Regional Decision Making

An increasing amount of decision making in London particularly at the strategic level is being made outside the local authority arena.

Link to LTF plan of decision making structures in London 2006. The plan also analyses who each structure is accountable to levels of tenant involvement. Some structures as indicated in the text have changed. (we hope to set out a new plan later this year)

The Communities Plan

In February '03 John Prescott announced the government's 'Communities Plan'. Its main pledges were to ease the housing shortage in the SE of the country and to relieve blighted areas in the North and the Midlands. The plan states that the government is committed to creating and maintaining places where people want to stay - 'Sustainable Communities'.

The Communities Plan promised 200,000 new homes would be built in the SE over the next 15 - 20 years in 4 growth areas outside the centre of London.

The Thames Gateway was granted £446m of funding for 12,000 new homes to be built in 5 separate areas - Stratford, Greenwich and Woolwich, Thurrock (Essex), Barking and the N Kent Thameside - between Dartford and Gravesend. The other growth areas of Milton Keynes, Ashford and Stansted each got £164 million.

Additional homes were also promised across London, assuming as does the Mayor's London Plan does, that the private sector will provide the majority of the new affordable homes through planning gain.

Regional housing boards were established to produce regional housing strategies and to determine the allocation of funding from regional housing pots. The regional housing pots are not new or additional funds but development funds that were previously allocated directly to local authorities and the Housing Corporation. The regional housing pot also include funds for private sector renewal.

In London the London Housing Board was established and chaired by the Government Office for London; with officer members from the Association of London Government, the Housing Corporation, the GLA, English Partnerships and the London Development Agency - but no elected representatives or tenants.

A relationship was also established between the London Housing Board and the Housing Forum for London. The Housing Forum for London involved many of the same organisations that had membership of the London Housing Board, but it also included a wider range of members with an interest in housing, such as Shelter.

Responsibility for London Plan now lies with the Mayor of London, who has established new structures for regional decision making.

Tenants involvement in regional decision making

The London Tenants Federation lobbied for membership of the London Housing Board.

• LTF Press Release on the Communities Plan Feb '03
• LTF feature article published in Property People Magazine Feb '03
• LTF letter to John Prescott Mar '03
• LTF article published in Inside Housing Magazine May'03

It never achieved positions on the London Housing Board, but gained a place on the Housing Forum for London 2005.

The LTF has also lobbied for engagement of tenants of other tenures in regional decision making and in September '05 put forward a paper to the Housing Forum for London on this issue.

• LTF paper presented to the Housing Forum for London Sept '05

The paper was accepted and as result, a 'Community Engagement Taskforce' was established to look further at the issues highlighted.

The Housing Forum for London become the Mayor's Housing Forum in 2006 and the LTF gained an additional place on the forum. The LTF also has representation on two of its sub groups, relating to housing supply and community engagement.

A report from the Community Engagement Taskforce, which sets out a recommendations for developing, in an organic fashion, regional structures for the engagement of tenants of different tenures in regional decision making was accepted by the Mayor's Housing Forum in January '07

• Helen Cope Report - Accepted by the Mayor's Housing Forum Jan '07

Since then a sub group of the Mayor's Housing Forum has been established. It is chaired by an LTF delegate.

The London Housing Strategy

The London Tenants Federation responds to consultations relating to regional Housing Strategy.

The London Tenants Federation held a conference on the London Housing Strategy in September 2004. A report from that conference can be found on pages 2 and 3 of the LTF Newsletter - Autumn 2004.

The LTF later produced a leaflet based on discussion at this conference, entitled 'Sustainable Communities - Tenants Definition'

The LTF response to consultation on the draft London Housing Strategy 2005 - 16 can be found on pages 2 - 5 of the LTF Newsletter - Winter '04

• Link to - Capital Homes - The London Housing Strategy 2005 - 16

Towards the Mayors Housing Strategy

In November 06, the Mayor of London published 'Towards the Mayor's Housing Strategy'. He says his housing strategy will build on the previous 'Capital Homes'; that it will link with the London Plan and be a statutory strategic document. He aims to publish a draft Mayors Housing Strategy and a Strategic Housing Investment Plan, setting out his approach to investment to support the delivery of new homes in July '07.

• Link to Towards the Mayors Housing Strategy consultation paper.

• London Tenants Federation response to 'Towards the Mayor's Housing Strategy.

The Draft Mayor's Housing Strategy