PLAIN TEXT - Developing potential: A guide for communities

Published February 2020.

Authored by Helen Nicol and Paul Raven.

This guide forms part of a set of three resources, commissioned to provide support for communities experiencing regeneration and development initiatives. These resources aim to bring together case studies and practical guidance to help ensure that communities are more effectively involved in the regeneration process, to the benefit of both residents and those designing and delivering schemes. We want to thank everyone who participated in this research, in particular the community groups and residents, councils, developers and the Big Local areas.

Understanding how residents can gain from regeneration and development, rather than lose out to it, is a challenge shared by Big Local areas and communities across the country. In trying to overcome this challenge, it became clear that accessible and clear information on how best to engage, influence and negotiate for the benefit of communities was very hard to find.

To address this, Local Trust offered a number of Big Local areas the opportunity to take part in action research. This approach aimed to build the areas capacity to engage more productively in regeneration programmes, whilst simultaneously informing the development of resources that could be used by communities and others involved in the design and delivery of regeneration schemes.

What set out to be a guide to regeneration for community groups has become a collection of resources based on the findings from this research:

1. Developing potential: lessons from community experiences of regeneration. Lessons learned from our research, and recommendations for central government, local authorities, housing associations and other lead developers.
2. Developing potential: a guide for communities. Advice for making the most of regeneration and development based on the experiences of the Big Local groups and lessons learned from successful examples of community-led regeneration.
3. Big Local experiences of regeneration and development. A collection of five case studies, offering a fuller description of the context, challenges and future possibilities for each of the five areas.

We want to thank everyone who participated in the development of these resources, in particular the community groups and residents of the Big Local areas.

All three resources can be found at: https://www.learningfrombiglocal.org.uk/resources/report-series-developing-potential.

Regeneration has gained a bad reputation in recent years, being linked to demolition, gentrification, the break-up of communities and a reduction in social housing. The process has all too often ignored, misrepresented or misunderstood the communities it impacts. But it doesn’t have to be that way. This guide looks to provide practical tools and information to support communities to help shape regeneration and development plans. By looking at real examples of what works and what doesn’t it acts as an accessible resource to help communities to organise effectively to enable them to influence and benefit from regeneration.

Blue Chula is a consultancy specialising in community development & engagement, collaboration & partnership working, research, and change & programme management. Working across all sectors and at all levels they aim to build on what is working, to bring out skills and abilities and to share stories that help people build strong and trusting relationships. They are passionate about empowering communities to make their lives better, whether that means making better places, better organisations or better partnerships.

Regeneration has gained a bad reputation in recent years, being linked to demolition, gentrification, the break-up of communities and a reduction in social housing. The process has all too often ignored, misrepresented or misunderstood the communities it affects the most. Our conversations with Big Local partnerships have revealed some considerable challenges and frustrations caused by regeneration and development activities in their areas. But it doesn’t have to be that way. 

When it is done well, regeneration can benefit rather than devastate communities, building on what is good while addressing the issues people are living with. It is possible to successfully leverage opportunities and positive outcomes from regeneration, and there are some great examples of how this has been done. 

We have chosen four such examples to demonstrate how local communities can become actively involved in regeneration and help bring about positive changes for their area. These can be found later in this guide. We have used insights from these examples, as well as observations on what is going well for the Big Local groups we worked with, to create five ways to gain from regeneration. These principles are designed to help communities be more actively involved in regeneration and development in their area. They are not quick or easy fixes, but they may help you to establish and sustain your community’s voice and visibility throughout the regeneration process. 

We realise it may be a struggle to organise effectively and to make a real impact. The process may last a long time and there is no guarantee of success. But a persistent willingness to engage can present opportunities for you to make regeneration work for everyone.

The guide aims to provide useful information for community groups on how to gain the most from regeneration and development in their neighbourhoods. That said, residents, service providers, local authorities, housing associations and elected members will all find something of relevance to them, too.

All of the examples of success we have used in this guide have taken a co-production approach. Although co- production is more and more frequently used as a way of developing public services, it is a fairly new way of working for communities, local authorities and housing associations in relation to regeneration and development. There is much for everyone to learn about one another’s way of working, motivations and constraints. But co-production has huge benefits for all involved. It can give a voice to those whose opinions are often overlooked, and can help local authorities and housing associations gain better insights into what is needed than they might be able to gather alone. It also gives citizens some control over their destiny which can increase wellbeing and agency, particularly in those who are not generally encouraged to take control of their lives.

For co-production to be effective, strong personal relationships need to be built, together with an awareness that everyone knows some but not all of the story. It may take some time to begin with, but developing this level of understanding will help to speed the process in the long run and help groups using a co-production approach get over the inevitable misunderstandings and wrong turns more quickly.

These five principles are designed to help community groups quickly get to grips with regeneration and development approaches. They describe ways of working which have been used by others to build trust and gain a strong voice when collaborating with developers. They also provide advice on managing information and resources, and tips on gaining support for community-led activities.

Five ways to benefit from regeneration and development:

Don’t wait for permission:

• Look for the early signs of development plans.
• Know your rights.
• Don’t wait to be asked.

Be credible: 

• Learn the language.
• Know your options.
• Meet the faces.
• Represent legitimately.

Create a movement:

• Recruit and support.
• Keep to the story.
• Rehearse democracy.

Gather resources:

• Get a base.
• Create a fund.
• Research lessons learned.
• File everything.
• Find allies, co-opt experts.

Stand your ground:

• Find the right vehicle.
• Look for opportunity.
• Be useful, but not used.

Look for early signs: don’t wait for masterplans and planning applications; and start working and organising as soon as you get wind of a regeneration, even if it’s just councillors and MPs talking about your estate in the media. In almost all the cases we’ve looked at, there were many years of political discussion and pre-planning before the official start of the process. The earlier you get organised and start developing your own plans, the better prepared you’ll be to take part in the regeneration.

Know your rights: developments often have engagement as a condition for allowing plans to go ahead. For example, estate regeneration in London requires a resident ballot to decide whether plans should go ahead or not. Developers now need to show that their scheme is well designed, properly explained, and reflects the views and needs of residents. This is a great opportunity to become more involved in regeneration schemes and make sure they are suitable for the area.

Don’t wait to be asked: tell the landowner and/​or the developers how you want to be involved. Talk to residents in the area and get to know what would work for them. Meetings and workshops are too often held during working hours, so find out if people would be more likely to get involved if they were held in the evenings or weekends. Developers also need to provide alternative opportunities to engage for anyone who can’t attend meetings, so encourage them to visit people in their homes, use social media or find other ways to talk to people. Or, better still, suggest that you carry out engagement activities and report back to developers.

