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Regional Issues
Regional Housing Board for Yorkshire and Humberside | Yorkshire and Humber Assembly | Yorkshire and Humberside Housing Forum | Leeds City Region | West Yorkshire Housing Partnership | The Golden Triangle
Regional Housing Board for Yorkshire and Humberside
Regional Housing Board for Yorkshire and Humberside
The Regional Housing Board was established by Government in February 2003 to contribute to successful, thriving and inclusive communities, urban and rural, across Yorkshire and the Humber. Originally it was organised and run by Government Office. In September 2006 it moved to the Assembly as part of new governance arrangements.
What does it do?
The Regional Housing Board is the key forum for discussing and deciding housing policy in the region. It exists to:
- Provide regional leadership for housing and ensures delivery of the regional housing strategy;
- Undertake a co-ordinating role, providing leadership for other organisations involved in delivery of housing; and
- Ensure effective linkages with streams of work that remain the responsibility of organisations which are Regional Housing Board members - for example, decent homes, homelessness and supporting people.
- Produce, update and monitor the Regional Housing Strategy and its associated investment plan. This investment plan is used to advise Government how best to spend around £150m in the region each year building new affordable homes and regenerating and renewing existing housing and communities.
- Influence and lobby Government and other national and regional agencies. The aim is to ensure that national housing policy fully reflects the needs of the region and provides the tools and resources to help us deliver the vision and priorities set out in the Regional Housing Strategy.
- Work closely with the Regional Planning Board and the Regional Transport Board to join up the transport, planning and housing agendas, and with Yorkshire Forward to ensure integration of economic development activity.
How does it work?
The Regional Housing Board is accountable to the Regional Executive Board for delivery of the Regional Housing Strategy. It is responsible for building and maintaining good and productive relationships with bodies and organisations in the region responsible for providing housing and related services, in particular by working with and through the Regional Housing Forum.
What are the priorities for this year?
- In the first half of 2007 the Regional Housing Board has these key priorities:
- To feed a housing view into the region’s response to the Comprehensive Spending Review;
- To produce a Regional Investment Strategy to cover the period 2008-11;
- To commission research to improve our understanding of regional housing priorities and to help improve delivery;
- To put in place robust monitoring arrangements for the Regional Housing Strategy; and
- To work with partners to improve delivery of housing in the region.
How often does it meet?
The Regional Housing Board meets a minimum of four times each year. All meeting agendas, papers and minutes are available from the Assembly’s website.
Who's involved?
The Chair and Deputy Chair are members of the Assembly, one is a Local Authority Member and the other is a Social, Economic and Environmental Partner member. The other members of the Board are not necessarily Assembly members and represent a range of organisations responsible for planning, funding, developing, delivering and managing housing and housing services in the region. These include local authority representatives from the four sub regional housing partnerships.
Who supports the Regional Housing Board?
The Regional Housing Board is supported by the Assembly Housing and Communities Team, led by Head of Service, Rob Warm. The key work of the Board is also supported by an Advisory Group. This is made up of officers from the bodies involved in the Regional Housing Board and its role is primarily to provide technical support to the Board.
For more information or a list of current members, contact the Assembly.
Yorkshire and Humber Assembly, 18 King St, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2SQ
Tel: 01924 331555.
E: mail@yhassembly.gov.uk
W: www.yhassembly.gov.uk
Yorkshire and Humber Assembly
The full Assembly is responsible for providing regional leadership, agreeing regional strategic priorities, directing the development of the Integrated Regional Framework and endorsing key regional strategies. Membership comprises all 22 local authorities in this region, plus 15 Social, Economic and Environmental partners, and the National Parks for planning purposes.
What does it do?- Agrees the region’s vision and priorities for a better and sustainable future, setting them out in an Integrated Regional Framework that guides the work of all other regional strategies and plans;
- Reviews overall progress towards delivering these priorities and proposes changes to strategy and action where needed;
- Works with other partners to lobby, nationally and in Europe, to get the best possible deal for the region, for example to secure more investment or to ensure sustainable development;
- Is the regional planning body, overseeing work with partners to shape where and what types of development will meet the future needs of the region;
- Oversees work to develop and implement the Yorkshire and Humber Plan (including the Regional Transport Strategy), and the Regional Housing Strategy, and helps shape the Regional Economic Strategy and other important regional plans;
- Is responsible for scrutinising the Regional Economic Strategy to ensure that work to secure sustainable economic development and growth is delivering real benefits for the region; and
- Ensures that regional agencies and their activities are accountable to the region through the active, majority involvement of all 22 Local Authority Leaders working alongside social, economic and environmental partners.
