By Isle of Wight Observer
Most people draw circles around dates as they look forward to retirement, but my feelings are mixed as I approach the end of a 52-year career in social housing. I could have retired much earlier, but was committed to completing a business plan for Vectis Housing Association, delivering new affordable housing for Island households. Growing up and starting work in London’s East End, I witnessed the nation’s poorest households and worst housing conditions.
In the aftermath of the Blitz, there was still a lot of clearance and rebuilding following the blitz and unemployment as industries changed.
I started my career in 1973, seven years after the release of the film ‘Cathy Come Home’, which highlighted the plight of families caught up in homelessness.
In 1977, Stephen Ross, then MP for the Isle of Wight, pushed through the Homeless Persons Act, for the first time local authorities were obliged to help the homeless. Throughout my career, I’ve led five different Homeless Persons sections in different local authorities. Sadly, despite some progress, homelessness remains a worsening crisis, with the underlying reasons being insufficient provision and unaffordability.
Housing has consistently been treated as a political football, with private home-ownership and rentals prioritised over affordable renting. Housing, by its nature, requires long-term strategies, yet since the 1960s short-term political cycles have undermined consistent policy-making.
Both national and local approaches shift with changing party leadership.
There’s also the challenge of cost.
Affordable, publicly-subsidised housing requires significant investment — not just for initial construction, but for ongoing repairs and renewals.
We have seen this in recent times following the Grenfell tragedy, with huge costs for fire remediation works and cladding removal.
Other than during post-war rebuilding efforts, housing has never been properly funded. Over my more than five decades in the sector, this lack of resource has been a constant, though varying in severity and, inevitably, creating huge challenges.
I moved to the Isle of Wight in 2003 as Head of Housing, tasked with removing children from bed-and-breakfast accommodation and writing strategies for homelessness and housing. I also led the IW Council’s involvement in the Pan Neighbourhood Partnership, successfully promoting community cohesion and opportunity.
Sadly, the progress we made in removing children from unsustainable housing has since been reversed.
Later, as managing director of Medina Housing, I oversaw notable improvements to housing in School Street and Preston Close. We invested heavily in improving housing stock and established healthy resident engagement structures. These initiatives were among the highlights of eight fulfilling years.
After a brief stint on the mainland, I returned to the Island as chief executive of Vectis Housing, the only active, independent Island-focused housing association. Over 11 years, we’ve provided nearly 100 affordable homes and supported residents through the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. We’ve prioritised building strong relationships with residents and understanding their needs, avoiding the trend towards larger, impersonal housing organisations. During this time, we’ve only had to pursue two evictions through the courts – a testament to our community-focused approach.
As a locally-focused landlord we have always tried to understand the needs and problems or our residents, in stark contrast to the growing trend for larger and more geographically spread housing associations.
Now, as I prepare to retire, I am deeply concerned about the future of affordable housing. Long-term underinvestment by successive governments has resulted in severe hardship and misery for many households. Unfortunately, I believe the current outlook is the worst I’ve encountered in my career. It could be so different – but that’s another article!