Granby Four Streets:

After decades of decline, the residents of Granby in Liverpool came together to stop the demolition of the remaining Victorian homes in their area. They galvanised fellow residents to take action: planting ivy to green the buildings, starting a street market and painting the tinned-up windows. They also lobbied the council to help them improve the area.

After years of effort and with great persistence, the residents of Granby have transformed their neighbourhood. The Granby Four Streets project began as a fight to save that neighbourhood. Now it’s often cited as a great example of community-led regeneration.

Recruit and report: get as many people from your local area as you can to join your group and, wherever possible, use face-to-face interactions and direct personal connections to do so. It may take some time to get people on board and some will only want to know what is happening rather than taking on an active role. Keep these less-active members informed of your own activities, and particularly about the things that will affect them directly. Encourage developers to let you know what is happening. Silence from developers is usually a sign they are working on plans, so insist that you are involved rather than waiting to hear about progress.

Stick to the story: people will respond better to clear, direct communications, so make sure you can clearly describe problems you are dealing with and the actions you are going to take. Regeneration and development can be complicated, so focusing your story on a few important elements can help people understand the situation and immediately see what you are doing. Focus on a few important messages. For instance, emphasise the potentially negative disruption to residents’ lives if they have to go through more than one move during the regeneration. Make a right to return to the area a basic requirement if residents are moved away. State your intention to ensure residents are involved in the planning and design of developments. Don’t just rely on any one communication approach, though. Use different ways of talking to people. Use face-to-face conversations, home visits, and online methods such as social media. Leaflets and posters are particularly useful, as they will be seen by the people you are trying to reach without you having to target them directly. Websites are also useful, but people need to know where they are to visit them. 

Rehearse democracy: representing a community is a challenge, as you must make sure you know what people really think and want. Be as inclusive as possible and give everyone an opportunity to get involved. You might want to elect members to specific roles to give your group some structure. A group chair may be all you need to keep meetings running smoothly. Sharing the role of chair between group members can help people feel involved. Debate and discuss different views and approaches. If things get heated, listen to the different perspectives and try to find consensus. It is important that your group presents a united front, so deal with any disagreements within the group rather than in public. Be transparent, honest and respectful with your members, so everyone knows what is happening and why, and everyone feels comfortable contributing to discussions.

Castle Vale Community Housing:

In the case of Castle Vale, the Housing Action Trust took an independent community organiser role (see resources at the end of this document for information on community organising) to encourage participation in the regeneration process. They created joint resident and tenant forums to encourage collaborative working around a common cause. Residents were elected onto Neighbourhood Partnership Boards and gained some control of what happened in their area. They were also offered training in negotiation and decision making. 

Pre-regeneration, Castle Vale was considered a dead-end satellite community. Instead of a story about houses and estates, the Housing Action Trust and residents created a narrative about the place itself—about health, safety, jobs and skills. They reinvented Castle Vale as a vibrant location of choice. 

The regeneration of Castle Vale went on to be lauded as a successful example of urban renewal.

Learn the language: it’s important to understand early on that the ​“official” meaning of a word (what it means when used in policy or law) may not be the same as the everyday meaning of that word. An example would be ​“affordable” when applied to housing. Ask for definitions. If ​“affordable” really means ​“80% of the market rent for a similar property”, you need to know that. Also check the meaning of statements like ​“wherever possible” and ask what the conditions of that possibility are.

Know your options: there are some aspects of a development that are legal and required, but there are many that aren’t. It’s important to know what you can and can’t influence. You won’t be able to change anything that comes under building regulations (Building regulations UK. Available at: gov.uk/government/collections/approved-documents) and standards, but you can affect things like building density and height.

Meet the faces: always try to attend public events connected to the regeneration, particularly when notable figures from the developer, the council or central government will be present. Take notes, ask questions, but keep it civil and (wherever possible) positive. If you feel comfortable with doing so, then invite key people to one of your own meetings. You should first agree the purpose of the meeting, so everyone knows why they are there. Again, take notes and publish minutes, particularly any promises or pledges that were made. You are looking for real engagement and the chance to be fully involved, so watch out for tokenistic actions from developers, like attending meetings but not following through with actions.

Represent legitimately: it is likely that you will be challenged on whether you really represent the community. Developers are under pressure to engage with a high number of residents. If they don’t think you have the community behind you they will be less likely to work with you. Getting and holding a group together early on will pay off later. Aim for more than 60% of residents being members. Members don’t need to attend every meeting, but they should be ready to sign petitions, respond to consultations and vote in ballots.

PEACH: People’s Empowerment Alliance for Custom House:

Based in London’s east end, PEACH’s stated aim is to empower their community. They have a strong and passionate resident membership. Even so, when lobbying to have a truly collaborative role in the regeneration of their area, they were challenged on the extent to which they represented all the residents in their area.

PEACH addressed this challenge by taking a democratic approach. They ensured all residents representing the community in regeneration discussions had been democratically elected by fellow residents via a robust process. 

Elected residents of Custom House can now demonstrate that they do indeed represent the wishes of those impacted by regeneration, providing them with legitimacy and increasing the likelihood that the council will work with them as partners, rather than merely consulting with them on pre-developed plans.

SO18:

SO18, a Big Local partnership in Southampton, are involved in a long and protracted regeneration of the estate where they are based. With little engagement on the part of the council developers, they took an active role by inviting the council to work with them. 

They have carefully researched previous regeneration plans and arrangements and have developed a good understanding of how different projects in the area might impact residents. The group keep on top of developments and carefully check the detail of any documents they receive to make sure resident needs are taken into account. 

Recognising that they didn’t have the expertise they needed to make the best of the regeneration, SO18 enlisted the help of Planning Aid to advise residents on their planning rights. They are also collaborating with their local councillors, schools and other local organisations to advise the council on the best regeneration approaches for the neighbourhood.

Get a base: it may be that your group has a physical location already. If not, it’s useful to have a space to gather. Councils may lease an empty building to you, such as an empty pub or shop, on a ​“meanwhile use” arrangement, particularly in areas due for regeneration.

Create a fund: All the successful examples of community-led development we have described required significant amounts of money. Having enough money to pay for a community organiser, for example, can make success more likely. Look for sources of funding such as the Community Housing Fund (Housing fund. Available at: gov.uk/government/collections/community-housing-fund) (note that available funding changes over time). The list of funders from My Community may be useful (Grants for community groups. Available at: mycommunity.org.uk/funding-options/raising-finance-options/grants).

Research lessons learned: regeneration and development is not new and there is a lot to be learned from those who have gone before you. Consider the examples in this guide and speak to other groups involved in regeneration. Searching on Twitter is one way to find groups with similar experiences. Try to discover what went well so you can repeat it, and what went badly so you can avoid it. For instance, our cases showed that having the same goal as developers (i.e. the same number of new homes but with more affordable units) resulted in better collaboration than trying to change the whole plan. File everything: gather information—not to build a case against the development (unless you feel that is a valid response from the community), but because you want to create a balanced view of what has happened and what future plans are. This will help you to work with developers to get the best result for your neighbourhood.

Start collecting information about the regeneration, from any source, as soon as possible. Printed versions of online information are useful in case that information is removed in the future. Keep an eye out for pledges and promises and aspirations, and try to connect them to named individuals as well as organisations. Double-check records of meetings, events and workshops to make sure they reflect what was said or agreed. Often reports and papers relating to regeneration are summarised versions of more detailed data, so ask to see original ​“raw” data if possible.

Find allies and co-opt experts: look for individuals and organisations who might be able to help, whether with resources, expertise, or just a bit of moral support. Gaining the support of your ward councillors can be a useful approach, as they are your formal route into the council. Ask yourselves whose skills you can draw on, who is involved in similar issues, and what support you might be able to gain from anyone who might support what you are doing. Encouraging people who are respected in your community to get on board helps to build your membership. You will need to act as a united group, so inviting people who are positive and easy to relate to may help your group get along. 

Finding people who have specific skills is also important. Financial, legal and design aspects of regeneration and development can be complex, so finding people who understand financial viability, housing and planning law and architectural design can be very useful. People will often volunteer their time if they feel their skills are valued. Some professional practices like lawyers and architects may offer their time for free.

Leathermarket Joint Management Board (JMB):

The residents of Leathermarket have used different legal structures to enable
them to deliver services and, more recently, build new homes. 

Leathermarket JMB began life as a group of disgruntled residents who felt they could manage their estate more successfully than their landlord. They set up a Tenant Managed Organisation (TMO) to take over the running of the estate from the council.

Recently, they identified a site on the estate with potential for a new housing development. Having set up the Leathermarket Community Benefit Society, they were able to build 27 new homes where garages had previously stood.

Find the right vehicle: the best legal structure for your organisation depends on what you’re looking to achieve. For less ambitious goals, it may not be necessary to form a legal, constituted group. But for bigger goals, like drafting local plans, or getting more closely involved with the outcomes of regeneration, you may need something with more legal and political clout. It’s a good idea to get advice on whether you need a legal structure and, if so, which one. Whether or not you chose to constitute your group, you will appear more credible if you have people in recognised roles like treasurer, secretary and chair.

Look for opportunities: by keeping on top of the regeneration documentation and public statements, you’ll be able to see what has and hasn’t yet been decided. If you have been able to enlist people with planning or development experience, they will be able to spot the things you can influence. These may be opportunities for you to act and make proposals to the developer, rather than waiting for them to come to you. If you know of a scrap of land where nothing specific is proposed, then suggest a community use for it. You might think about taking a communityled housing approach and propose new developments yourself.

Be useful, but not used: look for ways you can help, like offering to keep residents informed of what’s going on. Working to make the regeneration a success helps to build relationships with the developers. But remember, it’s important to be seen to be independent and credible, even as you’re working together. Make sure you have a voice in the process and the ability to influence decisions. It could be useful to look at power mapping (see the Resources section for an example) to discover who has control over what area of the development, and to help work out what you can and can’t influence. Working towards a co-production approach provides all parties with an equal voice in the development and may produce the best results for everyone (see Resources for more on co-production

These are a few examples of community groups successfully taking control, demonstrating that a well-resourced and organised community can be a lead partner in regeneration and development, able to promote regeneration faster and with more support than the local authorities can easily achieve.

After over a decade of decline and demolition which decimated their area, residents of Granby came together to try to stop the demolition of the remaining streets of Victorian housing. The Granby Residents Association (GRA) lobbied the council and saved four streets, but no housing associations were willing to renovate the remaining houses. The GRA disbanded in 2010, but at the same time a group of residents started to green the area, planting ivy so it could grow up the empty buildings, painting the tinned-up windows and starting a street market. ​“We wanted to make it a better place to live, but also to remind people that we were still there” (History of Granby Four Streets. Available at: granby4streetsclt.co.uk/history-of-the-four-streets).

In 2011, the Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust was created to find a way to renovate the remaining houses and improve the area. With no one developer wanting to redevelop the area, the group lobbied the council to consider a different approach, where a partnership of organisations might share the financial risk of the expensive renovations. This resulted in a joint working arrangement between Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH), Plus Dane Group (PDG), Granby Community Land Trust and Terrace 21 Housing Co-op; and in spring 2014, work began on a £14m regeneration of Granby Four Streets.

By working with the council and other local organisations, the Granby Four Streets CLT ensured the refurbishment of longterm empty properties in their area. They made some of the refurbished properties available for sale, using a resale covenant based on wage levels in the area, meaning that those homes will remain affordable rather than their prices being affected by the housing market.

The process of regenerating Granby Four Streets began with activism. As the residents made progress, they began to take a more collaborative approach, working with the council to not only regenerate the area, but also to provide employment and training opportunities for local people through the establishment of the Granby Workshop.

In 1994, a group of residents, disgruntled with the service they were receiving from their council landlords, began the process of taking over the running of council housing in Leathermarket. They decided to take advantage of the Government’s Right to Manage legislation, and set up a Tenant Managed Organisation (TMO). A ballot showed that the vast majority of Leathermarket residents were in favour of the TMO, and a legal agreement was drawn up between Southwark Council and Leathermarket Joint Management Board which allowed residents to independently manage their services. The JMB now employs 35 staff and provides a full range of housing-related services, including housing management, leasehold management, major works, rent collection, repairs and estates upkeep.

Most recently, the Leathermarket Community Benefit Society (CBS) was created to build 27 new homes on a site where garages had previously stood. According to Guardian correspondent Dave Hill, this infill development ​“could be a beacon for the delivery of low-cost housing across the capital, especially in those parts where the pressures working against this, including from estate residents, are most intense” (Leathermarket CBS infill development. Available at: theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2015/ jul/23/resident-led-southwark-social-housing-scheme-shows-london-the-way).