How does it work?
Members come together to discuss and debate the big issues for the region – bringing the experience from their area or sector to develop and shape policy and strategy that is right for Yorkshire and Humber and meets the needs of our people, our businesses and our environment.
Members are accountable to their nominating bodies (for example a local authority or a sector specific groups such as the Regional Environment Forum or the regional CBI). Wherever possible members make decisions on the basis of consensus. The membership is made up of 60% Local Authorities and 40% Social, Economic and Environmental Partners. The total available votes are allocated using the same 60:40 ratio. Local authority votes are then split proportionally, based on population.
The Assembly works in close partnership with Yorkshire Forward (the Regional Development Agency), Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber and a range of government sponsored, and other bodies and organisations providing services in the region, many of whom join us at Assembly meetings.
The Assembly has effective relationships beyond the region working across the North, with the other English Regions, with national Government and with European and international bodies and institutions.
How often does it meet?
The full Assembly meets at least three times a year, normally in February, July and October. All meeting agendas, papers and minutes are available from the Assembly’s website.
Who's involved?
The Full Members of the Assembly are all local authorities in membership of Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, representatives of sector groups (social, economic and environmental), and the two National Parks. There is a non-voting category of Associate membership open to other authorities, organisations or agencies having an interest in the work of the Assembly. There is also a non-voting Observer category of membership.
Who supports the Assembly?
The work of the Assembly is supported by a team of 39 full time staff led by an Executive Co-ordination Team made up of the Chair, Peter Box, the Deputy Chair, Paul Jagger, and two Executive Directors, Sue Jeffrey and Chris Martin.
Papers and meeting dates available for Regional Planning Task Groups via:
Yorkshire and Humber Assembly, 18 King St, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2SQ
Tel: 01924 331555. E: mail@yhassembly.gov.uk
W: www.yhassembly.gov.uk
Yorkshire and Humberside Housing Forum
The Yorkshire and Humberside Housing Forum aims to provide an inclusive and authoritative Forum for housing providers, consumers and other agencies involved in housing representative of public, private and voluntary and community sectors in Yorkshire & Humberside to discuss issues of concern, comment collectively on these issues and make recommendations for action.
Its membership consists elected Members and supporting Officers from the region’s 21 Local Housing Authorities, regionally based RSLs and voluntary housing organisations, the Countryside Agency, Construction Industry Training Board, Council of Mortgage Lenders, English Partnerships, Government Office – YH, House Builders Federation,the Housing Corporation, the Housing Federation North, LGA, Northern Housing Consortium, Public Health Sector, Residential Landlords Association, Rural Housing Enablers, Y&H Tenants & Residents Federation, Yorkshire and Humberside Assembly and Yorkshire Forward.
Contact Karen Maxwell, Director of the Yorkshire and Humberside Housing Forum for contact details/acquiring information
Yorkshire and Humber Assembly, 18 King St, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2SQ
Tel: 01924 331611
E: Karen.Maxwell@yhhf.org.uk
Sub Regional Forums:
There are also sub-regional Forums covering
West Yorkshire
North Yorkshire,
South Yorkshire,
Hull and Humber.
For further details contact Karen Maxwell- Director - Yorkshire and Humberside Housing Forum -
E: Karen.Maxwell@yhhf.org.ukLeeds City Region
A Housing and Spatial Planning Panel has been established consisting Executive members responsible for housing and planning issues supported by an officers group at Chief Officer level. The Panel has been established to oversee and coordinate investment and action to improve the quality of the housing offer across the city region in order to meet needs and aspirations and ensure a structure of housing provision that can support economic growth
The Panel has reviewed investment streams into the City region and is currently looking to develop a City region Housing Strategy. The Panel is also considering wider housing and planning issues including links to the Regional Spatial Strategy, housing growth across the city region, eco-towns and Growth Points.
Contact Colin Blackburn, Leeds City Council
Tel: 0113 395 2261
E: colin.blackburn@leeds.gov.ukWest Yorkshire Housing Partnership
The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership consists a Board (including political representation from all five local authorities), a Steering Group and a Forum. It draws upon all housing and related organisations, public, private and voluntary sector, operating in the West Yorkshire area:
Vision
The Vision of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership is
"to ensure that West Yorkshire has a range of high quality housing provision and neighbourhood based services that create and maintain sustainable communities and improve the quality of life for all, economically and socially."
The WYHP has five major objectives
Strategic Objective 1
To tackle obsolescence in housing through reducing the supply of housing for which there is little demand and replacing it with or converting it to types of housing that better match preferences and aspirations
Strategic Objective 2
To improve the quality and standard of housing for which there is demand in order to improve quality of life for residents and attract emerging and incoming households.
Strategic Objective 3
To ensure that there is a range of housing available to meet the needs, preferences and aspirations of existing, emerging and incoming households.
Strategic Objective 4
To ensure that market restructuring and community regeneration and urban renaissance programmes link together to achieve a sustainable settlement pattern which recognises and supports a diversity of communities
Strategic Objective 5
To maximise the funding available to support housing market renewal and to develop strategies to ensure that best use is made of those funds to deliver the market renewal programme.
The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Board
The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Board consists of the Lead Members for Housing/Regeneration issues from each the five West Yorkshire Local Authorities, two RSL representatives elected through the Housing Federation North, two private sector representatives (from the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Housebuilders Federation) and representatives of Yorkshire Forward, the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber, English Partnerships, Housing Federation North and the Housing Corporation.
The Board oversees and guides all activities being undertaken by the West Yorkshre Housing Partnership including the implementation of the emerging West Yorkshire Housing Strategy and Housing Market Renewal programme, the formulation of a West Yorkshire Housing Investment Programme, scrutiny of existing Single Regional Housing Pot commissioning projects and joint working arrangements.
West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Management Group
The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Management Group supports the Partnership Board and ensures activities of the Partnership are progressed.
West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Forum
The West Yorkshire Housing Forum is open to a wide range of housing or related organisations across the area, including the five tenants federations, local authority housing, regeneration and planning departments, RSLs, Estate Agents, developers, lending agencies, community projects, PCTs and the Police, The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Steering group acts as its executive. Its aims are:- To work in partnership to contribute to the successful implementation of the Regional Housing Strategy
- To provide a consultation and approval mechanism for joint working, strategy development and SRHP proposals
- To work in partnership to identify common causes for concern, issues and problems
- To work in partnership to understand the operation of housing markets and changing demand for housing
- To work in partnership to develop
i) new and innovative ways of working
ii) means to meet the needs of the range of vulnerable people
iii) community cohesion and fair access to housing
iv) partnering and procurement strategies and commissioning
The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Director is Lindsay Greenwood who is coordinating the formulation of a housing strategy and investement programme for West Yorkshire and is responsible for the overall management of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership. Contact Lindsay Greenwood, West Yorkshire Housing Partnership Director (lindsay.greenwood@bradford.gov.uk)
Huw Jones: huw.jones@renew-leeds.co.uk
The Golden Triangle
What is The Golden Triangle?
The Golden Triangle Partnership is a partnership between Leeds City Council, Harrogate Borough Council and City of York Council. It is unique in that it crosses two regions – North and West Yorkshire. When the partnership was established in 2003 the membership only included housing and planning staff from the three councils. Since then we have extended it to include three housing association partners; Home Housing, Yorkshire Housing and Accent Housing.
The Housing Corporation and the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber provide an advisory role to the partnership.
Why the Golden Triangle?
During the past few years, it has become more and more difficult to meet housing demand in the area. For an increasing number of first time buyers and people on low incomes it has become almost impossible to buy their own home in the Golden Triangle due to the prohibitive cost of property. The Golden Triangle Partnership want to take action that will remove these obstacles.
Vision of the partnership
The vision of the partnership is to work across traditional administrative boundaries to achieve affordable housing solutions in high-value areas of North and West Yorkshire. The overall aim of the partnership is to increase the availability of affordable housing within sustainable communities in the Golden Triangle area.
How?
The partnership has received funding which will help to deliver innovative long-term solutions to the affordable housing shortage in the Golden Triangle.
The partnership has submitted a further bid to secure funding for 2008 -11 so that they can continue to share best practice and find ways providing more affordable homes in the Golden Triangle. The partnership will find out about the outcome of the bid later in the year.
For further information about the work of the partnership – please contact:
Michelle Fletcher - Project Manager to the Golden Triangle Partnership(Harrogate/York/Leeds)
Tel: 0113 2475885
E: michelle.fletcher@leeds.gov.uk
