Nick Phillips has been forging a relationship with the National Association of Local Councils and writes to Ben Murray, Policy and Projects Officer:
I am delighted to have been offered the post as Chief Executive of the Almshouse Association – an organisation steeped in history, supporting 1600 member almshouse charities housing 35,000 residents.
One of my priorities has been to get in touch with NALC. I have always seen Town and Parish Councils as the main link to community led housing and often it’s the same people giving up their time to make things happen. The Almshouse Association is here to help promote the great value of almshouses, to encourage more to be built, to support those trustees and clerks who are running them and to gain recognition as the exemplar model for local housing in perpetuity.
I have always known almshouses for their architectural value and often distinctive design, but I have very quickly come to realise that they are more about people, local community and a proud history, than bricks and mortar. A recent study by one almshouse (Whitely Village), even suggests people can live years longer in almshouses. (The Almshouse Association is commissioning further research to find out more.)
If, like me, you listen to the radio in the morning, you may feel that there is a national crisis of affordable housing and loneliness having a real life impact on so many people. I can’t help feeling that almshouses are part of the solution. Whilst the origins of almshouse charities goes back in some cases to the Middle Ages, funded often through true philanthropy and enterprise, there is something in the spirit of almshouses that captures the best in community and localism today.
I hope to work with parish councils and town councils over the years supporting these great assets to our community and seeking opportunities for more to be built where there is a local need and interest.