By David Mullins and Halima Sacranie
Abstract
This is the second regional impact study of the Empty Homes Community Grants Programme in which approaching £50million grant was allocated to 110 community based organisations to bring empty homes into use. This 150 page report ‘Building a Legacy’ presents an analysis of the programme’s impact across two regions: North East and Yorkshire and Humberside including 11 depth case studies.
30 locally based organisations with a track record of brought some 750 empty properties back into use for over 1,500 residents. These organisations now have the capacity and aspiration to bring many more back over future years with a wide range of social outcomes from community safety, accredited construction apprenticeships, and better homes accessible to those least able to access them in the market or through social housing.
The programme has contributed to the viability of construction teams through enhanced workflow, and enabled richer and longer-term training experience to be offered to trainees and apprentices. It has delivered excellent value for money, making a small amount of grant go a long way, attracting further funding including grants, soft loans, social finance and conventional bank lending. Financial leverage has been estimated at between 50p to £1 for every £ of grant across the programme.
This has provided benefits to tenants, volunteers, the wider community and third parties which have been estimated in one case to deliver between £3.24 and £5 of social value for every £ invested depending on the assumptions. Something important to but recently missing from the third sector housing scene in England is being recreated. A gap in the market is being filled and new opportunities fashioned for ‘good old fashioned community building’ to take place. This programme exemplifies ‘can do’ approaches that are practical, sustainable and transferrable and that should contribute to a ‘new social urbanism’.
Further research is now being undertaken on the legacy of this remarkable programme. This will enable us to flesh out the three possible scenarios for the sector following the end of EHCP. (1) Continued Viral Expansion through Collaboration of Existing Groups with new Grass Roots Entrants. (2) Exploiting Social Value to attract Wider Funding and Asset Transfers into the Sector. (3) Consolidation of Existing Sector around EHCGP Legacy and Social Enterprise Models.