toilets.

One of the outhouses, which will have a roof garden, would have seven work spaces aimed at creative or community activities.

And there will be a market garden area with polytunnels and raised beds which would be run by local organisations involved in community regeneration, local groups or volunteers.

There will also be a children’s secret garden or a sensory garden and an orchard garden, while a paved central courtyard will provide a space for events such as a Christmas market.

The housing association hopes the Lottery and Historic Scotland will help fund the work.

Ms Campbell said: “Elder Park will have facilities and activities which will make it the hub of the community and somewhere for people of all ages to visit.”

Gordon Mackay, chairman of Friends of Elder Park, said: “This is a park that seems to have been forgotten.”

A spokesman for the city council, which owns the park, said: “The council has taken a central role in the conservation and regeneration of the Govan area, including making it a conservation area taking in Elder Park.

“We’ve also announced a scheme to release vacant property, such as the farmhouse.”

BIG THINKING : CONSULTATION ON FUTURE DIRECTION OF BIG LOTTERY FUND

Response from : Local People Leading – the voice for strong and independent communities

Q1. How can the Big Lottery Fund distinctively add value to the Scottish Government’s ambitions for a more successful Scotland that is ‘wealthier and fairer; smarter; healthier; safer and stronger and greener’?

There is a very fine balance to be struck between BIG adding value to the SG ambitions for Scotland and it being effectively subsumed into the broad package of SG funding streams and being alligned with Fairer Scotland Fund, Enterprising Third Sector funding programmes etc. There is much to be gained from BIG having a policy framework which is distinctively different and clearly separate from the Scottish Govt’s framework while at the same time being complimentary and clearly referenced to some specific aspects of the SG overarching purpose. To do this BIG should focus only on certain aspects of SG policy framework and maintain that focus over the course of the funding period – particularly important given the likely reduced levels of funds available. A continued emphasis on directing investment into communities will generate outcomes that relate to the Scottish Government’s ambitions but through the specific prism of building the resilience and sustainability of the community sector.

Q2. Do the current outcomes for Scotland provide a sensible, workable and flexible framework for the Big Lottery Fund? Are there gaps in these which prevent BIG from responding to current and future need? Are there outcomes which need to be removed or changed?

Current outcomes continue to make sense as a framework for BIG

Q3. Does Investing In Communities need to be improved or revised to help communities and voluntary organisations deal with the current and future challenges facing people and communities in Scotland? If so, how?

Overall, we would argue the framework for Investing In Communities should be persisted with on the basis that any programme of this size is going to require a significant period of time to “bed in” in order that its operation can be understood by all sides and for the long term benefits to be fully appreciated. Short termism and an over-readiness to change direction in the past, has been to the detriment of many funding schemes being able to maximize their potential benefits. If there were to be a substantial change in direction or approach at this stage, an enormous amount of ‘work in progress’ would be lost. We are confident that a sustained period of stability in approach will result in a continued improvement in terms of quality and range of projects and in particular in the specific areas of priority where the hoped for return has been less evident to date.

Q4. Should Investing in Communities be adjusted to reflect the new circumstances and policy framework for the third sector in Scotland, in particular how should it best add value to, or complement, the Scottish Government’s Enterprising Third Sector Action Plan?

see answer to question 1

Q5. How can the Big Lottery Fund’s resources build a more sustainable third sector into the future?

Continue to place the highest possible value on communities acquiring assets and consolidate progress by learning from the experience of GCA where particular issues arose during the application process which had a detrimental impact on morale and capacity levels of communities. In particular these related to some tensions between the dual role of project development and project assessment from within the consortium and the lack of consistency of message being conveyed to potential applicants. Also, the requirement which BIG placed on communities to obtain a substantially discounted price in respect of assets acquired from the public sector has proved to be a major barrier and the inflexibility with which this requirement has been applied has undoubtedly restricted the progress of many worthwhile projects.

Also we would argue for a more focussed approach in terms of targeting asset based investment at ‘community anchor orgs’ in order to achieve best value and meeting long term community empowerment objectives. CAOs typically play a broader support and enabling role in relation to local networks of informal voluntary organizations and therefore by prioritising these organisations would represent best use of what will be a reduced overall pot of available funding.

Q6. Through Investing in Communities, the Big Lottery Fund has tried to support people in need and also fund work that can help prevent need occurring. It has also invested in projects that make it easier for people, communities and organisations to deal with need when it arises. Should BIG continue the approach of supporting both work that helps people in need now and work that helps prevent need occurring?

Yes, both approaches should continue to be followed. However the balance should be in favour of building community resilience and the capacity of local people to respond to new problems and needs as they arise within their communities. This is the only approach which has the potential to leave a legacy of sustainable community action which will prevent the same needs recurring time after time.

