Leader Permit Yourself A Smile - Social Housing Isback On The Public-sector Agenda

摘要

It may not be a return to council housing, but it's damn close. In the absence of any willing private developers, the public sector is finally picking up the ball and running with it, raising hopes that the housing market could get a shot in the arm {seepages 10-11).rnWhat will this mean for architects? Almost certainly a change in the makeup of client groups. Sometimes this will be for the better, with local authorities less at the mercy of private developers' more cynical efforts. There will surely be drawbacks. It is a rare local authority that is geared up to develop a large regeneration project efficiently and decisively.rnOne well-placed source told me that there was a collective sigh of relief when house-builder Crest Nicholson pulled out of the Erith Western Gateway project in thernLondon Borough of Bexley this week. Despite a masterplan by EDAW and architecture by Assael, the project had few fans in the mayor's office. The council had little choice but to select Crest Nicholson when competing developers began to find the going tough last summer. There is a feeling that a new role for the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the local authority could mean a new masterplan and an increase in design quality. If it can lever money from the HCA, it can continue with the project.