Policy Framework

Sustainable Communities

Social housing equates to about 20% of the total UK housing stock - over 5 million homes. Housing associations are important players in regeneration, and are often in the position to take innovative and radical approaches to meet the growing complexity of housing demands. The Government has placed house-building as a central plank of its regeneration agenda. A need to build an estimated 4.4 million new homes by 2021 has initiated a raft of measures to stimulate action, most notably the Sustainable Communities plan, Building for the future (February 2003).

The Sustainable Communities plan sets out the Government's strategy to create and help manage safe, healthy local environments with well-designed housing, public and green spaces, and funding to deliver Living Places commitments. Through its Decent Homes Standard the Government is committing investment to improve all social housing by 2010, and to ensure that its improvement is properly planned and part of the wider neighbourhood renewal agenda.

CABE Space

The Urban White Paper (2000) recognised the contribution of urban green spaces to the quality of people's lives. The Government established the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce, whose report in 2002 highlighted a raft of measures required to bring our parks and green spaces back in to shape. Subsequently, the Government published Planning Policy Guidance 17 (Open Space, Sport and Recreation) and Living Places; Cleaner, Safer, Greener (2002), setting out its policies for change, primarily aimed at local authorities. CABE Space was established in May 2003 to champion parks and public space in our towns and cities and bring about excellence to their design, management and maintenance.

CABE Space is providing a body of research, guidance and hands-on support for local authorities and others. In advocating good practice to improve the local environment; reducing crime and fear of crime; and developing national quality standards and measurable targets for urban parks and green spaces are essential. The creation of CABE Space has provided a welcome opportunity to ensure that the concerns of social housing providers can be incorporated into future policy and funding initiatives. In London this will be taken forward by the Neighbourhoods Green project.

Cleaner Safer Greener

There is also now cross-Government action to create cleaner, safer, greener communities, to address the most common concerns residents raise about local parks: litter, low-level disorder, and the need for activities for young people. This action has been formalised through the introduction of a new Public Service Agreement target for the DCLG to 'lead the delivery of cleaner, safer, greener public spaces and improvement of the built environment in deprived areas and across the country with measurable improvement by 2008.'

In addition there is a raft of other relevant Government policies and initiatives, demonstrating a growing confluence of understanding in the role of green space and its multiple benefits, including mental and physical health, children's play and supporting biodiversity:

  • Our Healthier Nation (Dept. of Health, 1999)
  • UK Climate Change Programme (DEFRA, 2000)
  • A Sporting Future for All (DCMS, 2001)
  • Working with the Grain of Nature (DEFRA, 2002)
  • Getting Serious About Play (DCMS, 2004)


The active involvement of a number of organisations, such as Bankside Open Spaces Trust, BTCV (e.g. Green Gym), Green Streets, Groundwork, Landlife, London Play, Thrive, and the Wildlife Trusts, in working with social housing providers and/or residents' groups on green space improvements has been crucial. Whether these have been community gardens, food-growing schemes, window-boxes, wildlife gardens, or play initiatives, it demonstrates that opportunities and enthusiasm are there to make a real difference to the green spaces of social housing. But there is a need to capture this growing body of experience and expertise, and understand the barriers that can prevent it being adopted more widely by the sector.
There is a need to challenge the drivers that are shaping developments that squeeze out quality spaces, including, inter alia, the nature of our partnerships with developers, the focus of grants, and planning requirements that put cars before pedestrians. We know the consequence of these spaces when we don't get it right. The management and maintenance of all open spaces must be planned and costed at the design stage. Funding for this must be considered at this stage, and not devolved to post-completion.

We also need champions to help strengthen the role of housing providers as clients, who can challenge the status quo, challenge partners, and seek a range of specialist advice from those we may not have called upon before - play-workers, ecologists, etc. Those that have to manage and use the spaces need to be involved in their design, especially residents. In the longer-term, polices need to be developed or strengthened, and institutional and operational barriers overcome. The development of evidence-based good practice, and agreed qualitative performance measures will also be required. It is for these reasons that Neighbourhoods Green has been established.