London's largest housing associations have written to the government to protest at the payment of Housing Corporation grant to private developers.
The G15 group of London's 15 biggest developing associations wrote to housing minister Keith Hill last Thursday. The group asked for assurances that the grant for private developers would not be sliced from the funding pot for associations.

The move comes after the government admitted it had asked the corporation to hold back £350m from its £1.67bn development programme for 2005/06 – £200m of which would be open to bids from developers as well as associations (HT 5 December 2003, page 8).

G15 chair Donald Hoodless, who is also chief executive of Circle 33, said reducing the amount of money available to associations would jeopardise their work to implement the Communities Plan.

[If housebuilders got grant] it would undermine our efforts to build the programmes needed

Donald Hoodless, G15 chair

In the letter, Hoodless said: "We would be grateful for your assurance that no part of the corporation's approved development programme for 2005/06 will be either top-sliced or earmarked for private housebuilders. If this were the case, it would undermine our efforts to build the programmes needed to meet your plans."

The letter adds the decision to pay grant to developers "appeared to be based more on ideology than evidence-based research" and that private developers should go through the same bidding process as associations.

Source

Housing Today