In the mix

John Hills, in his recent report for Ruth Kelly, Ends and Means, has concluded that, although achieving social mix is one of the four core objectives of social housing, we are not yet doing very well at delivering it – two-thirds of social rented housing is still found in traditional estates and housing association new build is most likely to be located in areas of deprivation.

He goes on to argue that while there is a place for large-scale remodelling of estates, this is unlikely to be a widely used solution given both the cost and the disruption to tenants involved. In more than 200 pages of closely argued analysis, this is one of the few points of Hill’s report that I would take issue with and your feature outlines why. In research that CIH has just launched, we have shown that it is possible to work in an effective partnership with the community to transfer run-down mono-tenure estates – although doing so takes time, money and expertise. The reason this and other work that showcases good regeneration practice is so important is that estates of run-down single-tenure homes with concentrations of vulnerable and poor households clearly serve to undermine the social mobility of the people who live there and to limit their life chances. Your feature shows the strength of private, social and community partnerships, but many of the worst unmixed estates also need government funding. Let’s hope the men from the Treasury are taking note.

Sarah Webb, deputy chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing