Paul Smith

Still waiting for homes for Heroes

There is a logic to removing higher rate tax relief on pensions, I wouldn’t call it a tax rise just removing a subsidy to the better paid (like you and me)

Dolemeads before redevelopment in 1890s

Official opening of houses 1901

Dolemeads red brick terraced housing

Ballance Street flats 1970s

This week's Substack post looks at Bath's earliest council housing built before the First World War and its last, a controversial inner-city scheme. Contrary to its genteel image, Bath had an exceptional council housing record.
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/the-first-...

More gambling extracting greatly needed cash from the people of south Bristol, should this really be celebrated? Too often just the rich leaching of the poor and desperate

When you look at everything @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social is doing it’s stunning but rarely reported, housing is still a Cinderella area but maybe ministers being given the space to just crack on out of the spotlight is a good thing

Isn’t the issue that the journalists seek out the hipster cafes and then comment on how hipsterish they are. It’s the journalists who need to go further out rather than hang around stokes croft

A New Study Proves Criminalizing Homelessness Doesn’t Reduce Homelessness "The deterrence logic doesn’t hold": A recent analysis finds that encampments bans and other local ordinances aimed at unhoused populations don't actually lead to decreased homelessness.

In other obvious news, “A recent study shows that encampment bans & other policies that criminalize homelessness don’t keep people from living on the street. The analysis did not find any reduction in homelessness in any cities studied as a result of such ordinances.”

Homes and supports. Obviously.

More historical research, these documents are the council inspection report of my grandparents house in 1935. Not long after they were moved to a new council estate and the properties were demolished.

Card shows a photo of Gavin Smart, chief executive of CIH, and a quote that reads: “I’m delighted that the CIH Awarding Organisation is launching these new top-up units, which give experienced professionals the opportunity to build on their existing qualifications and prepare for the forthcoming mandatory qualification requirement.”

The CIH Awarding Organisation is launching new top-up units to help housing professionals prepare for the Competence and Conduct Standard.

Find out all the detail on our website ➡️ buff.ly/UglekY3

Twisted

✨ Members, we have some exciting news! | Chartered Institute of Housing ✨ Members, we have some exciting news! ✨ On Monday we opened voting for our 2025 vice president election. This year, your candidates are: Evie Copland CIHCM Katrina Henshaw  Hony Premlal MBA CIHC...

✨ Voting for our 2025 vice president election is open. This year, your candidates are:

Evie Copland CIHCM
Katrina Henshaw
Hony Premlal MBA CIHCM MIoL 🔥🌟👑 MBA CIHCM
Paul Smith
Thomas Sutton (CIHCM)

Further info can be found here ⤵️
www.linkedin.com/posts/charte...

Manchester, 1960s. Four children and mother in bed in slum housing.

Salford 1971. Mother and child in slum kitchen.

Manchester, 1968. Mother and child in slum kitchen

I'm very sad to learn of the recent death of Nick Hedges (b 1943) - a superb documentary photographer of housing and much else and a generous man. His photographs for Shelter of appalling housing conditions in the UK in the late 60s and 70s did much to persuade public opinion of the need for change.

Phew

🤣🤣🤣

What is it critical of?

I don’t think it will make any difference- large numbers of people are completely switched off by the mainstream media and parties as they feel they have been failed by them

Government has proposed a range of measures to help SME housebuilders. This will be warmly welcomed across the sector, including social landlords and councils who want to get building again. www.gov.uk/government/n...

This is terrible even for you

I remember the talk after the 1988 housing act of housing associations “moving centre stage” and replacing local authorities as the main providers of social housing. A mixture of truth and hubris

I wonder how they would use local authority regulatory powers to impact social housing providers

Making Plans for Nigel Recently I was at meeting discussing speakers for a national housing event. Something which struck a number of us on the call was that proposed list was almost exclusively Labour figures from national...

Why housing needs to engage with Reform (like it or not)

cratus.co.uk/making-plans...

View of estate

View of estate

View of estate

🚨 New on Substack: The Lillington Gardens Estate, Westminster: ‘civilizing, elegant and exciting’
open.substack.com/pub/municipa...

🏘️ In April, as we continued the search for our next vice president, we got together with our past presidents, current president, and vice president to reflect on the role, and what it means.

⏰ Time is running out to get your nomination as applications close at 5pm tomorrow➡️ buff.ly/t7uVZgD

My latest addition to my little
Library. I used to Love the HMSO bookshop on Wine Street. It was full of treasures, wiped out by the internet.

It goes without saying

61 years of being adopted - I’ve not changed much but I do wear more clothes

Evidence - here is a picture of you speaking

It is a rule or just guidance?

Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm