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Housing a divided community

The challenges facing Northern Ireland’s housing sector are significant but not insurmountable, says Clark Bailie

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In the weeks that have followed the general election and with the agreement between the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) now in place, Northern Ireland has found itself at the centre of much political news coverage.

Inevitably, some of this coverage has focused on the community divisions that have been a feature of life in Northern Ireland for many decades as well as on the current political stalemate at Stormont. Both have major implications for housing in Northern Ireland.

Divisions between Protestant and Catholic communities and dealing directly with the consequences of conflict have been central to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s work since our establishment 46 years ago.


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In 1967 the newly formed civil rights movement raised concerns about a range of equality issues, including political influence over allocations to public housing. As a result, and as part of wider local government reform, the Housing Executive was set up in 1971 and took control of the dwellings and powers of 65 local authorities and housing bodies across all of Northern Ireland.

One of the first tasks of the Housing Executive was to tackle concerns about allocations to social housing, and in 1974 the Housing Selection Scheme was introduced.

Although the scheme has been revised many times, and is currently under further review, the principles remain the same: housing is allocated on the basis of need and availability and is used by all social housing landlords in Northern Ireland.

The scheme is widely recognised as the cornerstone of delivering impartial housing allocations as well as a basis of determining where new housing investment is required.

“Social housing remains deeply segregated, with 90% of social housing residents living in single-identity estates.”

The Housing Executive was set up two years after the beginning of the Troubles and had to deal directly with the consequences: 60,000 people were forced to leave their homes and 14,000 homes were destroyed between 1969 and 1973. More than 3,000 people lost their lives during the 30 years of the Troubles, including some of our tenants and colleagues.

This ongoing civil unrest led to widespread segregation of Protestant and Catholic communities across Northern Ireland, mainly in urban housing estates. Almost 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement, social housing remains deeply segregated, with 90% (94% in Belfast) of social housing residents living in single-identity estates.

We are also still required to deal with intimidation of households resulting in forced homelessness. Over the past five years there have been on average 315 households intimidated out of their home each year due to paramilitary or sectarian intimidation.

A key role of all social housing landlords in Northern Ireland is to ensure that housing is provided on the basis of need.

Segregation, however, prevents best use being made of existing housing and land resources. It means that, in certain areas, we are curtailed in meeting housing need.

We also have to deal with issues unrelated to providing housing services. We continue to own 21 out of the 88 so-called peace walls, structures which have been built to protect communities alongside interfaces but which also act as symbols of long-running divisions.

Social landlords also have to deal with other sensitive issues which remain a feature in many of our estates: contentious political and sectarian displays such as murals, flags, kerb painting, bonfires and paramilitary memorials (there are 130 on Housing Executive land).

The real impact is on social housing tenants, many of whom were personally affected by the violence and civil unrest, and those living in interface areas are most likely to be socially disadvantaged and excluded from the wider economy.

As someone who has arrived into the housing profession in the past decade, I am often amazed at the wonderful work that has been carried out by the Housing Executive and housing associations – providing services and major new build programmes across Northern Ireland against this backdrop. The Housing Executive has also been at the forefront of peacebuilding work.

Last year we launched our second strategy dealing directly with community cohesion. Our aim is to ensure that housing contributes to safer, more stable neighbourhoods and to promote a more inclusive society, while recognising that trust and safety will ultimately dictate the pace of change.

The organisation is now focused on delivering shared housing via a twin-track approach of shared new build schemes and the Shared Neighbourhood Programme. To date, 21 shared new build housing estates have been created and more than 150 existing communities have been trained and supported to bring together residents from all backgrounds, through our Shared Neighbourhood Programme.

We have also led the way in re-imaging our estates. We work with a broad range of communities and agencies to help facilitate the removal of those symbols and displays which are viewed as promoting sectarian aggression and intimidation, while allowing for legitimate expression of cultural celebration. One of the major achievements in this work has been the removal of a peace wall on the Crumlin Road – a major flashpoint in Belfast – last year.

We are currently working with three other communities who also wish to see peace walls removed from their neighbourhoods.

“More than 16,000 new social homes have been delivered in the past decade.”

Central to improving community cohesion was the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and the return of devolved government, which had been suspended since 1972.

While the coverage of recent weeks has highlighted the difficulties with politics here, there has been positive progress under devolution and we have seen a real commitment to housing in Northern Ireland from all political parties. More than 16,000 new social homes have been delivered in the past decade, there has been mitigation against welfare reform, and a we have seen a commitment to review social housing structures within Northern Ireland, to give a few examples.

Our peacebuilding work is now aligned with the objectives of the Together: Building a United Community strategy launched in 2013 by the Northern Ireland Executive.

This strategy reflects a commitment to improving community relations and continuing the journey towards a more united and shared society.

Unfortunately the current impasse at Stormont puts a question mark against other equally important issues, especially decisions about long-term investment in the Housing Executive’s housing stock.

We have a £6.7bn requirement to improve our stock over the next 30 years and we need clarity about long-term investment in housing support services and social and affordable new build.

Given the difficulties faced in Northern Ireland, it is vital that we have the stability of political institutions as well as political resolution to ensure that we provide safe and welcoming neighbourhoods for the communities and residents that we are proud to serve.

Clarke Bailie, chief executive, Northern Ireland Housing Executive

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