"More than bricks" ( 5882 KB) - Northern Ireland Housing Executive

MoRE thAn BRicKS
40 YEARS of thE houSing ExEcutivE

contEntS
More than bricks 3
Foundations for change 9
Making a start 17
A divided community 29
Progress through innovation 45
Leading the way 59
New responsibilities and challenges 67
Improvements, Churchhill Park, Portadown, June 1999
1

MoRE thAn BRicKS
Kids on the move, Belfast, June 1974
Country cottage, 1974
3

2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the Housing
Executive, an organisation which has a proud history
of achievement and progress.
Since its formation in 1971 the Housing Executive
has built many houses, sold tens of thousands of
homes to tenants, carried out countless repairs
and improvements to its stock, provided thousands
of improvement grants for private households and
demolished unfit dwellings.
When you work in housing, however, you quickly
learn that the job is more than bricks. When you
work in housing you deal with people, families and
communities.
At the forefront of all that we have achieved has
been the delivery of decent homes for the people of
Northern Ireland. Our vision has been one in which
housing plays its part in making a vital contribution to
creating a peaceful, inclusive and fair society.
While one of our constant challenges has been
working against the backdrop of community division,
the organisation has worked through recessions and
the recent rapid growth in the housing market and its
sudden collapse in 2008. This is a testament to the
quality of our staff and their professional approach to
housing.
Brian Rowntree
Chairman
John McPeake
Chief Executive
Doon Park, Carryduff, May 2000
Moyard, Belfast circa 1973
5

This book, published to mark the 40th anniversary
of the Housing Executive, tells the story of how in its
history, it has improved the lives of many people in
Northern Ireland, through some of our darkest days.
It shows the positive impact that investment in
housing has had. Throughout the years we have had
tremendous support from our Ministers and colleagues
in our sponsoring/parent government departments,
now the Department for Social Development.
Our work with others, those in the housing association
movement, the Housing Council, local government and
other government departments, tenant and community
groups, public representatives, political parties and
others in the voluntary sector has been very important
in tackling housing issues and developing stronger
communities.
Donegall Road, Belfast,
August 1981
Country cottage kitchen, circa
1973
Brian Rowntree
Chairman
Dr John McPeake
Chief Executive
7

foundAtionS foR chAngE
View of Belfast from Cave Hill
‘Hands across the Divide’ statue, Derry/Londonderry
9

10
Pictures courtesy of the Belfast Telegraph

The late 1960s was not all about the Beatles, Flower
Power and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. It
was also a time of upheaval and protest at home
and abroad. The United States was caught up in an
unpopular war in Vietnam and students were fighting
pitched battles with police on the streets of Paris. Here
in Northern Ireland, students also took to the streets.
They demanded the reform of local government.
The Civil Rights Association, formed in 1967,
highlighted poor housing conditions and dissatisfaction
with housing administration. In 1968 one Stormont MP
occupied a council house at Caledon, County Tyrone,
to demonstrate the inconsistencies and unfairness in
the allocation of houses.
Protests and disorder led to ever increasing violence.
The summer of 1969 witnessed riots across Northern
Ireland and in August of that year, the first troops
appeared on the streets.
The civil disturbances of the late 1960s marked the
beginning of ‘The Troubles’. It was the beginning of
a long dark era, but also the beginning of reform.
Housing would be central to this.
The reform of housing administration in Northern
Ireland began in the autumn of 1969 after discussions
at government level laid the foundation for an overhaul
of public services. These changes would radically
affect the administration of housing and other key
public services.
11

