Almshouses are social housing in its earliest form, yet theyā€™re still denied social housing status, writes Nick Phillips, chief executive of The Almshouse Association.
The National Planning Policy Frameworkā€™s focus on registered providers excludes many almshouse charities, particularly smaller ones. These smaller charities have limited resources and staff and face regulatory challenges that limit their capacity to maintain and expand their housing stock.
The Almshouse Association has submitted a proposal to the NPPF consultation, advocating for almshouses to be recognised as affordable housing, and is developing a code of conduct to strengthen government trust.
“Being denied social housing status by Englandā€™s chief planning policy legislation means some almshouse charities are omitted from funding. If almshouse charities had access to Affordable Housing Programme bidding and Section 106 funds, the speed and quality of almshouses being built would be substantially increased.“
See Nick Phillips’ comment in the latest issue of Inside Housing -Almshouses need to be recognised as social housing to be able to reach their full potential .
14 November 2024