A truly resident-led development, this project began with a formal housing needs analysis (where members of the CBS knocked on every door on the estate). Residents have been empowered to be involved at every stage of the design work, supported by community right-to-build funding. With the development coming under the responsibility of a community benefit society, Right to Buy is not applicable, which means the new homes can be retained as affordable rental properties forever.

John Paul Maytum, Chair of the Leathermarket CBS, says: ​“Residents are much happier with the traditional development approach, because they’ve shaped the design” (Leathermarket CBS infill development).

Since 2007, there have been a number of stalled attempts by Newham Council to regenerate Custom House, an area in east London. PEACH are based in Custom House. They are one of 150 Big Local groups set up across the country to help improve local areas. By the time PEACH came into being in 2013, regeneration was still being discussed but had not yet been delivered.

When setting up their group, the members of PEACH decided to focus on four areas which they felt could be improved; jobs, housing, safety and health. Having set up a cooperative cleaning company which provided stable work with a fair wage for local people, PEACH moved their attention to the council’s proposed plans for regeneration.

Rather than fighting against the proposals, PEACH have adopted the council’s figures for demolition and new build as their own. Instead of waiting to be asked what they thought of council-led proposals, they have developed a community-led, alternative regeneration plan for the future of the area. In developing the plan, PEACH took a radical approach to engaging and working with architects. Community organisers and architects worked together, at the same rate of pay, to develop the plan. Architects developed community-organising skills, while community organisers learned the fundamentals of architectural design, planning and development finance. This equality of value, both in terms of skills and financial worth, has led to a far greater understanding of the complexities of the regeneration process across the whole team. It has also helped to demonstrate the value of working with communities when undertaking regeneration.

PEACH have now set up the E16 Community Land Trust and have successfully negotiated an equal presence for the Custom House community on the Custom House Regeneration Board, the decision-making body for the regeneration of the area. In this way the residents of Custom House will be able to act as a defining partner in the process, rather than merely the recipients of planned change. 

PEACH are one of the five Big Local areas who took part in our research into ways of effectively engaging in regeneration. You can read the case studies in full at: https://www.learningfrombiglocal.org.uk/ resources/report-series-developing-potential.

The Castle Vale Community Housing Association, a resident-controlled, community-based housing association in Birmingham, was born out of the Castle Vale Housing Action Trust. The trust was one of six non-departmental public bodies set up to redevelop some of the poorest council housing estates in England’s innercity suburbs. The trust’s aim was “…to break the seemingly endless cycle of decline that so many neighbourhoods experience, where one regeneration programme succeeds another, yet underlying poverty and disadvantage prove intractable” (Pioneer Group website: cvch.org.uk/who-we-are/about-us/). 

The regeneration of the Castle Vale estate by the Housing Action Trust (HAT) has been lauded as a model of successful urban renewal. Much of the success of the regeneration of the estate has been attributed to the way the community was involved:

• Training for residents: residents were supported in the development of negotiation skills, decision making and confidence building, so as to be able to effectively contribute to the running of the organisation.
• Neighbourhood Partnership Boards (NPBs): these boards brought together elected resident members and public service providers to co-ordinate activities on the estate.
• Empowered community: the Housing Action Trust was prepared to give away power, enabling residents to take control of their area, becoming more engaged and better able to represent their community.

The Castle Vale Community Housing Association continues this place-focused approach and is still run by a board where the majority of members are residents. In 2015 it became the largest subsidiary of the Pioneer Group, a partnership of organisations delivering communityfocused housing and support services.

“It takes a long time for residents to really understand what’s happening, and to express constructive opinions. But it can be done. The experience of Castle Vale HAT shows that it can.” Pat Niner, Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham, and previous member of the Trust’s Board (quoted in Crp-ltd website: webpage no longer available).

Community is a term with many definitions. In the case of regeneration and development, it most often means a group of people living in the same place. But we cannot assume that just because people live in the same location, they have attitudes or interests in common. So when we talk about community engagement, what we really mean is the approach to engaging a group of individuals who live in a particular area.

This is an important realisation, as individuals will react differently to challenges, ideas, concepts and changes. Their life situations will be different. Their expectations and desires will be different. How they live their lives will be different. Thinking about regeneration and development from the perspective of individuals, rather than assuming the local community is a homogenous group with nothing in common other than a location, is important if any engagement of value is to take place.

Engaging residents:

Regeneration and development can have a huge effect on residents. Often developers consider the things that affect residents as issues to be resolved, like how to most efficiently phase the ​“decanting” of existing tenants who need to be moved around, a term which in itself dehumanises tenants. Too often, engaging residents becomes a process of gaining the support needed to get a good ballot result, rather than a way to truly understand how people will be affected by regeneration. 

Regeneration is often enforced on people, not chosen by them. If change is enforced, it is less easy to control. Regeneration is very often enforced on people who have the least facility to cope with it. Residents often react negatively to the major life change brought about by regeneration, and that can lead to unmanageable stress, family disruption, and even mental health issues. Avoiding these negative effects should be the main purpose of connecting with communities.

Why people get involved or not:

When working to engage communities, a ​“hierarchy of needs” (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, available at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs) view can explain why residents may be too busy dealing with the basics of life to find the time, energy or will to attend meetings or workshops about the future of their area. Considering someone’s ​“locus of control” (Rotter’s ​“locus of control” theory. Available at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control) can also explain why they might not want to become involved in regeneration. 

According to the psychologist Julian Rotter, someone who believes they can control most aspects of their life will be more likely to take action to change their situation, while those who believe that any life change is out of their hands will be less likely to try to influence the change, and may see any attempts at trying to make a difference as pointless. It’s useful to recognise these beliefs when encouraging people to get more involved in the regeneration of their neighbourhood.

In some situations, repeated failures to influence change can alter a person’s locus of control from internal, where they think they can make a difference, to external, where they feel they have no control over what happens to them. Consultation processes that repeatedly require residents to engage, but with little or no ability to actually influence any decisions, can have this effect. This is sometimes described as ​“consultation fatigue”, but it is in reality a reasonable response to the inability to influence. Before a consultation event a resident may think, ​“I can do something about this”; but if nothing changes, or what they have said is ignored, they may think, ​“I’ve tried and I can’t do anything about this, it’s a waste of time”.

Giving people control over enforced change can go some way to reducing its negative impact. This is one of the reasons for the success of schemes where residents are actively involved and are given decision-making responsibilities. But altering someone’s belief that they can’t affect change can be difficult. Consistently giving opportunities for people to provide input into decisions is one way to give them a reason to take part in engagement activities.

How to get people involved:

• Work to understand a person’s view of theworld and the experiences they have had with development and regeneration. 
• Be really clear about what is up for grabs in terms of decision-making, and also about what isn’t.
• Follow through on your promises—andif you can’t do that, say why.
• Always provide feedback. ​“You said, we did,” is a good way to communicate what has happened as a result of any meetings or discussions.

Recognising that gaining a place at the regeneration table may well require more than just a willingness to be present, more than half of the Big Locals we worked with are now debating whether their next steps should be toward developing a formal group with a legal structure. Big Local groups are not constituted as formal entities, which can make contracting legally with local authorities difficult, if not impossible. With this in mind, two of the five groups we worked with are considering forming a community land trust.

There are quite a few options available to groups wishing to become more formal. The organisations from our examples of successful community-led regeneration chose different structures based on their different aims. More information on these commonly used structures can be found below.

Community Land Trusts (CLTs):

There is growing support for using CLTs as a way for residents to take more control over the fate of their neighbourhood. As Stephen Hill, a board member for the National Community Land Trust Network, pointed out to us ​“a community land trust is not just about housing. It is a way to protect assets for the community.” Community land trusts may well be a useful vehicle for community groups who want to make sure developers truly consider the needs of residents, as they are set up: 

“…for the express purpose of furthering the social, economic and environmental interests of a local community by acquiring and managing land and other assets in order:

• to provide a benefit to the local community, and
• to ensure that the assets are not soldor developed except in a manner which the trust’s members think benefits the local community” (National CLT network guidance on legal formats).

Formal structures from examples of successful regeneration:

Community Land Trust (CLT):

• Used by: Granby Four Streets and PEACH.
• They chose this structure: to have greater control over their community assets.

Tenant Management Organisation (TMO):

• Used by: Leathermarket JMB.
• They chose this structure: to take over the service management of their homes.

Housing Association (HA) / Registered Provider (RP):

• Used by: Castle Vale Community Housing.
• They chose this structure: to manage the homes on the estate.

Tenant Management Organisation (TMO):

A TMO uses the UK Government’s Housing (Right to Manage) Regulations 1994, which allow the tenants or residents of council housing or housing-association homes in the UK to take over the running of their homes (Right to Manage legislation, ​“The Housing (Right to Manage) Regulations 1994).

TMOs have a contract with the landlord of the homes and are paid annual management and maintenance allowances to manage them. This structure is useful for groups who want to take on the management of homes following a regeneration, and, because they will have this responsibility, they are often treated as partners by developers, rather than residents to consult. 

Right to transfer:

All community groups have the option to use the Right to Transfer (Right to Transfer guidance. Available at: gov.uk/government/publications/the-housing-right-to-transferfrom-a-local-authority-landlord-england-regulations-2013) from a local authority landlord, which moves social housing away from the control of the council to a private registered provider (also known as a housing association). This is a potentially very useful community right because it gives tenants a chance to either choose an alternative landlord housing association, or to become a registered provider themselves. In the case of large scale, long term regeneration, using the right to transfer and/​or becoming a registered provider are options which would provide the community with control over the homes within a development or regeneration area. However, there are conditions in the legislation which mean using the right to transfer is not an easy option. And the process of becoming a registered provider (RP) can be complex and take a considerable amount of time and effort.

• Right to transfer conditions: tenant groups must demonstrate that they have the support of 20% of the secure tenants and 20% of all tenants (including leaseholders) of the houses situated in the area affected by the proposal. They can’t force the council to co-operate if the council decides it’s going to change the way it manages the houses, rather than agreeing to transfer the management of them. West Kensington & Gibb’s Green Community Homes began a Right to Transfer application in 2015 which, at time of writing, is still under consideration (What is the Right to Transfer? Available at: westkengibbsgreen.wordpress.com/the-right-to-transfer-s34a/).
• Becoming a registered provider: becoming a housing association (or RP) gives groups the opportunity to be the landlord of tenants of social housing AND get a social housing grant from Government. Where TMOs contract with a landlord, a housing association has even more responsibilities and must comply with regulations set by government (RP statutory requirements. Available at: gov.uk/government/collections/regulatory-frameworkrequirements).

There has been much debate about the value of becoming an RP, particularly within community-led housing circles. This debate centres on the desire to not be stifled by Homes England processes and to retain independence in relation to home building and management. Not being required to provide a Right to Buy (Right to Acquire), and so having the ability to retain social housing for people in the local area, is often cited as a reason for organisations not to register. The debate also acknowledges that it isn’t possible to receive capital funding for low-cost rental homes from Homes England without being a registered provider (To be or not to be a Registered Provider. Available at: tcommunitylandtrusts.org.uk/article/2019/2/1/tobe-or-not-to-be-a-registered-provider).

Learn from others:

All of these structures and rights can give your community group a greater chance of having a say in regeneration and development projects. Your decision to formalise your group and the structure you chose to do so will depend on what it is you want to achieve. You may already be a formalised group looking for new approaches and ways to achieve your aims. Whichever approach you take, there are almost always others who have been there before you, or who are walking the same path. Talk to them and find out what worked, and what didn’t. The useful organisations listed in the resources section could be a good place to start.

Co-production:

Co-production is not a new idea and is commonly used to improve services by involving those who use services in designing them. It is being used more and more often in other areas, such as regeneration and development, because of the benefits it can bring to all involved.

What is co-production?

“Co-production is a relationship where professionals and citizens share power to design, plan, assess and deliver support together. It recognises that everyone has a vital contribution to make in order to improve quality of life for people and communities” New Economics Foundation.

The above definition of co-production is one of many, but all definitions have the same underlying principles: 

• It requires non-professionals (that is, residents) to be considered experts in their own right and capable of making decisions and having control as a responsible citizen.
• The role of the professional (for example, council officer, housing officers, developer) is changed from fixer of problems to collaborator who works with others to find solutions.

Benefits of co-production:

Co-production can give a voice to those whose opinions are often overlooked, and can help local authorities and housing associations gain better insights into what is needed than they might be able to alone. It also gives citizens some control over their destiny, which can improve people’s wellbeing and sense of control, particularly in those who are not generally encouraged to take control of their lives. It values the knowledge and experience of all involved:

“Co-production adds a wealth of expertise and knowledge over and above what any single organisation might be able to produce on their own. It also adds a rigour and vigour to the discussion process and the eventual outcome is likely to be of a higher quality due to the ability to bring different thinking and perspectives to the process” Independent Living Fund Scotland.

Practical tools:

The Coalition for Collaborative Care has developed some useful tools, like this set of co-production values and steps to successful co-production (Coproduction tools, Coalition for Collaborative Care (website no longer available)).

Co-production values, Coalition for Collaborative Care:

1. Ownership, understanding and support of co-production by all.
2. A culture of openness and honesty.
3. A commitment to sharing power and decisions with citizens.
4. Clear communication in plain English.
5. A culture in which people are valued and respected.

Seven practical steps to make co-production happen in reality:

1. Get agreement from senior leaders to champion co-production.
2. Use open & fair approaches to recruit a range of people who use health and care services, carers and communiites, taking positive steps to include under-represented groups.
3. Put systems in place that reward and recognise the contributions people make.
4. Identify areas of work where co-production can have a genuine impact, and involve citizens in the very earliest stages of project design.
5. Build co-production into your work programmes until it becomes ​‘how you work’.
6. Train and develop staff and citizens, so that everyone understands what co-production is and how to make it happen.
7. Regularly review and report back on progress. Aim to move from ​“You said, we did,” to ​“We said, we did.”

Community organising:

Community organisers work to bring people together to take action around their common concerns. They don’t do things on behalf of people but encourage them to make changes for themselves.

Community organising brings people with shared interests together, to help them build their confidence and build community cohesion. Organisers help communities to identify common goals and work with them to achieve those goals. That might be working together to make a change locally, or to campaign for a change of law, policy or process. This is also known as social action.

The national charity Community Organisers has developed a community organisers’ framework which describes the principles of community organising.

Figure: Community organising framework:

Figure shows a central bubble labelled ​‘Power: provoke change’ with the following text:

• Support everyone’s ability to act.
• Build collective power to effect change, overcome social injustice and build community.
• Work together to shift and share power.

The following eight bubbles surround the central one, with the following text:

Reach: get out:

• Engage everybody and anyone ensuring inclusivity and equality.
• Go to where people are.

Listening: spark dialogue:

• Develop relationships and identify passion, interests and potential leaders.
• Build a picture of people’s life in the neighbourhood.
• Encourage reflection and explore possibilities.
• Challenge people about the way things are

Connect: make links:

• Connect and create groups of people with shared interests and concerns.
• Build bridges between different groups.
• Identify community resources, needs and visions.
• Share stories.

Organise: build base: 

• Build local democratic and accountable associates of people that can start to act co-operatively and collectively.
• Build your power base.
• Build a structure.

Leadership: unlock potential: 

• Develop a culture of possibility where people believe in their ability to create change.
• Motivate and support people to take and share leadership.
• Identify natural leaders.

Strategy: identify issues:

• Use stories and information to identify issues.
• Analyse information and agree tactics, targets and allies.
• Understanding power and tactics for shifting it through people taking action together.
• Address root causes of concerns while tackling immediate symptoms.

Action: mobilise people:

• Facilitate local, regional and nationcollective action on the issues that matter most to people.
• DIY Action.
• Campaigns.
• Bring together and use resources.
• Engage with power-holders.

Change: challenge injustice: 

• Fight for sustainable change for good.
• Change hearts, minds and systems to address the root cause of injustice and inequality.
• Strengthen democracy – government by people.

Four boxes underneath these bubbles show the words ​‘Participation’, ​‘Accountability’, ​‘Reflection’, and ​‘Learning’.

Community Organising Framework. Available at: corganisers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Community-Organisers-Ltd-Framework.pdf.

Ladder of participation: 

Developed by Sherry Arnstein in 1969, this model describes the relationship between community and government by using a ladder to demonstrate increasing access to decision-making power. It is used extensively with communities to help them better understand how organisations such as local authorities are engaging with them.

Figure: Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation (1969):

1. Citizen Control: Citizens are in complete control over their community, allowing them to use their resources in any way they see fit. Big Local groups and Community land trusts are pertinent examples of citizen control.
2. Delegation: From the start of a programme, residents have more power in decision-making than developers or officers. This gives them a sense of ownership and control but they may need support to build confidence and experience.
3. Partnership: Some level of control and community power has been given to citizens through joint planning committees or governance arrangements. Power is shared equally between citizen groups and developers/​officers.
4. Placation: Officials select one or two ​“worthy” community members to hold a seat on the board. This gives the community more access to power holders, but a few voices can easily be ignored or overruled when final decisions are made.
5. Consultation: Consultation is commonly delivered through surveys and questionnaires. The lack of feedback or action following surveys creates distrust between community members and those in power, leading to ​“consultation fatigue”.
6. Informing: Officials tell communities what is happening or will happen. Information is often given at a late stage of the process when changes can no longer be made. Questions are discouraged, and information is superficial or incomplete.
7. Therapy: Sees powerlessness as something that can be ​“cured”. Experts work to adjust the attitudes of community groups to be in line with the attitudes required to progress plans.
8. Manipulation: Those in power persuade communities to think like them, instead of community members helping power holders better understand the community.

1–3 are labelled Citizen Control, 4–6 are labelled Tokenism, and 7–8 are labelled Non-participation.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

Created in the 1940’s, Maslow’s model of how people are motivated still stands as a useful tool when considering why people behave in certain ways. Maslow suggested that the needs people had at each level of his pyramid had to be satisfied before they could consider the things in the next level. So our need to make sure we have a safe, warm home and enough food to eat is greater than our need to develop a sense of belonging. This model is sometimes used to explain why those in poverty are less likely to get involved in discussions about where they live, as those individuals are often entirely focused on ensuring their basic needs are met.

Figure: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

Figure shows a pyramid with horizontal sections labelled as below, in order from top to bottom:

• Self-actualisation: Achieving your potential.
• Esteem: Feeling good about yourself, confidence.
• Love and belonging: Friendship, intimacy, sense of connection.
• Safety needs: Personal security, employment, health, safe places to live.
• Physiological needs: Air, water, shelter, sleep, clothing, sex.

Power mapping: 

Power mapping is a way to understand the relationships and networks involved in a development, so that you can put your energies into working with those who can help you achieve your aims while understanding who might oppose them.

Using the mapping tool below, consider all the stakeholders with an interest in what you are doing, including:

• those responsible for the development
• those who have the power to work with you to achieve your aims but are not doing so
• those who are based in the area being developed
• those who are working with you. 

People who are influential and support you are your most effective allies. Encourage them to promote what you are doing and ask them to talk to those who are influential and oppose your aims. Consider why people oppose what you are trying to do and talk to them to try to understand their position. If possible, work with them to achieve a compromise. Otherwise create a plan to reduce the impact of their opposition. Notice who is supportive but not influential. Keep these people informed of your progress but focus your attention on those who can make a difference.

Figure: axis of influence vs support:

Figure shows a plotted graph with an x axis labelled ​‘Strongly support your objective’ at one end and ​‘Strongly oppose your objective’ at the other, and a y axis labelled ​‘Most influential (in terms of your objective)’ and ​‘Least influential (in terms of your objective)’ at each end.

Participatory inquiry:

This approach can help people who disagree on a way forward find a shared goal or shared vision to work towards. It uses deliberation and discussion to help those involved understand each other’s perspectives and find common ground.

Example process:

• Identify a specific question everyoneshould answer, for example: ​“How can we make sure the regeneration project allows people who want to live in the area to remain with limited disruption?” Or: ​“How can we make sure all residents in the area are able to be involved in decision making?”
• Have each person write down four to six ways to address the question, each on a different piece of paper.
• Pair people up and ask them to agree onfive of their 8–12 responses by discussing them and debating which are the most important/​most effective.
• Combine pairs to form groups of four and ask them to reduce their 10 responses to four by agreeing which are the most important/​relevant.
• Collect responses from the groups and ask everyone to identify commonality and difference. Theme the responses and use these to define a group response to the question which it can develop an action plan to implement.

In this way, the group will develop a consensus by first answering the question about their personal views and then combining the various answers to arrive at a shared approach. This approach therefore values individual and group input and gives those who may be quieter in group discussion to have their say.

Estate regeneration national strategy. Available at: gov.uk/guidance/estateregeneration-national-strategy.

Altered Estates, Levitt Bernstein. Available at: levittbernstein.co.uk/research-writing/ altered-estates.

Love Thy Neighbourhood, Create Streets. Available at: dev.createstreets.com/wp-content/ uploads/2017/09/Love-thyNeighbourhood-2016.pdf.

Great Estates, Respublica. Available at: respublica.org.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2016/11/Great-Estates-2016.pdf.

Better homes for local people: Mayor’s good practice guide to estate regeneration. Available at: london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/betterhomes-for-local-people-the-mayors-goodpractice-guide-to-estate-regeneration.pdf.

Community Organisers: corganisers.org.uk.

Land Aid Charitable Trust: landaid.org.

Locality: locality.org.uk.

National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations (NFTMO): nftmo.com.

NESTA: nesta.org.uk.

Planning aid: rtpi.org.uk/planning-aid.

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA): architecture.com.

TPAS (Tenant engagement): tpas.org.uk.

Why community land trusts. Available at: communitylandtrusts.org.uk/about-clts.

House of Commons briefing paper: Community Land Trusts. Available at: researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/ documents/SN04903/SN04903.pdf.

Guide to becoming a registered provider, Regulator of social housing (May 2019) (web page no longer available).

Meanwhile use guidance. Available at: gov.uk/government/collections/ meanwhile-use-leases-and-guidance-forlandlords.

101 Civic Ideas (web page no longer available).

Campaign to Protect Rural England — How to respond to Planning Applications: An eight-step guide. Available at: cpre.org.uk/resources/how-to-respondto-planning-applications/ (NB does not refer to the London Plan).

Campaign to Protect Rural England. How to Respond to a Planning Application (video of a training session; first 20 mins come recommended). Available at: youtube. com/watch?v=1P8Uyq9fQFk.

Place Champions Case Study, Create Streets. Available at: trustforlondon.org.uk/ news/place-champions-programme.

Toolkit for participatory urban planning and place-making, Create Streets. Available at: issuu.com/jtp_placemaking/ docs/healthy_streets_for_london_co-desig.

Crowd-Sourced Neighbourhood Planning Bibliography. (Web page no longer available).

Design Council resources. Available at: designcouncil.org.uk/our-resources.

Guide to Community Rights, Environment and Planning Law, Friends of the Earth. Available at: friendsoftheearth.uk/systemchange/guide-community-rightsenvironment-and-planning-laws.

GLA Intelligence Civil Society Unit collection of literature. (Web page no longer available).

Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) library on housing, health and social care. Available at: housinglin.org.uk.

LandAid Charitable Trust free property resources guide. (Web page no longer available).

RTPI: rtpi.org.uk.

Town and Country Planning Association (research on affordable housing). Available at: tcpa.org.uk/unlockingaffordable-and-secure-homes.

UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence publications library (quite academic). Available at: housingevidence. ac.uk/publications.

We Can Make — case study of microsite affordable housing in Liverpool. Available at: nesta.org.uk/feature/newradicals-2018/we-can-make.

National planning policy framework. Available at: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/ media/​67aafe8f3b41f783cca46251/​NPPF_December_2024.pdf.

The value added by community involvement in governance, JRF, 2006. Available at: ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/ handle/​10871/​27401.

Skittled Out, Local Trust. (No longer available.)

JustSpace planning network (London). Available at: justspace.org.uk.

Neighbourhood planning toolkit, Locality. Available at: neighbourhoodplanning. org/toolkits-and-guidance/createneighbourhood-plan-step-by-steproadmap-guide.

This glossary explains some of the terms used in connection with housing, regeneration and development. It’s designed to give a basic description of terms. Housing legislation and policy are often changed, so always refer to the latest legislation for specific definitions and interpretations, or seek professional legal advice.

Affordable housing: housing for sale or rent for those whose needs are not met by the market, including housing that provides a subsidised route to home ownership and/​or is for essential local workers. This includes starter homes, discounted market sales housing, and other affordable routes to home ownership like shared ownership.

Affordable rented housing: local authorities or private registered providers of social housing (housing associations) let affordable rented housing to those who qualify for the council’s housing register. Rents must be above target rents but not greater than 80% of local market rent. 

Allocations policy: the rules used by Councils and Housing Associations to give out their properties. These vary between organisations and sometimes special policies are developed to ensure existing tenants can return to their estate following regeneration. See Right to Return.

Buy to let: private property bought with the intention of renting it out. 