On 25 February 1971, new legislation introduced
to Northern Ireland formed a watershed in the
administration of housing. The legislation, the Housing
Executive Act (Northern Ireland), created the embryo
for a new authority which was charged with addressing
long-standing concerns about the allocation of housing
and the poor housing conditions. Four decades later
the Housing Executive remains the comprehensive
housing authority for Northern Ireland.
The new legislation allowed for the transfer to the
Housing Executive of all the housing functions -
and their dwellings - previously held by 65 local
government authorities and development agencies.
Over a short period, the Housing Executive was to
become owner of 150,000 homes.
The new authority was led by a Board, headed by
an appointed Chairman. Day-to-day management
became the responsibility of a Director General.
While the new legislation removed housing from local
political control, public representatives would advise
the Housing Executive through a new consultative
forum - the Northern Ireland Housing Council. The
Northern Ireland Housing Council has worked with the
Housing Executive, advising and consulting on a whole
range of housing issues and policies. Its members,
from each of the District Councils, have shared their
expertise in the development of housing policies which
have and are making a difference to the lives of people
in Northern Ireland.
Old housing, Roden Street,
Belfast 1974
The first Board of the
Northern Ireland Housing
Executive, 1971
The Housing Act (Northern
Ireland) 1971
13

The most important feature of the 1971 legislation
was the comprehensive powers which it gave to the
Housing Executive. The new authority was to assist
both the public and private housing sectors. The major
tasks given to the Housing Executive at its inception
were:
• Building new homes
• Managing and maintaining existing housing estates
• Helping the private housing sector
• Measuring housing conditions
• Undertaking housing research
• Providing housing advice and information
At the first meeting in May 1971, members were
warned by the Housing Minister that they faced a long
and difficult task.
Cottage kitchen with a cold
water supply, Fermanagh,
May 1975
Housing Actions Area, New
Lodge, Belfast, August 1975
Terraced housing,
Beersbridge Road, Belfast,
June 1973
15

MAKing A StARt
Castle Street, Armagh, June 1974 and 1987
17

In 1973, the Housing Executive took over the last
homes from Northern Ireland’s local authorities and
then set about quantifying the scale of the housing
problem.
The first House Condition Survey in 1974 painted a
bleak picture. The survey found that almost 20% of all
homes in Northern Ireland were unfit for occupation. In
Belfast, the situation was even worse and around 25%
required either demolition or major renovation.
Northern Ireland was found to have the worst housing
conditions in Britain and amongst the worst in Europe.
The small, cramped, Victorian and Edwardian homes
which had characterised much of Belfast and many
provincial towns had left a legacy of wholly inadequate
accommodation, with large numbers in serious decay
and dereliction.
A housing crisis on such a scale clearly needed a
major response. A full scale offensive was required,
spearheaded by a massive new house building
programme.
The Housing Executive immediately embarked upon a
new house building programme. By the end of 1974,
a house building programme of unsurpassed scale
had swung into action, which in 1975, involved work
starting on over 6,000 homes. By 1996 the Housing
Executive had built over 80,000 homes across
Northern Ireland.
Scale was important, but so too was quality. High and
medium rise housing had characterised the 1960s,
leading to much dissatisfaction, but now the Housing
Executive saw to it that quality family homes would be
synonymous with this new era.
The first House Condition
Survey, January 1974
Studying the housing model
Launch of Homesteading,
Belfast 1980
19

The Housing Executive also turned its attention
to other issues such as redevelopment and the
modernisation of older properties rather than
replacement. Additionally the introduction in 1976
of a renovation grants scheme allowed the Housing
Executive to extend its services to the private sector.
The introduction of grants was one of the Housing
Executive’s main tools for reducing unfitness in
privately owned housing by providing assistance for
the improvement, repair and adaptation of domestic
properties.
With some 400,000 grants approved, the scheme over
40 years has ensured the continual improvement of
housing standards, reduced unfitness and prevented
homes from becoming unfit through disrepair. It has
also helped vulnerable people live in safe and suitable
accommodation and supported urban and rural
regeneration across Northern Ireland.
Reconstruction in Farringdon
Gardens in 1973, after a
bomb in 1971
Graffiti at College Square
North, Belfast 1979
Renovations to flats at Derrin
Park, Enniskillen, June 1987
New build at Warrenpoint,
January 1976
21

Civil Engineer, 1974
Architects, 1975
Quantity Surveyor, 1974
23

The Housing Executive’s new van livery circa 1974
Switchboard, 1980
Computer training, 1982
25

