Why are social housing leaders ideally placed to oversee the government’s Pride in Place funding?

As place-based housing providers, committed to improving places through long-term social, economic and physical regeneration, we’re natural allies of the government in the delivery of this important programme, and well placed to support in ensuring the funding has the greatest impact.

Working in partnership with others – businesses, employers and local government – we’re no strangers to delivering projects and initiatives that help make long-term, sustainable differences to our communities, built on an area’s strengths and supporting sustainable economic prosperity.

That can be through larger-scale, place-focused investment and regeneration programmes or, more simply, through the day-to-day operations of the support services we offer.

“If there was ever an acknowledgement of the role housing associations can play in building, shaping and supporting their communities, this has got to be it”

In County Durham, three of the five community-led boards overseeing the investment of the county’s £100m Pride in Place funding over the next 10 years are headed up by senior figures from the region’s affordable housing sector. If there was ever an acknowledgement of the role housing associations can play in building, shaping and supporting their communities, this has got to be it.

I have been appointed chair of the board for South Stanley. As a Stanley lad myself, this one sits close to my heart. My colleague Alan Boddy, the chief executive of Livin, is leading the charge down in Spennymoor as chair of the All Together for Spennymoor board, and Nik Welsh, Believe Housing’s executive director of communities and customers, is taking on the chair role over in Peterlee.

So, what is it that makes the region’s housing associations such natural partners in improving places? Well, for a start, we know our communities. We’re in them everyday. They’re home to our customers and many of our colleagues. We understand how they work, recognise their strengths and understand their opportunities. And we often see first-hand how changes are felt by local people.

Viewing our communities through an inherently local lens enables us to make decisions and tailor investment based on exact need, rather than through a top-down, generic framework. And in those places where we have the largest proportion of homes, and have developed relationships with many households, we’re incredibly well placed to work with the community and roll out interventions that will make a real, positive difference.

“The real opportunity of the programme comes in cementing the individual relationships we each have with local government, offering ourselves as an aide in addressing more than just an area’s housing need”

A strength in our sector’s approach to placeshaping has always been our focus on listening, engaging with residents, businesses, charities and key community stakeholders to understand their needs and their vision for their community’s future.

And since any change or transformation is best achieved united, collaboration has always been another strength, building strong, meaningful alliances with key partners and working together to enable the best possible outcomes.

Reflecting on the many successful place-based projects and initiatives being delivered by housing providers across the country, if this is what we can achieve on a relatively small scale, with limited budgets, then we have immense amounts of learning and experience that we can use to support the Pride in Place programme.

But the real opportunity of the programme comes in cementing the individual relationships we each have with local government, offering ourselves as an aide in addressing more than just an area’s housing need.

Karbon is starting to see the fruits of our labour in working strategically with the county council on the development of its strategic place plans for a number of North Durham towns. We’ve shown we can do more if we focus our investment together, pooling resources and expertise to enable mutually beneficial outcomes, all with a truly local focus.

I see the roles of myself, Alan and Nik chairing the boards of these three area boards as a huge opportunity to further strengthen the sector’s role as a valuable placeshaping driver for the county, and a reliable partner for social and economic renewal.

Paul Fiddaman, chief executive, Karbon