Could this be the future of affordable housing?
By: Andy Dunn
Artist spaces, no shop shutters, integrated homes (regardless of income) and litter-free streets: Media relations executive Andy Dunn highlights how ‘inclusive growth’ is transforming life in one of London’s poorest boroughs.
Labour’s promise to deliver 1.5 million new homes in the lifetime of this parliament has placed the spotlight squarely on social housing.
How best to build it, where to build it and who should bear responsibility? Developers – at least some – use viability loopholes to argue that it will hit their profits and so get quotas reduced.
That speaks volumes about the negative connotations some associate with social housing - a phrase first coined in the nineties.
But then there is Barking, a riverside town nine miles east of London’s Charing Cross, where the council has adopted a completely different mindset.
So successful has been their housing policy – spearheaded by Leader Darren Rodwell – that £5 billion of investment has poured into the Barking and Dagenham constituency over the past decade, with billions more promised.
That this vibrant multicultural community also happens to be one of the most deprived areas of Britain makes the achievement even more remarkable.
“We don’t call it social housing,” explains Darren, on a two-hour tour of the many new developments springing up in the area. “I prefer the term ‘infrastructure homes’ because that takes away any stigma. I call the process inclusive growth.”
And inclusive growth encapsulates everything Barking is about - it’s not just providing affordable homes, but giving people access to education and training opportunities as well, with more and better jobs as a result.
Everyone has aspirations
“Just because you are poor doesn’t mean you haven’t got standards,” says Darren. “Everyone has aspirations. Inclusive growth isn’t about gentrification - exclusion of the poorest - it’s about including the aspiration of working-class communities.”
He speaks with the same passion that led him into politics back in 2006, when he challenged the British National Party’s hold over Barking Council. Earlier this year, allegations of misconduct – of which he was recently cleared – dogged his ambitions to become a Labour MP and he now plans to stand down as council leader in September.
But his legacy to the community he loves will be clear for all to see.
First stop is a block of flats on top of shop fronts – minus the obligatory metal shutters often seen as protection against vandals and thieves.
“They’re all what’s known as maker spaces,” explains Darren. “Artists hire them at a low rent and then they create things, which not only helps them but inspires the community.
“When children, many from poor families, see what is going on inside it instils them with a sense of pride in their environment. That is why we don’t need protective shutters because why would they damage something they’re proud of?”
That inspiration is reflected in education. In the last 10 years, the equivalent of 20 new schools (some have been extended) have been built in the borough and 97% are rated good to outstanding.
“That tells me that what the children are seeing in their neighbourhood is inspiring them to learn,” says Darren. “Remember, many of these children come from very deprived backgrounds so their achievements are greater.”
A 30-year plan for Barking includes a further £5 billion of investment for homes and development, and Darren is keen to separate what is going on in Barking from regeneration where local communities have been priced out.
Predominantly working class
“Regeneration, in the main, has meant social cleansing by wealth,” says Darren. “But here in Barking it doesn’t matter who you are, what your ethnicity is, or how much you earn… what we are trying to do is build a community that everyone can be part of.
“Inclusive growth is a far better option than just letting builders tag social housing on as an addition to a development. You can still get the financial gains you need as an investor, but the result benefits all.”
Barking is predominantly working class and the council determines rent by how much a person can pay, and their need. There are more jobs coming and Darren pulls over to point out a hoarding advertising a new development which reads: ‘Whether you’re a builder, a teacher or a retail worker, these homes are for people like you.’
“I designed it,” he says proudly. “I wanted people to know that all of this is for normal people.”
But how does inclusive growth work in practice?
“It’s knowing what each investment partner is paying for,” explains Darren. We have five build-to-rent operators in the borough and more asking to join all the time. They want their tenants to be happy so that they stay for a long time because that’s how they make their money.
Film studio to rival Pinewood
“So, take the council - the largest social and private landlord. We offer a facility to residents at a rent they can afford and other partners in the development can offer extras that are paid for. A concierge service, for instance.
“We do not allow ‘poor doors or gated communities’ and while a flat resident might be paying x in rent, the person next door with greater need might be paying y.
“That is real inclusivity: inclusive growth. It means that people are offered a choice based on income and need.” And choice there certainly is, with six different rental models, including shared ownership.
The tour goes on: “We call this Mini-Manhattan, this is Old Barking, the Roding Riviera, that film studio over there is the equivalent of Pinewood …”
Darren takes us to an old industrial estate that ‘needs upgrading.’ Stacked warehousing is the way forward. “We were the first to do it,” he says. Then industrial units on the ground floor with residential above, which they are “just testing”.
No bin lorries servicing the new homes. Instead, Darren explains: “You pour your rubbish into a chute that sucks it down piping to a central refuse location.”
Barcelona on Thames follows, where “there will be 20,000 new homes when this area is fully developed” and Riverside Campus, which is home to “the largest mixed, free school in the country, with 2,600 children.” A total of £44 million has been allocated to fund this.
He’s been a busy man, our Darren.
Of course, there are still issues to deal with. One in eight families are single parents and authorities get the lowest amount of income from council tax and business rates in London. There are 20 food banks and five social supermarkets.
Winning hearts and minds is the key
Around 29% of residents live in poverty and almost half of children grow up in poverty. Domestic abuse is high in Barking (but it ranks low for other crimes compared to London boroughs).
“The challenges are great, but we are moving forward and that’s the main thing,” says Darren. “We invest in your home and the environment and all we ask in return is that you be aspirational.”
So how does inclusive growth fit into Labour’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament?
Darren is clear: Hitting housing targets without winning hearts and minds is just an exercise in numbers. The newly renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government should have people from every discipline commenting before a development is passed, pointing out the infrastructural needs of the local community.
Developers must focus on hearts and minds, not just bricks and mortar.
As the tour nears its end, there’s just time for a few final anecdotes: “Dick Turpin used to drink in that pub,”; Captain Cook got married here,”; “The term ‘Barking mad’ is based on…”; and “I was born in Barking Hospital.”
The Barking project is Darren Rodwell’s baby and he’s as proud as any parent to see it grow and prosper, so much so that his next step is to set up a consultancy advising public and private sector organisations how to roll out inclusive growth strategies nationwide.
If he carries on like this, I say, they’ll probably name a street after him. And then there’s just time for one last detour to take in the aptly named Rodwell Place.