Tenants moving home, Markets Area, Belfast, October 1981
Tenants moving home, Short Strand, Belfast, October 1981
Moving in, October 1981
27

28
Picture courtesy of the Belfast Telegraph

A dividEd coMMunitY
Peaceline walls, Cliftonville Road area, Belfast, April 1995
29

30
Picture courtesy of the Belfast Telegraph

The civil disturbances of the late 1960s gave way
to serious violence. Thousands of homes suffered
damage and destruction from rioting and bombing and
families were forced to move in fear from areas torn
apart by civil strife.
In Belfast, 14,000 homes were damaged in 284
bomb explosions in 1972 alone. It was estimated
that between August 1969 and February 1973,
some 60,000 people, 12% of Belfast’s population
were forced to leave their homes. This tragedy was
described at the time as Europe’s largest movement of
population since the end of World War Two.
The disturbances of the early 1970s were to
seriously compound existing housing problems. The
widespread damage to property placed a serious
drain upon housing resources and hampered
progress. Nevertheless, the Housing Executive acted
quickly to provide emergency accommodation and to
repair damaged homes.
Aftermath of a bomb
explosion
A child at the peaceline
separating Lenadoon Estate,
Belfast, September 1973
Fountain, Londonderry,
September 1973
31

In November 1972, the Housing Executive’s own
headquarters in Belfast suffered serious damage in a
car-bomb attack.
It is worth recalling the words of Desmond Lorimer, the
first Chairman of the Housing Executive:
“At times it appears as if our efforts may be crushed
between the upper millstone of civil disorder and
the nether millstone of unrealistic expectations. The
people of this province will solve their problems when
they have a full and realistic appreciation of them and
when they take pride in rebuilding their community. We
will begin to solve the major housing difficulties which
confront us when we face up to the fact that we cannot
afford the dissipation of our energies, our resources
and our finance, which results from civil disturbance,
wanton vandalism and continued violence.”
Bomb damage at
Fortwilliam Parade, Belfast,
February 1976
Bomb damage at the
Housing Executive’s Lurgan
District Office, March 1992
Bomb damage at the
Housing Executive’s Carlton
House office, Belfast,
circa 1973
33

In the early days, with law and order under threat, our
rent collectors were robbed on an almost daily basis.
The response was the rapid introduction of new rent
payment systems.
In many areas law and order had broken down
and normal housing management became difficult
as the withholding of rent and squatting became
commonplace. By the beginning of 1973, squatters
occupied over 5,000 Housing Executive homes.
There remained serious concerns about the methods
used to allocate homes. The Housing Executive was
eager to resolve this issue. Its credibility rested on
being able to win public confidence through impartiality
and so in 1974, the Housing Selection Scheme was
introduced. Although the Selection Scheme has
been revised many times, the principles remain the
same. Housing is allocated on the basis of need and
availability. That the Selection Scheme has endured is
clearly a mark of its success.
Peaceline at Adam Street,
Belfast, March 1990
Peaceline walls, Crumlin
Road, Belfast, April 1995
35

The Troubles continued to have a direct impact on
the Housing Executive’s ability to deliver a housing
service. An increasingly divided community led to
greater segregation, particularly in Belfast. Throughout
the Troubles and beyond into more peaceful times,
communities have remained divided. Peacelines
are the most graphic symbol of this division with 53
officially maintained lines in Northern Ireland.
Many housing problems have been compounded by
the deep rooted sectarianism that remains a feature
in some parts of Northern Ireland. Some 90% of
Housing Executive estates are predominantly single
identity and this rises to 94% in Belfast. The Housing
Executive’s responsibility is to ensure that housing is
provided on the basis of need. Segregation, however,
gets in the way of meeting housing need and prevents
the best use being made of existing housing and land.
Over the years the Housing Executive has helped
people and communities, responding to intimidation and
property damage, and implementing the SPED (Special
Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings) and the POPPI
(Protection of Private Properties at Interfaces) schemes.
In 2008, the Housing Executive’s response to helping
1,000 households in the Belvoir area following a bomb
explosion at Northern Ireland’s Forensic Laboratory
in 1992 was recognised, when Castlereagh Borough
Council conferred the Freedom of the Borough on the
organisation.
Major disruption returned to the streets of Northern
Ireland in 1995 following a dispute over a parade in
Drumcree, Portadown. This violence would recur
every summer over the next few years resulting in
widespread intimidation and many families being
forced to leave their homes.
Bomb damage, Belvoir,
Belfast, September 1992
Kids on an estate help to
clear up, June 1973
Clean-up in the Village area,
Belfast, January 2006
37

The Northern Ireland Act 1998 gave the Housing
Executive a key role in promoting good community
relations and community cohesion.
Through the Housing Executive’s local presence
in communities and its longstanding relationship
with community groups, the Housing Executive has
worked to build good relations through its policies
and initiatives. Initially working with local groups, the
Common Ground Consortium, Habitat for Humanity
and the Mediation Service, the Housing Executive
promoted and supported the clean up of estates
and the removal of the manifestations of division.
The Housing Executive’s Community Relations
Strategy in 2004 took this a step further and set out its
commitment to promoting mixed housing where it is
practicable, desirable and safe.
Bulb planting with the
community, April 2011
Habitat for Humanity,
Northern Ireland, March
2005
Cline Road Murals,
Creating Common Ground,
Banbridge, March 2006
Shared housing, Areema,
Dunmurry, June 2009
39

Through the Housing Executive’s Community
Cohesion Unit further schemes and initiatives were
delivered in partnership with local communities, such
as the removal or replacement of contentious murals.
Promoting ‘Good Relations’ in all aspects of our
work was now set to be central as to how we moved
forward. The Housing Executive’s Good Relations
Strategy aims to contribute to safer, more stable
neighbourhoods and to promote a more inclusive
society, whilst recognising that trust and safety will
ultimately dictate the pace of change. Co-operation
and communication between communities, agencies
and individuals are essential ingredients. The Housing
Executive also recognised that bringing about success
is beyond the remit of a single agency but we have
contributed through policies, partnerships, investment
and resources.
Mural, Lower Newtownards
Road, Belfast, May 2010
Drumbeg Community Garden,
Craigavon, June 2010
Re-imaging mural, New
Mossley, June 2009
41

Ministers for the Department
for Social Development
(DSD) from 1999 to present:
Nigel Dodds, Maurice
Morrow, Margaret Ritchie,
Alex Attwood and Nelson
McCausland
Key to improving community cohesion has been the
political resolution and the stability of the political
institutions. With the signing of the Belfast Agreement
in 1998 devolved government made a return which
had been suspended in 1972. This meant there was
now a local minister with responsibility for housing. The
institutions were however suspended in 2002 and not
restored again until 2007.
The Housing Executive itself recognises that it
cannot engineer territorial adjustment. This will only
be achieved with the consent of both communities,
working together at local and political level. Despite
this reality on the ground, the overwhelming majority of
people would like to live in mixed/shared communities.
In 2006 the Housing Executive pushed forward with
plans to test the water in terms of integrated housing.
This was never going to be easy, but when the first
shared housing scheme came to fruition in Enniskillen
in 2006 the world’s media arrived to report on the
event, but this time it was all positive.
The organisation is now focused on delivering shared
future housing via a twin tracked approach of shared
new build schemes and the Shared Neighbourhood
Programme involving 25,000 households. Through
the programme, communities are helped with training
and practical on the ground support, to bring together
people from all backgrounds to develop good relations
in their own neighbourhoods.
Tenants of the first mixed
housing scheme, Carran
Crescent, Enniskillen,
October 2006
43

pRogRESS thRough innovAtion
Dromore Street, Banbridge, in June 1976 and September 1973
45

