Vetted Gateway builder list set to go national

Joey Gardiner, Regeneration & Renewal, 18 May 2007

Housing Corporation chief executive elect Steve Douglas told Regeneration & Renewal the quango would look to adopt across England many of the findings of the Williams Commission on new housing design in the Gateway, which was published this week.

As predicted by Regeneration & Renewal last week, the commission recommended a "three strikes and you're out" system, with developers losing their ability to access corporation grants if they build three poorly-designed schemes.

The corporation - which subsidises the construction of new affordable housing in England - is likely to fund 60,000 of the 160,000 homes planned in the Gateway.

Douglas said the corporation would immediately adopt a "philosophy where we agree the design standard and then check whether it is delivered". He added that the organisation is considering whether to formally include the "three strikes" policy in its 2008-11 grant bidding round, which will commence in September.

The Williams Report finds developers should be granted "approved partner" status for 2-5 years, based on their experience and track record, opening up access to Housing Corporation grant. The resultant homes should then be monitored - possibly by government design adviser the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) - and partner status rescinded if "outcomes are deemed to fall significantly short of quality standards".

The report also found that the Housing Corporation was guilty of allowing too many schemes to get funding despite their failure to meet design standards (see box and story below).

A recent Cabe audit found 11 out of 13 recent Thames Gateway housing schemes were either poor or average. At the launch in London, corporation chair Peter Dixon added that the organisation "would not blink" from the measures needed to deliver good design.

Government adviser and Regeneration & Renewal columnist Dr Tim Williams was commissioned to write the report by the Housing Corporation. He was advised by a panel including Douglas, Thames Gateway chief executive Judith Armitt and Cabe chief executive Richard Simmons.

- The Williams Report is available via www.regen.net/doc.

THE REPORT'S FINDINGS

Housing Corporation processes "insufficient" to deliver good design.

- List of approved developers should be drawn up based on experience.

- Corporation should be responsible for monitoring resulting construction of homes, after public funding.

- Public land "too often" sold without considering quality neighbourhoods.

- Corporation should tighten up use of "waivers" for developers who don't meet design standards.