As mentioned last week I was
giving a presentation at the CIH Conference which was held on “our patch” in Manchester.
It was an interesting event and the location certainly gave it a different feel
to Harrogate. There was something about a more urban environment that gave it
less of a feeling of being a get-together (albeit an enjoyable one)
and more of a sense of purpose. What did other attendees feel? Although there
are no official awards from the Conference I like to put together my own list
of accolades.
We are now "part of the construction industry". When I started work in the 70s, housing associations were a "movement". Then they became a sector in the 90s. Now our transition takes us to be part of an "industry". I wonder how our be-sandled, knit-your-own-yoghurt predecessors would feel about that?
Shapps gave a customarily strong performance and the most intriguing moment of his appearance was when his government was attacked for demonising social housing and impoverishing tenants; whereupon half the CIH audience applauded loudly. When Shapps gave a robust explanation of why his policies were right, he was applauded loudly by half the audience. The only conclusion is that the housing world is more divided than we might think about the rights and wrongs of this government’s approach.
Most Helpful Comment
Jon Snow – “How come we can organise an Olympic games in Britain, but we can't organise how we house our population?” A pertinent, and timely, comment.
Best Newcomer
Grainne Long the new CEO of the CIH. A good speech to bring it all to a close; challenging to the Minister in public and private. My hunch is that the incumbent Minister may not be there next year, although I should add that this is based solely on observing his body language, rather than anything he actually said. That said, given the rate of change in housing currently it makes predictions of any kind particularly difficult – let’s wait until Manchester (hopefully) 2013 and see…
In no particular order then…
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| If you get one of these in the post, now you know why. |
Stat Of The Week
The now-familiar phrase that every 100,000 homes built will add 1% to GDP. There is a feeling that the Government "gets" this and wants to support more house-building as a driver of economic growth.
The now-familiar phrase that every 100,000 homes built will add 1% to GDP. There is a feeling that the Government "gets" this and wants to support more house-building as a driver of economic growth.
Realisation Of The Week
We are now "part of the construction industry". When I started work in the 70s, housing associations were a "movement". Then they became a sector in the 90s. Now our transition takes us to be part of an "industry". I wonder how our be-sandled, knit-your-own-yoghurt predecessors would feel about that?
The Grant Shapps Award For Insight Into The Housing Industry
Shapps gave a customarily strong performance and the most intriguing moment of his appearance was when his government was attacked for demonising social housing and impoverishing tenants; whereupon half the CIH audience applauded loudly. When Shapps gave a robust explanation of why his policies were right, he was applauded loudly by half the audience. The only conclusion is that the housing world is more divided than we might think about the rights and wrongs of this government’s approach.
Most Helpful Comment
Sir Bob Kerslake’s observation
that housing associations wanting to pursue new approaches should be alive to
the risks, but could "proceed until apprehended”. To me this looks like a new
licence to do the things that make good business to house the nation.
Quote Of The Week
Jon Snow – “How come we can organise an Olympic games in Britain, but we can't organise how we house our population?” A pertinent, and timely, comment.
Best Newcomer
Grainne Long the new CEO of the CIH. A good speech to bring it all to a close; challenging to the Minister in public and private. My hunch is that the incumbent Minister may not be there next year, although I should add that this is based solely on observing his body language, rather than anything he actually said. That said, given the rate of change in housing currently it makes predictions of any kind particularly difficult – let’s wait until Manchester (hopefully) 2013 and see…
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