The 1980s brought swift progress and innovation and
this involved bringing services closer to the customer
through local housing offices. Unfitness had also fallen
dramatically to 14%, encouraging, but still far too high.
The decade which was ultimately to witness
unsurpassed achievement had a bumpy start, with a
phrase that would recur with unwelcome frequency,
financial cutbacks. A new Government pledged to
enhance the efficiency of public services. Northern
Ireland was to be no exception, and in 1980 the
Housing Executive was forced to stop all new capital
projects. Value for money would now influence every
aspect of the organisation’s work.
The Housing Executive’s Board then embarked upon
an intensive lobby of Government which in turn made
a striking response - housing was to be its top social
priority from January 1982. The Housing Executive’s
priorities at this critical juncture were poor housing
conditions and long waiting lists. The publication
in 1982 of the Belfast Housing Renewal Strategy
produced a programme of unprecedented scale.
The renewal of Belfast’s housing stock stimulated
other inner-city initiatives; most notably the
regeneration of the commercial sector and it was at
this time that the first cautious steps were taken to
launch the ambitious development of Laganside.
A new feature, one that we now take for granted
was consultation. Local people began to play a
full and active part in the renewal process through
close consultation with the planners and architects.
Since the mid 1980s tenants and community groups
were encouraged to be more active and involved
in the delivery of housing services. The community
involvement strategy was developed in partnership
New housing at Portaferry,
May 1975
New housing at Sandy Row,
May 1990
Handing over the key to
the 50,000th new house
built, Henry Street, Belfast,
September 1981
47

with the Housing Community Network. Today the
Housing Executive works with some 450 community
groups to consult on the everyday issues which affect
them.
Community involvement has enabled our tenants to
make an invaluable contribution to policy development
in areas such as modernising, anti-social behaviour
policy, rural housing policies and rent payment
methods.
In 1982, the Housing Executive won unprecedented
support for Northern Ireland’s housing market from
building societies and other prominent lending
agencies. The Housing Executive has argued, that in
a healthy and vibrant housing market, people should
be able to exercise choice about where they wished to
live and what form their accommodation should take.
New housing, Gregg Street,
Lisburn, June 1980
New housing, Charlotte
Street, Ballymoney, August
1979
New housing at Tandragee,
November 1973
Disabled Facility Grant
February 1988
49

In Northern Ireland, wide choice was not readily
available because many lending agencies were
reluctant to commit the necessary finances. However
following the introduction of the voluntary house
purchase scheme, it found many people eager and
willing to become home owners. By 1982, 14,000
tenants had already purchased their homes, and
demand was growing.
The Housing Executive’s House Sales Scheme has
played a major role in ensuring diversity, affordability
and accessibility within a balanced market. Offering
generous discounts the scheme, since its inception
in 1979, has helped 110,000 tenants step onto the
Temporary housing during
renovations, The Grove,
Killyleagh, June 1988
New housing at Killough,
June 1992
New housing at Poleglass,
August 1982
Insulation for Scrabo Estate,
Newtownards, July 1979
51

property ladder and become home owners. House
sales peaked in 2003 with over 6,000 tenants
purchasing their homes. However, recent years
have seen a decline in the number of homes sold,
partly attributed to tightening of the regulations, the
substantial increase in house prices, followed by the
collapse of the housing market.
Housing in Northern Ireland was by now undergoing a
quiet revolution. Home ownership in Northern Ireland
soared from 49% in 1978 to around 63% currently.
By this time some 50,000 tenants had purchased their
homes.
Kilcooley Art and
Regeneration Project,
Bangor, March 2009
Houses for sale in the
housing boom
New housing at Carriff Court,
Kilclief, June 2009
53

By the mid 1980s, the Housing Executive had
pioneered new initiatives in the private sector. These
included the highly acclaimed and popular ‘Enveloping’
scheme. Under the scheme, terraces of mixed tenure
could benefit from a series of external repairs, such as
the replacement of roofing and window frames. Today
the approach is similar to the Group Repair Scheme.
In November 1983, the Housing Executive assumed
responsibility for the administration of the Housing
Benefit scheme for tenants in both the public and
private rented sectors. Today some £570m is paid out
in Housing Benefit helping 157,000 households meet
their housing costs.
The emergence of the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership
Housing Association brought to successful fruition a
process started by the Housing Executive some years
before. This filled a gap in the market, where people
could part-rent and part-buy their homes.
The Housing Executive was now beginning to
concentrate on the modernisation of older estates.
This meant, in many cases, the decanting of tenants,
while their homes were gutted to the bare walls and
refurbished. By 1987, this work, combined with private
sector grants, would see unfitness fall even further
to 8.4%. Massive investment was clearly paying off.
Additionally many of the Housing Executive’s new
developments were now winning wide acclaim for their
design.
The late 1980s witnessed the final demise of some
of Northern Ireland’s most austere and problematic
system-built estates. These estates had been inherited
by the Housing Executive in the early 70s. Many had
degenerated into drab, derelict and squalid precincts
Sunnyside Street, Belfast,
May 2006
Improvements, Flying Horse
Estate, Downpatrick, January
1996
55

which were in stark contrast to the new, bright homes
being built. At locations such as Divis Flats and
Rossville Flats, there was only one realistic solution,
demolition.
While much of the focus had been on urban areas,
1991 saw the launch of the first rural strategy.
Distinctive solutions were needed, and this came
about in the form of latent demand testing, crossroads
schemes and replacement grants. Rural policy was
not just about addressing unfitness it was about,
supporting, sustaining and improving rural society.
Terraced housing for
demolition, Shankill, Belfast,
March 2003
Demolition of Granton
Heights, Dundonald,
August 2009
Cottage improvements,
Ballyhalbert, June 1999
57

lEAding thE wAY
Irish Street, Downpatrick in 1990 and after redevelopment in 1993
59

1992 saw the launch of the government’s Charter Mark
Award. The Lisburn District Office was one of the first
in the UK to receive the award and soon other offices
would follow in their footsteps until every local office
had achieved the standard. By now tenant involvement
was taken as standard practice and consumer
groups and advisory groups were playing a full role in
developing and monitoring policy and procedures.
Belfast was slowly coming back to life and it was a
major boost when the Housing Executive gained global
recognition for its work when it hosted the International
Federation of Housing and Planning Congress with
800 delegates from over 30 countries in 1995.
The future of housing was being reviewed at this time
and major changes were planned with the publication
of the document ’Building on Success’ in 1996. This
led to housing associations in Northern Ireland taking
over the role of social house building from the Housing
Executive.
The dedication of the housing associations has helped
thousands of people throughout Northern Ireland
find decent affordable accommodation which meets
their needs. Since government’s housing policy
review in 1996 the housing associations have had
sole responsibility for the development of new social
housing through a mix of private and public finance,
significantly enhancing the number of new social
homes available to rent.
Charter Mark Awards,
July 2003
Housing associations take
responsibility for building new
social housing in 1996
61

In 1996, the Housing Executive was given the role of
Home Energy Conservation Authority and a team was
set up to increase energy efficiency in homes across
all tenures, disseminate energy saving advice and to
report on improvements. Northern Ireland is not known
for its long hot sunny days, but in 2006 we were able
to embark on a scheme to install solar water heating
thermal panels to 600 homes. These have proved to be
successful and popular and only budgetary restrictions
have brought a temporary halt to this initiative.
Between 1996 and 2009 a 21% improvement
in the energy efficiency of the housing stock in
Northern Ireland had been achieved, one of the best
performances in the UK.
Improvement scheme which
included integrated solar PV
and solar thermal roof tiles at
Clonmore Green, Rathcoole,
May 2009
Launch of Energy Efficiency
Week, October 2001
Installing extra roof insulation,
August 2010
Installing cavity wall
insulation, May 2005
63