Q7. Single Outcome Agreements and Community Planning Partnerships are at the heart of the Scottish Government’s policy agenda. Funding and decision-making on many policy areas have been streamlined and devolved. Should BIG take account of these structures as an indication of local need and priorities, or is it important to provide flexible funding that is not linked to these agreements?

No, BIG should not use SOAs or the CPP structures as a means of assessing local need. It is important that there should be some consistency across the country in terms of priorities and access to BIG funding. CPPs are highly inconsistent across the country in terms of the value they place on engaging with our sector and the extent to which SOAs are designed to reflect the needs of the community sector – many do not even make mention of the contribution of the voluntary sector.

Q8. Is there a particular role for BIG to add value in this context by focusing support on community engagement within these new local structures?

There is a danger that CPP partners absolve themselves of responsibility if BIG were to do this. However added value could be achieved if there was a recognition from CPP partners that communities require to have control of their own resources to enable them to develop more effective ways to engage with CPP process. BIG support could be matched by CPPs and invested into a resource under community control. Thus, BIG’s support would be catalytic in raising overall levels of engagement in CCP structures

Q9. How can the Big Lottery Fund help businesses and voluntary organisations work together to make a difference in communities?

BIG could target some funds towards areas of economic/commercial activity where potential synergies could be developed. For instance in the development of renewable energy projects BIG could invest in communities specifically to enable them to partner private sector developers and thereby generate significant long term community assets. In addition BIG could target resources to fund programmes of mentoring and inter-sector placements to foster greater understanding at a local level.

Q10. Should BIG engage in developing opportunities for sectors to work together to solve problems or sustain solutions? What role can BIG play, through its funding and its partnerships, to support innovation?

Yes. BIG can create the ‘space’ to open up the dialogue and make the linkages between sectors. BIG should take advantage of the fact that Scotland is of a scale which means sector intermediaries, key partnerships and alliances are relatively few. Although the government on occasion attempt to orchestrate change, the levers at their disposal are relatively crude. BIG is uniquely placed to bring a national knowledge of the different sectors (and sub sectors) and funding to facilitate these desired actions.

Residents in the south of Skye are considering a community buyout of a former water supply reservoir, it emerged yesterday.

Community groups are hoping to halt the sale of the Allt Duisdale reservoir, close to the village of Isleornsay in Sleat, which is due to go under the hammer at an auction in Glasgow next week.

Scottish Water put the three-acre site on the market as it has become redundant following the creation of a larger scheme farther south in the peninsula.

At an emergency meeting earlier this week a number of community groups, including the Camuscross Community Initiative, agreed to use Land Reform legislation to try to halt the sale to give them time to consider buying the lochan.

But last night a spokesman for Scottish Water said that, although it had been contacted by the group, it is unwilling to withdraw their surplus asset from the market.

Instead, he invited the group to bid for the picturesque site at the auction.

He said: “We are duty bound by government rules – the Public Finance Manual – which says that we must dispose of any surplus assets to minimise our maintenance costs and health and safety liabilities.

“We do make other public bodies aware and consider if any local interest has been expressed but if no one is interested we put the item to a public auction so anyone can bid for it. This also enables us to get best value for the item. We then reinvest the money raised to keep customer bills down.” He added: “While we appreciate their position we obviously have to bear in mind our responsibility to all our customers by disposing of this surplus asset swiftly and for a good price.”

The reservoir, which is about 50ft deep and 20ft wide, was created in the 1950s to supply the villages of Duisdale Mor, Duisdale Beag, Eilean Iarmain and Camuscross.

Representatives of Camuscross Community Initiative, Sleat Renewables and Sleat Community Trust met on Tuesday to discuss the sale. They agreed the Camuscross organisation was best placed to put a late registration of interest on the land.

They hope that if the move is successful, they will have six months to organise a community ballot and, if the majority are in favour, raise the capital to buy the land.

Donnie MacKinnon, of Camuscross Community Iniative, said he was unaware of Scottish Water’s stance on the issue and added that the group only became aware that the reservoir was up for sale when it was advertised in a local paper last week.

He said: “I’ll have to discuss our next move with the rest of the group.”

Earlier, he said: “In Sleat we are just starting to grow the seeds of ideas to develop the land in order to increase the resilience and sustainability of the community. It is our earnest hope that the Scottish Government and Scottish Water feel able to encourage these seeds.”

Credit Unions in Britain

A credit union is a financial co-operative which provides savings, loans and a range of services to its members. It is owned and controlled by the members. Each member has one vote and volunteer directors are elected from the membership, by the membership. Credit unions share the co-operative ethos of people helping people.

Membership of a credit union is based on a common bond. This can be living or working in a certain geographical area, working for a particular employer or in a particular industry. Some common bonds cover villages or towns, while some common bonds can cover entire cities or regions.

