Government should give more to community groups says self-help-housing.org

Jon Fitzmaurice OBE, Director of self-help-housing.org, has called for a new round of funding for community housing organisations, building on the success of the Empty Homes Community Grants Programme 2012-15. A press release was issued on Tuesday, 29th November, as part of Empty Homes Week and reads as follows: Call For Another Empty Homes Community Grants Programme To Bring Empty Properties Back Into Use To Meet Housing Need It’s Empty Homes Week and the Government have just announced an extra £1.4 billion to create additional 40,000 new homes, but there’s no funding to tackle the 200,000 plus existing long-term empty properties, capable of providing much needed accommodation.   “Between 2012-15 the government financed a successful £50m Empty Homes Community Grants Programme( EHCGP) which created 1,500 homes from empty properties. ” said Jon Fitzmaurice OBE Director of Self Help Housing. Org.  “Around 100 community based organisations were able to access funding to provide affordable rented accommodation for people in housing need, while at the same time often offering training and employment to local people and contributing to street level regeneration. Furthermore, they collectively raised at least another £26m in loans & grants to supplement the £50m Programme”  “The EHCGP  was a game changer for us” said James Hartley, Director of Latch in Leeds.” it enabled us to more than double the number of properties in our ownership to 25 and made us far more financially stable. Plus, we refurbished properties to a really good standard and were able to provide more training out-of-work volunteers, three of whom have gone on to become self-employed” Community Campus in Stockton were also able to provide more housing their client group of young people. “The EHCGP enabled us to purchase 22 properties in Teesside ” said Carl Ditchburn, Director of Community Campus “ and we now own 66. Overall, the Programme enabled Campus  to extend the training and support we provide for vulnerable young people and to extend our work with other small local community housing organisations” “For less than 5% of the additional funding that has been announced, there could be another Community Grants Programme which would not only provide housing, but which would also result in a range of valuable social outcomes” said Jon Fitzmaurice.” we surveyed organisations in receipt of funding when the last programme came to an end and identified demand for a further £52m programme, we’re calling on the Government to step forward and put in place another Community Grants Programme”.        The accompanying notes explain: The  DCLG’s £50m Empty Homes Community Grants Programme ( EHCGP) :  Ran  from 2012-2015 and provided funding for over 100 small community housing organisations to buy/lease and renovate vacant street properties.  All the funding was available to organisations not registered with the HCA  via Tribal, whom DCLG engaged to run the Programme.   Surveys carried out by Self-Help Housing.Org established that an additional £26m had been raised by recipients from loans & grants and that there was a demand for a further £52m in funding obver the next three years    Organisation Details Latch (Leeds Action To Create Homes)
Director James Hartley james@latch.org.uk
http://www.latch.org.uk/ Community Campus Stockton
Director Carl Ditchburn :  carl@cc87.co.uk
http://communitycampus87.com/ Further Information
Jon Fitzmaurice, Director Self-Help Housing  07939 593 251