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Morning Briefing: should shops be replaced with housing?
A thinktank report suggests the decline of city centre retail could provide an opportunity for housing, and the debate over evicting gang members’ families intensifies
In the news
The Centre for Cities has suggested that shops in struggling city centres should be replaced with housing and offices as consumer spending shifts online, The Guardian reports.
The thinktank made the suggestion in a report published today. It says that cities need to reduce reliance on retail and instead focus on making cities “better places… for example, taking steps to repurpose surplus shops for amenities, housing, public space or parkland.” The idea was also suggested by Benjamin Clayton, former chief of staff at the National Infrastructure Commission, in a piece for Inside Housing earlier this year.
Several news outlets have focused their Grenfell Inquiry reporting on the role of Michael Dowden, the first London Fire Brigade incident commander at the fire.
Giving evidence to the inquiry, Mr Dowden admitted that he did not make checks on the building in the months preceding the disaster, The Guardian reports.
Sky News’ report has gone on the angle that Mr Dowden had no training in evacuating high-rise blocks.
Inside Housing’s daily inquiry round-up yesterday also provides a handy summary of Mr Dowden’s evidence.
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Universal Credit is never far from the news headlines, and the Evening Times this morning reports warnings from Glasgow City Council of impending hardship.
Elsewhere, Winchester City Council has reportedly dropped a planned support scheme, after councillors concluded it would make little difference. The council had piloted a scheme under which claimants were issued with a prepaid card for rent payments.
Trade publication The Architects’ Journal reports that the Scottish Government is set to make sprinklers compulsory in social housing.
Inside Housing also reported on this last week here.
Richard Eddy, a councillor in Bristol, has called for violent criminals’ families to be evicted from their social homes.
This follows several calls in recent weeks, including from home office minister Victoria Atkins, for social housing to be taken away as a deterrent following a recent crime wave. Matthew Bailes, chief executive of Paradigm Housing Group, wrote a piece for Inside Housing last week setting out the ethical and practical problems with the idea.
Denbighshire County Council in Wales will spend £11m repairing its homes, the Daily Post reports.
Finally, Donald Anderson, former Edinburgh City Council leader, has written a piece for The Scotsman arguing that some green belt areas could be used for new homes.
On social media
People are making their way to the Housing 2018 conference in Manchester and have been tweeting their photos, including those who took part in the CIH Presidential bike ride from Burnley to Manchester Central to raise money for Women’s Aid:
Congratulations to everyone who took part in the CIH Presidential Bike ride from Burnley to Manchester Central to raise money for @womensaid. A big thank you to @Calico for providing a support vehicle. You can still donate by visiting: t.co/gxcN5Zu5ST #CIHhousing2018 pic.twitter.com/AnfKT3aLV9
— Chartered Institute of Housing (@CIHhousing)Congratulations to everyone who took part in the CIH Presidential Bike ride from Burnley to Manchester Central to raise money for @womensaid. A big thank you to @Calico for providing a support vehicle. You can still donate by visiting: https://t.co/gxcN5Zu5ST #CIHhousing2018 pic.twitter.com/AnfKT3aLV9
— Chartered Institute of Housing (@CIHhousing) June 25, 2018
Meanwhile an offsite modular village has been built outside the conference centre:
Sneaky peak of the offsite village here at @mcr_central who else is excited for #CIHHousing2018 ?? pic.twitter.com/MOzYBxMYBl
— Housing 2018 (@CIH_Housing)Sneaky peak of the offsite village here at @mcr_central who else is excited for #CIHHousing2018 ?? pic.twitter.com/MOzYBxMYBl
— Housing 2018 (@CIH_Housing) June 24, 2018
What’s on
- Housing 2018, the CIH’s annual three-day conference, gets underway in Manchester today. We will be bringing you updates throughout the event, along with dispatches emails rounding up each day.
- The Grenfell Inquiry continues.
