Chartered Institute of Housing South East Region

7 January 2009  |  You are here: Home > Events > Conference

Conference 2006 Programme

The overall theme of the programme was our environment and sessions covered this issue in its broadest sense - our working environment, services to tenants, sustainability issues, planning, creating nurturing communities, design and safety.

The programme was given daily themes, as follows:

Tuesday 14 March: Personal effectiveness: service delivery

0900 - Registration, refreshments and Exhibition viewing

1000 - Welcome to the conference - Andy Chequers, CIH South East Regional Chair

Keynote address - Unleash your personal potential - Jack Garwood, Passionate about the art of living

We may have skills aplenty but if these are not built on a foundation of purpose, passion, enthusiasm, energy and drive then we become a mere shadow of the latent potential that lays within each of us. This talk was about reaching deeper; realising and releasing more of those phenomenal resources within and then harnessing these in our work life and beyond.

1115 - Refreshment break and Exhibition viewing

1145 - Specialist sessions

  1. Personal Potential - Jack Garwood, Passionate about the art of living. Chair: Diana Maughan, CIH South East Committee Member. Jack went deeper into specific areas arising from his keynote address based on the interests of workshop participants.
  2. TV interviewing skills - Julie Causton, Director of Marketing, Cobb PR and Alastair Monk, Broadcaster. Chair: Tim Hammond, CIH South East Committee Member. In this workshop, participants learned about the needs of television journalists, how to feel more at ease with the concept of giving a television interview and how the power of television can be harnessed for positive promotion. They also had the opportunity to practice their own skills in front of the camera!
  3. The latest on combating anti-social behaviour - Bill Pitt, Home Office Together Academy Expert Practitioner and Head of Nuisance Strategy Group, Manchester City Council. Chair: Surinder Bains, Regional Director, Hyde Housing Association. In this session, Bill provided up to the minute guidance on strategies for combating anti-social behaviour including the latest Home Office guidance and best practice. He also outlined the continuing demands on officers and tenants alike as they continue to work together to develop safer and more supportive communities.
  4. PLUM - the prevention dimension - Barry Marlow, Housing Consultant, Trainer and Commentator. Chair: Sharon Smith, CIH South East Committee Member. 'Prevention is better than cure'. That's been the message from all the regulators in the last 12 months, whether talking about rent arrears, anti-social behaviour or homelessness. Or people motivation, recruitment and retention. This is still a new way to look at how housing organisations work, especially after years of counting failure. Barry's session was open to all who wanted to join in the discussion on prevention, early intervention, great communication and customer responsibility. PLUM - Prevention through Learning, Understanding and Managing solutions. It was a clear message; 'If you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got. So get radical'.

From 1245 - Lunch and Exhibition viewing

Chartered Institute of Housing South East Annual Meeting 2006 - All CIH members are invited to the Annual Meeting, details of which will be sent separately beforehand.

Fringe session

Feel the Difference -Ian Hembrow, Senior Consultant, PPCR Associates
This session outlined a project completed with nine housing providers to create an online toolkit to carry out impact assessments for resident involvement. This means testing the difference made by the work carried out by residents and housing organisations on customer and community involvement, in terms of better services and other positive outcomes.

1430 - Specialist sessions

  1. The three stages of leadership - Facilitated by David Priestley, Regional Director, Common Purpose South Coast. Chair: Alison Breese, CIH South East Committee Member. This interactive workshop explored stages of leadership, styles of leadership and leadership challenges.
  2. A focus on service - Fiona Cruickshank, Field Director South East, The Housing Corporation. Chair: Wayne Morris, Chief Executive, Spinnaker Housing Group. This session reviewed the service and community based agenda being promoted by the Housing Corporation.
  3. Fusion 21 - efficiency in action - Dave Neilson, Managing Director, Fusion 21 and Vassos Crysostomou, Chief Executive, Evolution IP. Chair: Paul Reader, Director, EPS Projects Ltd. Fusion 21 provides an excellent example of the efficiency agenda. It was set up by seven RSLs working together in Merseyside and in the first two years, savings of £9 million have been made through consortium working and 200 trainees have been placed in permanent jobs. It has also won a number of prestigious housing awards. In this session, Dave outlined what Fusion 21 has achieved and offered learning points for others. This was a practical demonstration of how the efficiency agenda can be developed.
  4. Improving your local environment - Matthew Watts, Regional Director, ENCAMS. Chair: Sarah Anstey, CIH South East Committee Member. ENCAMS is an organisation which enables managers of land to deliver effective improvements in local environmental quality. The issues of anti-social behaviour such as littering, dog fouling, graffiti, flytipping, abandoned vehicles and so on have a huge impact on the lives of local residents. In this session Louise highlighted her work on campaigning, sharing good practice and policy development.

From 1530 - Refreshment break and Exhibition viewing

1615 - Keynote address, Would you Adam and Eve it? - Tim Smit, Chief Executive, The Eden Project. Chair: Ashley Hook, CIH South East Vice Chair

Tim realised a dream when the Eden Project opened in Cornwall in March 2001 and has since made it an environmental and economic success. Not only does he work hard to motivate his staff at the Project to provide excellent services but he has brought his energies and influence to bear on affordable housing delivery in the county. Tim explained how his motivational approach can help you work with people from different interests and with different priorities and views and bring them together to meet a common objective.

1700 - Conference close

1830 - The End of the Pier Quiz , Sponsored by Kelsey Housing Association. In aid of Dreams Come True

2100 - Party on the Prom, Sponsored by Croudace Homes in Partnership Ltd.

Wednesday, 15 March: Organisational Effectiveness: Policy and Strategy

0900 - Registration, refreshments and Exhibition viewing

1000 - Welcome to the conference

Keynote address - Digesting housing law - Jan Luba QC

A welcome return to the conference for Jan. This session provided an update and overview on housing-related legislation and case law and will set the framework for developing policy and strategy in your organisation.

1115 - Refreshment break and Exhibition viewing

1145 - Specialist sessions

  1. Stock rationalisation in South Hampshire - Michael Gahagan, Chair, South Hampshire Commission and Sarah Webb, Director of Policy, Chartered Institute of Housing. Chair: Mark Perry, Chief Executive, Downland Housing Association. This session outlined the work of the South Hampshire Stock Rationalisation Commission whose objectives are to:
    • consider which stock holding pattern(s) will optimise the delivery of high quality services to tenants whilst achieving/maintaining efficiency in terms of management and maintenance costs
    • consider whether a limited number of associations working in a single area facilitates local market renewal/regeneration and neighbourhood management initiatives and their effective delivery
    • identify, in light of the answers to the above, the barriers to the effective rationalisation of stock and what tools/mechanisms can be developed to overcome those barriers
    • to produce a report and any associated toolkits for publication, which can be used by RSLs and LAs to facilitate stock rationalisation
  2. Lessons from the Beacons - overcoming barriers to delivering affordable housing - Julia Potter, Head of Housing & Property Services, East Hampshire DC and Mike Chambers, Head of Housing Services, Basingstoke & Deane BC. Chair: Sarah Anstey, CIH South East Committee Member. This session provided an opportunity for councils and RSLs to learn what works and what doesn't work in delivering affordable housing at a local level. This was of particular interest to RSLs in the light of the Housing Corporation's Gold Award and how organisations can share learning experiences.
  3. Supporting People - is there a future for housing & support services? - Ian Copeman, Supporting People Manager, West Sussex County Council and Neil Blanchard, Director of Housing and Community Services, Southdown Housing Association. Chair: Rachel Evans, CIH South East Committee Member. This session considered the future for supported and sheltered housing and the changing role of RSLs and other support providers. They were explored in the context of the new ODPM Supporting People strategy and the Government's drive to create more opportunities for people to have choice and control over housing and support options, as well as greater choice over health and social care services.
  4. Sport in the community - Steve Waggott, Chief Executive, South of England Foundation & Charlton Athletic Community Trust. Chair: Jonathan Mackie, National Bid Director, EnterpriseMcGinley. In this session, Steve presented the diversionary activity programme run through Charlton Athletic FC - what it aims to achieve, how it was set up, the partnerships involved, how it is run, the results achieved and the setbacks overcome.

From 1245 - Lunch and Exhibition viewing

Fringe session

Unlock your potential! Margaret Fleming, The Image Practice

Every day people are forming impressions of you and they are based almost exclusively on the way you look and present yourself. Your appearance therefore speaks volumes about who you are. Whether male or female, knowing how to project an appropriate personal image can make all the difference to your personal and career success. This fringe session allowed you to find out more about how the image you present can unlock your personal potential..

Fringe session

(How) are you being served? Dr Michael Biles, Housing Ombudsman, Lynda Hance, Housing Consultant, Training Plus Consultancy and Julie Fawcett, Board Member, Housing Corporation

This session outlined the updated complaints handling advice given to residents and housing organisations and assessed the impact of the original 2002 publication. The new guidance will encourage improved performance in complaints handling, possibly focusing on the learning opportunities available to landlords from a proactive approach and encouragement to examine the range of methods available through dispute resolution.

1415 - Specialist sessions

  1. Mixed tenure management - Jeff Platt, Chair, Institute of Residential Property Management. Chair: Bob Keats, CIH South East Secretary. Jeff explored some of the issues of managing mixed tenure estates which result in the combination of freehold, leasehold, shared ownership, social housing and buy to let activity all within a high density development. Topics covered included consultation on works, enforcing covenants, service charge management and the Right to Manage.
  2. Making modern methods of construction work - Mike Kay, Director of Asset Management, South Somerset Homes on behalf of Advantage South West. Chair: Colin Mitchell, Divisional Director, Osborne. In this session, Mike presented an operational overview of modern methods of construction looking at procurement, building and project management. He also outlined the work of Advantage South West, a consortium of housing organisations dedicated to the development of housing using cutting-edge building technology.
  3. Working with the Decent Homes Standard - Andrew Palmer, Housing Services Manager, Hastings Borough Council. Chair: Malcolm Bushell, New Business Manager, Mulalley & Co Ltd. In this session, Andrew focussed on stock condition, looking at the role of environmental health officers and their relationship with housing staff. It also addressed the new safety regulations for the private sector as well as the balance between private and local authority stock and an integration of the Decent Homes Standard.
  4. Creative Neighbourhoods: the role of the arts in building sustainable communities - Graeme Beedham, Director, Aston Housing Consultancy. Chair: Nigel Poole, Director of Housing Services, Kelsey Housing Association. This session explored:
    • How support for community arts projects can help the housing sector increase resident involvement and build sustainable communities
    • How the arts can contribute to the regeneration of declining communities
    • How housing organisations, community groups and individuals can access funding to support arts initiatives
    • How to recruit artists to work with the community
    • How to monitor and evaluate projects
    The session was based on a good practice guide sponsored by The Housing Corporation and the Arts Council. Copies of the guide were available at a special discounted price for delegates.

1530 - Refreshment break and Exhibition viewing

1600 - Ask the Panel

David Butler, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Housing; David Orr, Chief Executive, National Housing Federation and Adam Sampson, Director, Shelter. Chair: Alison Breese, CIH South East Committee Member

In this session, the speakers answered delegates' questions to explore the key issues for housing policy, now and in the future.

1700 - Conference close

1930 - The Conference Dinner, Sponsored by Downland Housing Association. In aid of Dreams Come True and CrisisShield

Thursday 16th March: Regional effectiveness - affordable housing delivery

0900 - Registration, refreshments and Exhibition viewing

1000 - Welcome to the conference

Keynote address - Sustainable Communities: the Canadian experience - Dr Avi Friedman, School of Architecture, McGill University, Canada

Fundamental socio-economic changes have given rise to an affordability gap in the Canadian housing market. It required "out of the box" thinking about community planning and dwelling design. In his presentation, Dr. Friedman outlined background reasons and illustrated strategies to affordable housing design. Most notably, he dwelt on the Grow Home and the Next Home, designs which earned him the United Nations World Habitat Award.

1115 - Refreshment break and Exhibition viewing

1145 - The Thursday Debate

Sub-regional Housing Market Areas: Opportunity or Threat?

Panel:

Facilitated by Chris Lowe, Journalist and Broadcaster

Guest panellist: Martyn George, Chief Strategic Housing Officer, Fareham Borough Council

This is a major area of policy development for the future of all housing delivery in the region and the Board was pleased to have the opportunity to have a face to face session. The session illustrated the experiences of pathfinder partnerships embarking on sub-regional housing market assessments. It provided an opportunity to learn from early experiences of the assessment process and to contribute your views to the Regional Housing Board's 'How to...' effective practice guidance.

1300 - Lunch and Exhibition viewing

With wine reception sponsored by Spinnaker Housing Group.

1415 - Specialist sessions

  1. The cost of sustainability? Adam Mactavish and Isabel McAllister, Associate Directors, Cyril Sweett Limited. Chair: Amy Cheswick, CIH South East Committee Member. Cyril Sweett have been undertaking detailed research into the cost and value implications of meeting sustainability targets in new forms of development, working with the Housing Corporation to assess the cost implications of the requirements to achieve a Very Good EcoHomes rating in all new affordable housing. Using a series of case studies, this session provided insights into the costs in both rural and urban settings and advised on the implications of different approaches to achieving the ratings, whole life costs and resident bills.
  2. A new approach to modern methods of construction - Dr Avi Friedman, School of Architecture, McGill University, Canada, John Kitchen, Construction Manager, Accent Group and John Wybor, Designer/Architects, GWP. Chair: Wally Jones, Regional Manager, Accent South. Designing affordable homes, developing sustainable communities and meeting the efficiency agenda require innovative solutions and thinking Œoutside of the box'. Social, environmental and technological issues must be considered along with design and cost. This approach taken by the Accent Group, in collaboration with Dr Avi Friedman, Director of the Affordable Homes Program at McGill University in Montreal, Canada has resulted in the development of the Accent Home concept. John Kitchen from Accent and Dr Friedman outlined their work and lead a discussion on the many issues associated with developing homes for future generations.
  3. Planning gain and new initiatives - Professor Kelvin MacDonald, Director of Policy & Practice, Royal Town Planning Institute. Chair: Alistair Queen, CIH South East Treasurer. This session focussed on the key question of how we fund affordable housing through the planning system. The Treasury is publishing proposals for new forms of land and development taxation, which follow the Barker review recommendation that there should be a ŒPlanning Gain Supplement'. Meanwhile experiments in using tariffs or Œroof taxes' are being tried in parts of the growth areas in the wider south east. This session gave delegates the opportunity to learn about the latest position on this issue and to discuss the impact that different approaches may have on the development of affordable housing in the South East. Kelvin initiated the Ministerial Advisory Group on Planning Contributions and is on the ODPM's Planning for Housing Advisory Group (Pfhag).
  4. Meeting the challenge - Sir John Harman, Chairman, Environment Agency. Chair: Graham Maunders, CIH South East Committee Member. In this session, Sir John explored the challenges to the environment set by the ODPM's proposed build programme. What environmental infrastructure will we need in the South East?

From 1515 - Refreshment break and Exhibition viewing

1600 - Exhibition close

Keynote address: Touching the Void - Joe Simpson, Mountaineer and Author

Many delegates will have watched and been moved by the film Touching the Void, which won a BAFTA for the Outstanding British Film of the Year in 2004. The film, and book, tell the story of Joe Simpson's amazing survival, having shattered his leg and been left for dead after an accident in a crevasse high in the Andes. The presentation addressed themes familiar to all those delivering affordable housing: motivation, risk assessment, team working, leadership - and overcoming obstacles in your path.

1700 Conference close