PRESS RELEASE

Director calls for joint action on housing quality in Scotland	31st August 2001
Radical changes must be made to the way new housing is delivered if the quality of Scottish homes and communities is to be improved, a Scottish Homes Director said today. Speaking at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations annual conference in Stirling, Stuart Nichol, Managing Director of Scottish Homes Lothian, Borders and Forth Valley, called on housing associations to join forces to improve the efficiency of the development process and drive up standards of design and construction. He said: “Improving housing quality is something we can only do together. We need a commitment to change and a mindset that thinks in a sustainable, efficient way. Stuart Nichol outlined the ways in which Scottish Homes, and the New Executive Agency, which replaces it on 1st November, will help to drive the quality agenda forward. “We have to consider value over the long term,” he said. “That is why the agency is now consulting on a single grant mechanism to replace housing association grant, which will take account of life-cycle costs and costs to the occupant over 30 years.” The grant, due to be launched by April 2002, will be available to any organisation providing rented accommodation, provided they are registered with the agency and are proven excellent performers. It will involve a single appraisal technique for new housing, regeneration projects and refurbishments. “The agency will only invest in developers who are good performers, and we will move to delivering long-term programmes of investment, rather than individual projects. The average size of the developments we currently invest in is around 20 houses, which isn’t efficient across the board.” Stuart Nichol emphasised that the new agency would recognise the geographical and cultural diversity of Scotland, and would not take a “one size fits all” approach to improving the delivery of housing. “There will be many ways to improve efficiency, from large area regeneration initiatives where new housing is delivered together with schools, offices shops and transport, to local networks of registered social landlords who club together to increase their buying power.” He said that the principles of sustainable development will underpin the new agency’s activities. “Scottish Homes sustainability policy sets out actions to improve the energy efficiency of new homes, encourage the redevelopment of brownfield sites and reduce consumption of physical resources through the reduction of waste, recycling of materials and use of renewable energy sources. “From 1st April next year, registered social landlords must have a verifiable sustainable development policy in place in order to receive funding from us, and all new housing developments must meet agreed sustainability standards and targets. “To back this up we have produced a sustainable design guide which contains case studies of best practice projects and a quality assessment tool to help housing associations and developers identify the best and most efficient design solutions for their needs.” He also emphasised the importance of design quality. “The quality of the built environment is the key to a successful, sustainable future for Scotland,” he said. “We firmly support the involvement of a designer of proven record in every project or programme we invest in. What we want are safe, distinctive communities with a sense of place and wellbeing, which people are proud to live in and take ownership of.”
Joanna Swanson Tel: 0131 479 5163