By April 2004, eight of the nine market renewal pathfinders should have completed negotiations with the ODPM and be ready to start spending. With a £500m pot to share between them and plans ready to go as soon as the government gives the word, there should be some spectacular and speedy results.
The pathfinders are sworn to secrecy until deals have been struck with government, so no details have yet emerged, but look out for drastic changes in the landscapes of Merseyside, social and economic interventions in East Lancashire and rows of eco-homes in Oldham/Rochdale.
It's unlikely all this will be plain sailing, however. Clearance levels will be high and local opposition will have to be tackled head-on with robust public relations and grim determination.
Regional assemblies
In the autumn, voters in the North-east, North-west, and Yorkshire and Humberside will vote on whether or not they want elected regional assemblies.
A "yes" in any of them would have a huge impact on housing in the region. Local government will be completely reshaped, with tiers of management abolished to make way for the new bureaucracy. Look forward to a rash of applications for stock transfer in councils likely to disappear as housing directors try to figure out how to hang on to their jobs.
Thames gateway
The future of the swathes of east London, Essex and Kent that make up the Thames Gateway will be determined this year.
The government will make a decision on Crossrail – the east-west transport link seen as the key to high-density building in the area – after the inquiry reports in January.
On 15 January, Olympic masterplanning team EDAW/HOK will submit its vision for the wholesale regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley in east London. And the ODPM's Communities Plan tsar, Richard McCarthy, told Housing Today last month that the long-awaited London urban development corporation would be in place by June, so it's set to be a big year for the Thames Gateway.
Supporting people
Later this month, we'll find out the results of the government's independent review of the Supporting People care services funding regime. It's expected to say that some councils have spent Supporting People money on high-care schemes, such as certain mental health programmes, that it was never intended to fund. The review has also been looking at variations between costs and service provision across councils, how savings from other budgets have been redeployed and whether the programme is meeting its objectives – including compliance with grant conditions. Sudden funding cuts could be on the cards as ministers use the findings to make changes to the £1.8bn programme, which has already been a bureaucratic nightmare for care providers.
Antisocial behaviour
There will be more details of the government's campaign on antisocial behaviour later this month. This should include the role of the "trailblazers" announced in October – Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Sunderland – and clarification of proposals to set up a team of antisocial behaviour prosecutors.
Housing benefit
The first of the next wave of pilot direct-payment schemes will launch next Monday in Coventry and Teignbridge. They will be closely followed by Brighton and Hove's scheme on 2 February, with Edinburgh, North-east Lincolnshire, Conwy and Leeds a week later. The pilots will run for two years, during which time campaigners will be waiting to see whether direct payments will discourage landlords from renting to benefit claimants and push up rents and arrears, as feared.
Source
Housing Today
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