Brownfield: land that has been previously developed and is not now in use. It is sometimes available for re-use. 

Choice-based lettings (CBL): Councils and Housing Associations use choicebased lettings schemes to give those applying for housing and existing tenants who want to transfer a choice in where they go. Applicants can bid for available properties using these schemes. CBL schemes are based on allocations policies.

Compulsory purchase order (CPO): A legal order that allows certain bodies like Councils or Housing Associations to take over land or property without the consent of the owner. It is used where a proposed development is considered to be for ​“public betterment”, and normally results in compensation to the owner.

Common Housing Register (CHR) or Housing Register: the list of people applying for social housing including housing owned and/​or managed by the Council and Housing Associations.

Communal gardens: these are gardens which are shared by residents of an estate or neighbourhood but are not open to the public.

Community gardens: these can be open to the public or open only to the group who manage them. Generally they are managed or maintained by a local community or residents’ group.

Community Benefit Society (BenComm): An organisation run for the benefit of the community rather than the members of the society. BenComms can have a statutory asset lock that means profits can’t be distributed to members but can only be used for the community it serves. They can also issue community shares.

Community Engagement: In the context of regeneration and development, community engagement is a term used to describe the discussions and conversations held between developers and/​or landowners, and the community impacted by the development about the plans and designs for the development.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL): A planning charge, introduced by the Planning Act 2008 as a tool for local authorities in England and Wales to help deliver infrastructure that supports development in their area. Developers are required to pay local authorities when undertaking new building projects. It is sometimes used to fund additional school places or GP services where there has been an increase in the number of homes and so in the number of residents.

Community Led Housing: Housing which is owned or managed by a local community group or organisation, where the community is engaged throughout the development process and where the scheme is of benefit to the local area forever by the use of an asset lock.

Community Land Trust (CLT): CLTs are run by local communities to develop and manage homes and other assets like land, workspaces, or food growing spaces. In terms of housing they often act as longterm stewards of housing, keeping it affordable by linking prices to what people earn in the area rather than prices being linked to the housing market.

Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO): Compulsory purchase orders allow public bodies to force homeowners to sell their property if it obstructs a project deemed to be for ​“greater public good”. They can be issued by local authorities, highways authorities, regional development agencies, English Partnerships and, in Greater London, English Heritage.

Consultation: the process of meeting and discussing proposals. In regeneration and development, this term is often used when informing residents of what is going to happen, rather than holding a dialogue about proposals. The term ​“engagement” is often used instead of consultation, to avoid the negative connotations of the word and demonstrate a greater degree of discussion.

Decanting: The process of moving residents from their homes while improvements are carried out. It also describes the process where a block or estate is to be completely redeveloped, and residents are moved to allow redevelopment to take place.

Decent Homes Standard: Introduced by government to ensure all social housing meets a minimum standard. The standard requires properties to be free of health and safety hazards, in a reasonable state of repair, having a reasonably modern kitchen, bathroom, boiler and adequate insulation. 

Density: refers to the number of dwellings or people per hectare of land. 

Equity loan A loan given to help buy a home. The loan is only repaid when the home is sold, and its value relates to the value of the home. So if a home rises in value, the amount to be repaid increases proportionally. 

Freehold: A freeholder owns their property and the land it is situated on.

Homes England: previously Homes and Communities Agency. Homes England allocates funding to deliver new affordable social housing in England.

Housing association A not-for-profit organisation set up to provide low cost housing. Housing associations are usually private registered providers of social housing (formerly known as registered social landlords) and regulated by the Tenants Services Authority.

Housing revenue account (HRA) A record of income from housing and expenditure kept by local authority housing departments which must be kept separately from the local authority’s other finances.

Joint venture (JV): Where two organisations come together in a commercial enterprise but maintain their separate organisations. Joint ventures in regeneration are often between a council and developer.

Local Plan: A local plan is developed by councils and sets out local planning policies and identifies how land is used, determining what will be built where.

Masterplan: A masterplan is a long-term planning document designed to provide a guide for future growth and development in an area. Masterplans connect buildings, social settings and their surrounding environments and generally include analysis, recommendations, proposals for a site’s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities and land use.

Meanwhile Use: the short-term use of temporarily empty buildings such as shops and pubs, until they can be brought back into commercial use.

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): Sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how they should be applied. 

National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG): Practical guidance on the implementation of planning policy.

Neighbourhood Plan: Developed by Parish or Town councils, or where these don’t exist, a Neighbourhood Forum, Neighbourhood plans enable local communities to influence the planning of the area in which they live and work.

Option appraisal: Where different options for design and development are developed and often costed, based on information gathered during a masterplanning process.

Public realm: the external places in our towns and cities that are accessible to the public. This includes streets, parks, outside civic buildings and public areas around estates.

Registered social landlord or registered provider An organisation registered with the social housing regulator, the Tenant Services Authority, under the Housing Act 1996. Most are housing associations, although housing cooperatives and local housing companies may also be registered providers.

Right to Buy (Right to Acquire) Introduced under Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, the Right to Acquire (often called the Right to Buy), gives council tenants the right to buy their homes from the local authority at a discounted rate. 

Right to Return: Not a right in legal terms, but a promise sometimes given to tenants by housing associations and councils to assure them that they will be able to return to the area they are made to leave while regeneration and development takes place.

Section 106 agreement This is a planning agreement between a local authority and a developer. The local authority only grants planning permission if the developer offers some benefit to the local community, for example low cost housing, education facilities or improved public spaces.

Service charge: A charge paid to landlords for the maintenance of communal areas for instance in a housing block or high rise.

Shared ownership Scheme that allows people to buy a part share in a home with another party, often a housing association or council, retaining the rest. Shared ownership is often used as a ​“step on the ladder” to home ownership, or where values after regeneration are too high for previous homeowners to afford to buy a home outright.

Social rented housing Rented housing owned and managed by local authorities, housing associations or Registered Providers. 

Social Sector Size Criteria (underoccupancy charge/‘spare bedroom tax’) A welfare reform ruling that cuts the amount of benefit that people under pension credit age can get if they have a spare bedroom.

Starter homes: Homes that are discounted by at least 20% of their full value for purchasers who are under 40 and living in the UK. 

Target rent: This is the rent charged for socially rented properties which is set using a national formula based on the value of property, number of bedrooms and average earnings for a manual job in the area.

Tenure: Based on the financial arrangements under which someone lives in a property. Common tenures are renting and owner-occupation.