The Housing Executive has had statutory responsibility
for the assessment and delivery of homeless services
since 1988. The Housing Executive’s approach
has focused on meeting temporary and permanent
accommodation needs and addressing the issues that
lead to homelessness.
There are many reasons for homelessness including
family disputes, breakdown in living arrangements,
addiction, mental ill health, debt and tenancy
breakdown.
Working with others, significant improvements have
been made in improving temporary accommodation,
homeless services and preventative initiatives.
Initiatives such as active ‘street outreach’ services
and crash facilities provide overnight accommodation
in Belfast and Derry City Council areas. The Housing
Executive recognised that homelessness was not just
a problem in urban areas and worked with a number
of agencies helping people who find themselves
homeless in rural areas. The Housing Executive
has also worked with people to break the cycle of
homelessness, responded to the needs of young
people, invested in education, prisoner advice,
mediation, and rent guarantee schemes. In addition, a
multi-disciplinary homeless support team has provided
critical services to help vulnerable homeless people
meet their special needs.
Progress continues but homelessness continues to
be a challenge and a problem that affects the lives
of many.
Homelessness in Belfast
Clooney Terrace Homeless
Hostel, Londonderry, 1996
Killaney Avenue Homeless
Hostel, Lisburn, June 1992
65

nEw RESponSiBilitiES And chAllEngES
New Haven Homeless Hostel, Carrickfergus, April 2006
Launch of Headway Belfast Floating Support, 2007
67

In 2009 the Housing Executive achieved a major
success by capturing the UK Excellence Award,
highlighting the professionalism of staff, and the quality
and effectiveness of the work of the organisation,
particularly in relation to its service to customers.
A new century had arrived and the ever increasing
pace of the introduction of new technology was very
evident. Every aspect of the Housing Executive’s work
was being modernised and this would continue year
on year. At the turn of the millennium, the Housing
Executive joined the internet revolution and our
website was launched.
Alongside modernisation came a number of new
responsibilities for the Housing Executive.
Supporting People is about helping vulnerable
people remain independently in their homes with an
appropriate level of care and help. This programme,
administered by the Housing Executive in Northern
Ireland, was introduced here in 2003.
In Northern Ireland there are over 100 providers
delivering more than 800 schemes. Accommodation
based and floating support schemes enable some
23,000 of Northern Ireland’s most vulnerable people to
live independently.
The Supporting People team works in partnership with
the Department of Health, Social Services and Public
Safety, the five Health and Social Care Trusts and the
Probation Board for Northern Ireland to commission
housing related support services. The current annual
budget for this service is £67 million.
Supported Housing at
Brookgreen, Coleraine, April
2006
Tenants with the Rathcoole
garden plan, June 1999
69

2007 saw the strengthening of powers to tackle antisocial
behaviour. This was becoming an increasing
problem in many communities and an effective
response was needed.
One of the first initiatives would turn out to be one
of the most successful. It was the arrival of the
neighbourhood warden, and it became so popular with
residents that the initial 30 soon became 65. In more
recent times the Housing Executive works with other
agencies to provide additional coverage and also to
share the cost.
In December 2003 the provision of Traveller
accommodation was transferred from district councils
to the Housing Executive. A programme of specific
Traveller Accommodation schemes was developed
with the schemes prioritised on the basis of greatest
need, land availability and Traveller family compatibility.
Traveller accommodation includes group housing
schemes, serviced sites and transit sites.
New Travellers site, Monbrief,
Lurgan, March 2007
Belfast Travellers Support
Group
One of the first
Neighbourhood Wardens
with local tenants
Neighbourhood Officers,
December 2010
71

The new millennium brought new challenges, none
greater than the global economic downturn with
housing at its core.
The local housing market was now in a steep decline
and sales of Housing Executive properties fell sharply
to 808 in 2008 and then to an all time low of 54 the
following year.
While the recession was coming to an end the overall
economic outlook remained gloomy and in 2010 huge
cuts were being put in place by the new Coalition
Government. This of course meant that sadly there
was little scope for investment in Housing Executive
homes and private sector grants had to be either
restricted or put on hold.
With newbuild now a priority the number of new homes
commenced rose to 1,595 in 2009 and in subsequent
years targets were surpassed with 1,838 and 2,418
respectively.
Mixed Tenure Transfer
Scheme, Carvill Site,
Annadale Embankment,
Belfast, May 2010
Improvement scheme at
Glencoole House, Rathcoole,
May 2010
Living over the Shop (LOTS),
Bridge Street, Lisburn,
February 2004
73

Global economics also had a major impact on fuel
prices and household budgets. Although Northern
Ireland had seen a vast improvement in energy
efficiency in homes, the number of households in
fuel poverty was rising. Christmas 2010 brought this
into sharp focus. In December and early January
temperatures rarely rose above freezing and in
Castlederg they recorded an all time low of minus
18.7 degrees. When the thaw came, it brought burst
pipes, flooding and heating failures. Over a quarter
of all Housing Executive homes required repairs and
some 90,000 telephone calls were taken. Homes were
severely damaged and many of the problems were
exacerbated by the difficulties tenants had in heating
their homes due to high fuel costs.
Belfast during the big freeze,
December 2010
Supported Housing at
Abbots Cross, Doagh Road,
Newtownabbey, May 2010
Group repair at Campsie
Avenue, Omagh,
September 2010
75

The Housing Executive is still looking to the future. It
visualises a lean, fit and progressive housing authority
working with energy and flair for all the people of
Northern Ireland. It will not be plain sailing. There will
always be problems to address, we will encounter
criticism and make difficult decisions but ultimately we
will be judged on our record and achievements.
In 2011 the economic recession continues to have
an impact on the entire public sector, with continuing
reductions in public expenditure. The Housing
Executive is no exception with reducing budgets in
the coming years. In addition, the collapse in the
property market has had a direct effect on the amount
of income that we receive. Despite the fall in house
prices the affordability of homes is an issue for many
people looking for a home of their own.
Grounds maintenance,
wildflower meadow,
Bowtown, Newtownards,
June 2010
Improvements at
Titterington Gardens,
Drumbo, June 2010
Re-imaging project,
Garvaghy Park, Portadown,
June 2010
Disabled Facilities Grant,
Kells, Ballymena,
October 2010
77

Demand for social housing has been increasing with
almost 40,000 households on the waiting list, half of
whom are in urgent need. The number of households
presenting as homeless has also been increasing with
around 10,000 accepted as statutorily homeless.
We are committed to addressing housing need and
will continue to make the case for investment for new
housing.
Housing conditions have changed dramatically, with
the rate of unfitness at 2.4% but there remain 17,500
homes which are unfit and 15% of homes do not
meet the Decent Homes Standard. This is a statutory
minimum standard for housing measured over four
criteria: a home is in a reasonable state of repair,
has reasonable modern facilities and services and
provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.
New play facilities,
Newtownabbey, June 2004
All HMOs must now be
registered with the Housing
Executive
79

We are committed to improving housing conditions
through regeneration, particularly in areas such as
North and West Belfast where there is a shortage
of housing as well as poor housing conditions.
We believe that housing has an important part to
play in regenerating communities and we believe
that together with our colleagues in the housing
associations we can not only build new homes, but
bring back empty homes into use.
There will inevitably be change. Structures may alter
to meet a constantly changing economic environment.
New technology will continue its relentless progress.
The demographics of our society will ebb and flow,
but a population that is going to live longer will provide
major challenges. Governments will also come and go,
and with them, their agenda and their priorities. The
Housing Executive has never been slow to adapt to
new ideas and new technology, and that, as we move
into a fifth decade, is something that won’t change.
However, it is difficult to imagine a time when a warm
safe home will not be a major priority and indeed
central to how we all live. That home will impact on our
health, our future and our contentment.
It may be a bungalow, a house, part of a terrace, an
apartment or flat, perhaps a room in a shared dwelling.
It may be in the social, owner occupied or private
rented sector, but it is where we will want to call home.
Whatever changes the future brings the core values of
the Housing Executive will be protected and adhered to:
Fairness, Equality, Accountability.
That’s where it all started, and those principles will take
us forward.
Tree planting with local
children at Newtownabbey 2,
November 2009
View of housing across the
Belfast basin
81

October 2011
www.nihe.gov.uk
CS672/10/11