Co-Design: London Housing Panel

How could a housing and planning system in London work better for everyone?

Often those most affected by planning decisions don’t have their voices heard. Read the key take-aways from the London Housing Panel community-led conversations on housing and planning.

@tonichousing hosted a conversation with LGBT+ organisations. They focused on safety. Too many low-income Londoners are forced into unsafe accommodation. Alongside physical and practical safety, we need housing where we feel safe to be our true, authentic selves.

@AlbertKennedyTrust hosted a conversation with young Londoners with experience of homelessness. They highlighted the experience of young people leaving care, and the need for a system that works for them. One young person was moved around so much when in care that they had no connection to a single borough and so they couldn’t register for council housing.

This group also stressed the importance of gender-neutral housing, as non-binary Londoners have nowhere to go in the current homelessness system. As well as this they highlighted transphobia within the system, and the importance of men’s and women’s accommodation accepting trans men and women, and being trained & equipped to do so.

@ymcastpauls conversation with young Londoners focused on renting. Many young Londoners don’t feel private renting is welcoming – they don’t trust private landlords, and don’t know how to find good, trusted ones. Private renting in London can often mean poor quality and unsafe, as well as a lack of stability. One solution that was raised was a landlord register, which lists trusted landlords and approved properties.

@inclusionlondon hosted a conversation with some of London’s Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations. Their conversation focused on accessibility, with three key points coming out:

1. There’s an urgent need to build more accessible social housing – and currently, local authorities don’t enforce their powers to ensure developers build the accessible, affordable housing that is needed.
2. Accessibility doesn’t just mean meeting the needs of people with mobility impairments. Deaf people, neurodivergent people, people with sensory impairments all have accessibility needs that are often overlooked.
3. It’s not just the home that needs to be accessible, but also the neighbourhood and wider environment. [these 3 will likely be in an asset]

Being close to local communities and support networks, having access to local health and social care services, being able to rely on accessible public transport is what makes a neighbourhood good and safe to live in.

This work involved the Hammersmith & Fulham Disability Forum Planning Group, DEW, Action Disability Kensington and Chelsea, Inclusion Barnet, Disability Action in Islington, City of London Access Group, Asian People’s Disability Alliance and the Harrow Association of Disabled People.

@RomaSupport agreed that Disabled people are not getting the housing that suits their needs. It’s too difficult and takes too long to get accommodation from the local authority – and this accommodation often isn’t accessible or in good accommodation. The private rental market is just as hard to find accessible accommodation, especially that has enough space and is peaceful and quiet.

@LondonGypsyTrav’s conversation highlighted the erosion of nomadism: “By not delivering sites and stopping places councils and the GLA are marginalising Gypsy and Traveller people more and more.” They also spoke about the accessibility of social rented housing and the need for more homes for larger families, and multi-generational households.

A conversation led by Southwark Citizens also emphasised the importance of the wider community. The state of a home and the state of a community go hand-in-hand. We need to build more high quality, family-sized social homes and repair and upgrade existing social homes, so that everyone can have a chance to put down roots and thrive as part of a stable community. @southwarkciz @citizensuk

Members of the Central Hill Estate Residents Association spoke about how our housing needs change as we get older. As your needs change, it should be possible to stay in the same community you have put routes down in, rather than having to move. This emphasises the need to make housing across the board accessible & affordable for older people.

In two conversations with organisations working with migrant Londoners – led by @praxis – the issues of safety and connection came through. Everyone has the right to accommodation that gives them the privacy they need and lets them feel safe. Many migrant and refugee Londoners are forced to move frequently and away from their support network and services, leaving them unable to build communities. It’s vital that we create spaces for people to meet and connect.

These conversations were part of a series of community-led conversations organised by the London Housing Panel. They show the different needs of different groups – but that there’s a lot of common ground, too.

The aim was to involve more Londoners in decisions and discussions around planning, and findings from the conversations will be brought together in a presentation and discussion with the GLA Planning Team, to feed into the Planning for London programme and ultimately the London Plan.

@LDNPlanning #PlanningForLondon

You can read more about the London Housing Panel here.