Former councillor Barry Jarvis, who has been a governing body member of a local registered social landlord for the last decade, outlines the principles of affordable 'self-build' to help tackle Scotland's housing problems
OPEN any article on housing in Scotland in any of the newspapers for any of the past … well it seems like forever if I am being honest … and somewhere within that article there will be the words 'crisis', 'shortage' and a plea for additional funding or for it to be made a priority. In my view, however, the crisis within housing provision goes far beyond just simply being about the supply of social housing – it comes down to how we supply housing.
The standard response over the years has been to throw ever increasing amounts of cash at it in the hope that social landlords and councils can use it and what are known as section 75 agreements (where a developer agrees to build a certain percentage of "affordable" properties for every new development) and can somehow conjure up answers to the ongoing problems in the sector.
It must be said this has had some success. Based on the Scottish Government's figures for 2015, there were 6,500 new affordable homes completed and a significant number of these were new builds.
Based on the Scottish Government's figures for 2015, there were 6,500 new affordable homes completed and a significant number of these were new builds.
But herein lies the rub, many of these will have been built as part of large scale developments by large scale developers. Almost all will have been built as generic identikit homes ready for any family to move into once the application and allocation process has finished.
The ones built for social rent (ie. council or social landlord) will be just another number on a spreadsheet to be managed by an organisation that, while providing great community and economic benefit, struggles at times to engage and build strong communities and neighbourhoods.
After all, if you have a home that you have been put in based on a process where you have had no say in the design or the layout, other than the largely superficial and decorative side of things, then how can you be expected to really have a proper interest in your community?
For all the will and effort of housing staff and the cajoling of the Scottish Housing Regulator, tenant involvement is often not particularly high.
But herein lies the rub, many of these will have been built as part of large scale developments by large scale developers. Almost all will have been built as generic identikit homes.
For me, however, the biggest single issue with the current delivery is the reliance on developers: from planning to production, much of the current approach is focused on the developer and meeting the developer's "bottom line". For me, this often results in a feeling where social housing new build ends up being as much about providing a vehicle for private developers to generate income from the taxpayers' pocket.
This leads to development being clustered around cities and towns where there is already a captive audience. In many situations this can lead to rural areas being neglected; this, land ownership and connectivity of utilities pushing up costs for developments means they are less attractive to develop.
The outcome of this is that rural communities continue to shrink in population size as younger people unable to find affordable accommodation locally are forced to move to where homes are.
But what if there was another way? A way that engages communities, and builds better, cheaper homes that are more efficient and use natural techniques that have been used for hundreds of years? Well, there is.
Small scale, community led, natural self-build is a different way of meeting housing need, building skills and creating communities. While the phrase 'self-build' has over the past few years became synonymous with expensive Grand Designs-style developments where money is no object, this is not what we are talking about.
But what if there was another way? A way that engages communities, and builds better, cheaper homes that are more efficient and use natural techniques that have been used for hundreds of years? Well, there is.
The north-east of Scotland has a strong self-build tradition with groups leading the way in environmentally friendly self-build solutions for the local area. It was this local tradition and a deep interest in addressing the housing shortage that is ever more acute in rural areas that led to the creation of Get Rugged. A Scottish charitable incorporated organisation (SCIO), Get Rugged aims to support aspiring self-builders with practical step-by-step guidance and advice to help "make self-build simple".
Based on the experiences gained while undertaking her own self-build project, founder of the group Kim Siu has produced what is, in effect, a how-to guide for aspiring self-builders. This step-by-step guide takes the aspiring self-builder through from their vision, through the planning right down to the financial considerations and practical application.
Alongside the practical support for the aspiring self-builders, the group has undertaken a significant amount of work to determine the financial case for self-build. The outcome of this was a series of proposals and suggestions that could support self-build growth in Scotland, these included:
– A financial model of delivering self-build properties modifying the existing Rural Home Ownership Grant that would create a shared ownership model where the money being paid out was incrementally repaid, creating a self-sustaining pot of money that could be reinvested to support self-build in perpetuity, which would provide the impetus for a self-build revolution in rural Scotland.
Small scale, community led, natural self-build is a different way of meeting housing need, building skills and creating communities.
– Working with local and national government to identify land, either public or private, that is affordable and can be used to help grow self build as a model.
– Seminars and awareness-building sessions that promote the value of self-build as an alternative to the current status quo and provides practical training and workshops for those interested in self build as an option.
The next stage for Get Rugged is a pilot project which aims to create a self-built training area on land close to Kim's original build that can serve as a pilot project for delivery of very simple, self-build at a low cost but without compromising quality and flexibility. Once this has been achieved it will hopefully provide a blueprint for future builds and can provide a working model for delivery.
Kim will be talking at the next Moray Common Weal meeting where the topic of discussion will be "Housing in Scotland: A Different Approach". This will be happening at the Drouthy Cobbler, Elgin on 7 June starting at around 7pm.
For further information on Get Rugged go to www.getrugged.co.uk where you can find all the resources and materials referred to within this article.
Picture courtesy of Séb
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