Around the world, there are 172 million members in 46,000 credit unions operating in 97 countries. In the USA, Canada and Australia, over a quarter of the population belong to a credit union.

There are 497 credit unions in Britain with a combined adult membership of over 600,000 plus 100,000 junior savers. British credit unions hold around £600m in assets, with around £450m held in savings and around £400m out on loan.

The credit union movement in Britain has grown rapidly over the last decade, with assets, loans and savings all more than doubling. On average credit union membership has been growing by between 5% and 15% per year for the last 10 years. As a result, total membership has risen 227% since 1997.

The popular view of credit unions run entirely by volunteers and only open for a couple of hours a week in a community centre is rapidly disappearing. Today, credit unions are far more likely to be found in staffed high street premises, open normal business hours, providing a range of services and working with a range of partners such as Citizens Advice Bureaux and Housing Associations.

Credit unions are regulated by the Financial Services Authority and members savings are covered up to £50,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

More on the Third Sector Credit Union Fund here

For further information see

http://www.abcul.org

http://www.scottishcu.org

Author: Jeremy Watson

Deep in the heart of a Stirlingshire glen, the latest in an illustrious line of Scottish inventions is about to be unveiled.

An eco-loo, housed in a recycled shipping container, has been designed to help countryside visitors answer the call of nature without having to use the surrounding woodlands. Human waste will be composted using sawdust, rendering it odourless, while the container will be lit by solar power. Handwashing gels will be provided to replace running water.

The £25,000 prototype is to be positioned in a remote car park in Inverlochlarig at the head of Balquhidder Glen, which is used by thousands of walkers and climbers every year to gain access to five nearby Munros.

As there is no conventional public toilet at the remote site, the nearby woods have become an open-air loo for those caught short coming off the hills. Now the local community trust and researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University have come up with a cheap and environmentally friendly solution. If the prototype proves successful, eco-loos could become a common site in remote rural locations.

The loo is expected to be in place in June. Alan Clarke, director of the Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathtyre Community Trust, said: “Over 6,000 walkers and climbers a year visit the Balquhidder Glen. Until now they’ve had to make do with natural, open-air toilet facilities, but we want to improve this for everyone.

“We know there is a need for this facility as the landowner has said so. The car park is well used by around 6,000 people a year and waste left nearby has become a problem.

“If you build a normal public toilet then there would have to be connections to mains electricity, water and sewerage, which is expensive so far up the glen, eight miles from the main road.”

The metal shipping container to be used is around 10ft tall and 8ft wide and will be clad in Scottish wood to help it blend in with the environment. A solar panel will be used to supply 24-hour light and power small fans to disperse smells. Hand gel and toilet paper will be replenished weekly.

The leader of the design team, Derek Gallaher, head of the Kit-Out The Park project at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “There have been compost thunderboxes before, but we believe this to be a totally unique combination of technologies.

“If it is successful we know there are other areas in which they could be used.”

The loo is to be sited within the boundaries of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Iona McDonald, the sustainable development officer with the National Park Authority said:

“This will be the first of its kind to be installed and will be a welcome sight for many hillwalkers.

“It’s a low impact, sustainable solution that will meet the needs of people enjoying the great outdoors. The results of this pilot project will be really important both to the park authority, partner organisations and land managers with similar challenges.”

Author: Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser

Lucky Blackford and Auchterarder communities will enjoy a £250,000 windfall today.

Local businessman Allan King will hand over a six-figure cheque on behalf of Ochil Developments (UK), who are currently constructing the prestigious G-West International Resort on their doorstep.

The cash is being gifted for the benefit of residents – and there’s more to come. This is the first of two tranches.

Mr King said: “This is a long standing arrangement devised by the principals of Ochil Developments who were keen to do something to benefit the two communities.

“In the case of Blackford, Ochil particularly want the elderly to benefit, but they recognise that Auchterarder is a much bigger community with more complex needs.”

The cheques will be presented to Mr John Graham, treasurer of Blackford Community Council and Mr Peter Everett chairman of Auchterarder and District Community Trust.

Blackford has already established a panel to assess priorities and allocate grants and they have enlisted the help of the Scottish Community Foundation to manage and administer the fund.

Mr Graham said: “It is envisaged that the interest generated by invested capital will be used to finance projects and activities within the community but that, in time, some capital projects may also be considered.”

In Auchterarder, a Trust has been established and the trustees will perform a similar role to the panel in Blackford – in Auchterarder’s case using the Perth and Kinross Quality of Life Trust to handle administration.

Mr Everett noted: “A great opportunity has been presented to the two communities through the generosity of Ochil Developments and we look forward to making awards to local groups and individuals to the benefit of the area.”