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A - Z Glossary
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X Y Z |
A
Affordable Housing
Social rented and shared ownership housing for people who are unable to access or afford current market rate housing to rent or buy. Priority groups include; vulnerable people, key workers and current social housing tenants who want to make the step from social-rented housing to home ownership.
Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAs)
Part of the Planning Advisory Service (PAS), ATLAs is a team hosted by English Partnerships to offer an independent advisory service to local authorities to help them process large scale planning applications. Set-up as a pilot scheme in London and the south east in 2004, ATLAs now covers all of Southern and East England.
Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO)
A company set up by a local authority to manage and improve all or part of its housing stock.
Asset Backed Vehicles
A Local Asset Backed Vehicle (“LABV”) is a mechanism for Public Sector organisations to use their land and buildings in an efficient and strategic way to deliver on a local agenda. Typical applications could include city centre regeneration, enabling new areas for development, improving or rationalising operational property, rejuvenating investment property, or investment in housing.
The principle behind a LABV is that a new company will be created; the public sector will invest in the new company by transferring land and property assets. A private sector partner will be appointed (via a competition) who will invest cash in the new company to match the public sector investment.
The LABV itself will then work to a delivery business plan using the cash and assets.
The LABV will be run as a commercial business and will provide a financial return to its investors – for both the public and private sector investors.
B
Barker Review (Housing Supply)
A review of housing supply commissioned by HM Treasury and what was the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Delivering stability: securing housing our future housing needs, March 2004. Kate Barker concluded that England needed 200,000 new homes per year. This figure has since been revised upwards to 240,000 homes per year by 2016, as outlined within the Housing Green Paper in July 2007.
Barker Review (Land Use Planning)
An independent review, by Kate Barker , of land use planning, focusing on the link between planning and economic growth, published in 2006.
Brownfield Land
Land or premises that have previously been used or developed, often including land that is vacant, derelict or contaminated. Parks, recreation grounds, allotments and land where the remains of previous use have blended into the landscape, or have been overtaken by conservation value or amenity use is not classified as brownfield land.
C
Carbon Neutral
Commonly accepted terminology for something having net zero emissions. As the organisation or product will typically have caused some greenhouse gas emissions, it is usually necessary to use carbon offsets to achieve neutrality. Carbon offsets are emissions reductions that have been made elsewhere and which are then sold to the entity that seeks to reduce its impact. In order to become carbon neutral it is important to have a very accurate calculation of the amount of emissions which need to be offset – requiring calculation of a carbon footprint.
Carbon footprint
The total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual or organisation, event or product.
Chartered Institute for Housing (CIH)
The CIH is the professional body for people working in housing, with over 20,000 members within the UK. A registered charity, it aims to help raise the standards of housing management.
City Development Companies (CDCs)
CDCs are city or city-region wide economic development companies formed to drive economic growth and regeneration. CDCs would be voluntary joint approaches between local government, RDAs and other key partners such as English Partnerships or the Homes & Communities Agency. The Government does not have a uniform model in mind but believes that it is logical to build on existing approaches where appropriate, including the URC approach.
Code for Sustainable Homes
A new national best practice standard for sustainable design and construction of new homes. Level 6 of the Code is equivalent to zero carbon.
Commission for Architecture and Built Environment (CABE)
A non-departmental public body, funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Communities and Local Government (CLG), to act as a design champion for the built environment.
Commission on Design of Affordable Housing
Independent report from Dr Tim Williams, commissioned by the Housing Corporation, on the way affordable housing is delivered and sustainable communities are created.
Commonhold
An agreement that ensures that every resident has the same rights and level of influence in making decisions about their community and environment, including the management of the shared and public areas, their service charge and general community development. It gives everyone the opportunity to actively participate in taking care of their own community, thereby encouraging a real sense of ownership and unity.
Commonhold actively promotes integration of all tenants and tenure types. A Commonhold agreement can also include guidance on effective maintenance of properties and promote appropriate behaviour, for example noise management, helping to encourage respect and consideration for others in the community.
Community Land Trusts (CLTs)
Community Land Trusts are a way of acquiring and holding
land and property for the benefit of a specific community, using the land value to mostly provide affordable housing, but also on occasion for other purposes such as farming, or local enterprise. In the basic model, CLTs are probably charitable, managed by a board of local stakeholders, hold the freehold of land, grant long development leases or management agreements and reinvest lease premiums or ground rents etc into the neighbourhood.
D
Decent Homes Standard
Communities and Local Government standard which states that a home must be warm, weatherproof and have reasonably modern facilities in order to be classed as ‘decent’.
The standard applies to social rent homes only, with local authorities and housing associations required to improve 95% of their housing stock to meet decent homes by 2010.
Department for Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government sets UK policy on local government, housing, urban regeneration, planning and fire and rescue. They are responsible for all race equality and community cohesion related issues in England and for building regulations, fire safety and some housing issues in England and Wales.
E
Eco-towns
Eco-towns will be small new towns of at least 5-20,000 homes. They are intended to exploit the potential to create a complete new settlement to achieve zero carbon development and more sustainable living using the best new design and architecture.
ESCOs (Energy Services Companies)
There is no one clear definition of ESCOs. However, ESCOs are about delivering energy efficiency, energy savings and/or sustainable energy, whether through a variety of different initiatives or through a particular initiative, such as a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) scheme.
They make it easier set up decentralised energy systems, with private wire and district heating systems. Such systems are not only more energy efficient and sustainable, but often deliver cheaper electricity and/or heat. ESCOs often re-invest part of the profits into energy efficiency/sustainable energy measures in the local community.
F
G
Greenbelt
An area of open land around a city, on which building is restricted.
Greenfield
A previously undeveloped site.
H
HomeBuy
The Government scheme covering all forms of shared ownership or shared equity intermediate housing, designed to help people get a foot on the property ladder.
There are three parts to the HomeBuy scheme:
New Build HomeBuy, where you share ownership of a newly built home with a housing association;
Open Market HomeBuy, where you part-buy any property on the open market and get a loan from the Government for the rest; and
Social HomeBuy, where housing association and local authority tenants are helped to buy their current home.
The Government has also introduced the First Time Buyers Initiative as part of the HomeBuy scheme.
Homes and Communities Agency
Will combine the roles and responsibilities of English Partnerships, the investment function of the Housing Corporation, the Academy for Sustainable Communities and key delivery functions of CLG including those in the areas of Decent Homes, Housing Market Renewal, housing growth, housing PFI and urban regeneration. The new Agency will;
Housing Corporation
Established in 1964, the Housing Corporation is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body responsible to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Its main functions are to fund development of affordable housing in England through a variety of providers, mostly housing associations, and to regulate and facilitate the proper performance of the Registered Social Landlord (RSL) sector.
Housing Investment Programme
Local Authorities programme for housing capital expenditure taking into account local, regional and national priorities.
Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders (HMRPs)
Develop strategic plans to improve housing markets in areas of low demand. Typically in the North of England, HMRPs’ include refurbishment, demolition and new build.
I
IDeA
The IDeA works for local government improvement so councils can serve people and places better. The IDeA also promotes the development of local government’s management and workforce. They advise councils on improving customer service and value for money and help councils work through local partnerships to tackle local priorities such as; health, children’s services and economic development.
Intermediate affordable housing
This is housing in which sale prices and rents are above that of social rent but below market rents and sale prices. These can include shared equity schemes (e.g. HomeBuy) and other low-cost homes for sale.
J
K
Key worker housing
This is housing provided for front line workers in essential public services where there are serious recruitment and retention problems. Paid for by key workers through equity loans, shared ownership schemes or subsidised rent schemes. Key workers include; teachers, medical professionals and some other public sector workers. Jobs that are defined as a keyworker include; clinical staff (with the exception of doctors and dentists), teachers and nursery nurses, police officers, community support officers, prison service staff, social workers and firefighters.
L
Local Housing Company
A local authority-promoted housing development and management organisation, possibly with wider regeneration objectives, likely to be established in partner ownership between a local authority with other public and/or private sector organisations.
M
MUSCOs (Multi-Utility Service Companies)
Usually refers to companies which provide the services of an energy supply contract for an expanded range of utilities. For example, as well as the generation and distribution of heat, cooling and power, they may also supply infrastructure or complete systems for water, sewage and telecoms.
The MUSCo would typically be the owner of the assets, and would receive repayment of its capital investment through standing charges and/or usage charges.
N
National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP)
The Housing Corporation’s investment programme currently run on a bi-annual basis, to grant fund new affordable homes in England. Funding is allocated to housing associations and private sector developers who build the homes according to regional and local needs and priorities. The Corporation’s current NAHP will build 84,000 new affordable homes between 2006-08, with £3.9bn of grant funding.
National Centre for Excellence in Housing
Body whose underlying objectives are to achieve a step change in housing quality and to achieve a stable and sustainable UK housing market by 2010.
National Housing Federation (NHF)
NHF is the trade body which represents 1300 independent, not-for-profit housing associations in England. It promotes supports, represents and negotiates the strategic interests of its members.
National Housing and Planning Advice Unit
Established in 2004, its task is to help make market housing more affordable and to address the trend in the rise in the number of people prevented from getting on the property ladder. This is done through providing independent advice to government and regions regarding the impact of planned housing provision on affordability, as well as researching specific practical and policy issues.
O
Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (Oftenant)
Following the Housing and Regeneration Bill of November 2007, The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (Oftenant) is being created as the new independent regulator of the social housing sector. Oftenant's principal duties will be to ensure the provision and development of high quality social housing, to empower and protect consumers and to expand the availability of choice in the provision of social housing. The organisation will place significant emphasis on tenant satisfaction, with tenants' groups able to trigger inspections and interventions when problems arise.
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)
Official Journal of the European Union where public authorities must advertise their projects in a prescribed format which must contain certain information, to ensure equal access to markets and opportunities, and to meet public procurement rules.
P
Planning Advisory Service (PAS)
PAS helps local planning authorities in England by offering a host of services tailored to tackle local planning priorities.
As part of the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) for local government, PAS promotes self-sustaining improvement enabling councils to serve people and places better.
Q
R
Regional Development Agencies (RDAs)
The primary role of RDAs is to act as strategic drivers of regional economic development in their region. The RDAs aim to co-ordinate regional economic development and regeneration, enable the regions to improve their relative competitiveness and reduce the imbalance that exists within and between regions. The eight Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) were established under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998, and were formally launched in eight English regions on 1 April 1999. The ninth, in London, was established in July 2000 following the establishment of the Greater London Authority (GLA). The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the DTI) has responsibility for sponsorship of the RDAs. However, Communities and Local Government retains policy responsibility for the regeneration initiatives delivered by the RDAs.
Regional Housing Boards (RHBs)
RHBs are responsible for the preparation of Regional Housing Strategies (RHSs), and advising ministers on how the region's allocation of funding for housing capital works (the Regional Housing Pot, distributed via the Housing Corporation’s NAHP) should be spent. They support the overall objective of ensuring that housing makes the biggest possible contribution to the creation and maintenance of sustainable communities. They also have a part to play in fostering, partnering and encouraging effective use of resources.
Regional Housing Strategy
A strategy to prioritise the housing needs of the region allowing decisions to be taken on how housing resources should be allocated. It takes an overall view on regional housing need, housing investment priorities and affordable housing targets. Local authorities use the RHS to develop their own housing investment strategies.
Regional Spatial Strategy
A strategy for how a region should look in 15 to 20 years time and possibly longer. It identifies the scale and distribution of new housing in the region, indicates areas for regeneration, expansion or sub-regional planning and specifies priorities for the environment, transport, infrastructure, economic development, agriculture, minerals and waste treatment and disposal.
Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)
These are housing associations or not-for-profit companies which are registered with the Housing Corporation to provide affordable housing.
S
Shared Equity
A form of intermediate housing (or low-cost home ownership) where the resident owns 100% of the property but shares the equity with a third party. The resident can sell the property at anytime but would have to pay the original investment plus a proportion of the equity uplift back to the third party which provided the share of the original purchase price.
Shared Ownership
A form of intermediate housing (or low-cost home ownership) when the resident owns a share of the property equivalent to the amount they originally invested in the purchase.
Ownership is “shared” with the third party who contributed the remainder of the purchase price.
Unlike Shared Equity, the resident cannot sell without the permission of the third party and in many cases there are buy-back and/or restrictions on whom the property may be sold to in order to retain the property as affordable housing.
Social Rented Housing
Housing that is owned and managed by local authorities and registered social landlords with rent levels set at affordable levels below market rate, under national guidelines.
Rented housing owned or managed by third parties may also be included if provided under equivalent rental arrangements to the above, and agreed with the local authority or with the Housing Corporation as a condition of grant.
Sustainable Communities
The vision for sustainable communities is as places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They are intended to meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all.
For communities to be sustainable, they must offer:
People also need open public space where they can relax and interact and the ability to have a say on the way their neighbourhood is run.
SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems)
Surface water drainage methods that take account of quantity, quality and amenity issues are collectively referred to as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). These systems are more sustainable than conventional drainage methods because they:
They do this by:
They may also allow new development in areas where existing sewerage systems are close to full capacity, thereby enabling development within existing urban areas.
T
U
Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs)
URCs are independent companies established by the relevant local authority and RDA in conjunction with English Partnerships and include private sector partners.
Recommended by Lord Roger’s Urban Task Force in 1999 to champion and stimulate new investment into areas of economic decline and to co-ordinate plans for key regeneration. Their principle aim is to do this by engaging the private sector in a sustainable regeneration strategy, working within a wider master plan which takes full account of the problems and opportunities for the whole area.
For the latest information on URCs visit the URC website.
V
W
X Y Z
Zero Carbon
Zero carbon means no net carbon emissions from all energy uses in the home - so the amount of energy from the national grid is less than equal to the amount put back in through renewable technologies. This will meet the energy requirements of Level 6 for the Code for Sustainable Homes.
Definitions based on information from; English Partnerships, The Department for Communities and Local Government, Government Office for the North-East, the Housing Corporation, the Carbon Trust, CIRIA, Vital Energi and Suffolk County Council.
